Oregon Fishing Report
Portland Metro Area
Although mainstem Columbia River fishing is heating up, not so much for metro anglers fishing around the Portland area. The best spring Chinook fishing on the Columbia is taking place downstream of Longview.
Numbers are increasing, but with the season closure coming on the 8th of April, it’s likely the bulk of the biters will be culled from downstream fisheries. Anglers fishing downstream of St. Helens have the best chance at success, as a fair portion of springers in the mainstem are Willamette River bound, turning right into the Multnomah Channel at St. Helens.
Wilamette River anglers tallied better catches last week, but there was a whole lot of effort for the fish that were caught. Countering historical patterns, the best fishing once again took place in the Oregon City area. Backtrollers and back-bouncers were running eggs and sand shrimp to find success. Unfortunately, Meldrum Bar plunkers aren’t catching many springers, but a few steelhead continue to fall, mostly of wild origin however.
Sturgeon fishing remains good in the lower Willamette, but with spring Chinook drawing more interest, effort is tapering for the dinosaurs.
Upper Willamette Valley Fishing Report by Terry Otto
Wild winter steelhead still biting in upper Willamette systems. Trout stockings picking up. Summer steelhead still slow. Warm water species biting in local lakes.
Best bets this weekend
Trout stocking picking up
Wild winter steelhead are biting in upper Willamette systems.
Detroit Lake kokanee rated good
Willamette Falls summer steelhead counts beginning
Largemouth, spotted, and smallmouth bass are biting in Eugene area lakes
Panfish beginning to bite in local waters
Upper Willamette Valley Weather
Spring like weather will dominate the next week, with dry weather, sunshine, and no rain forecasted until some showers late next week. Highs will mostly be in the mid 60’s to 70’s.
Willamette Falls Fish Counts
Over 6,338 steelhead have crossed the falls as of March 30, with 420 of those fish being fin-clipped. These will be the vanguard of the summer steelhead run. Most of these fish are wild winter steelhead. Only 40 spring Chinook have crossed over so far. Summer steelhead numbers may soon improve, but spring Chinook will not arrive in good numbers until late April at least.
You can check the Willamette Falls fish counts here. You can check the Willamette River Gauge at Salem here.
Trout stocking
Stocked the week of Mar. 16-20:
Walter Wirth Lake, Row River Nature Park (former Cottage Grove Pond), Pine Hollow Reservoir, Roaring River Park Pond, Shevlin Pond, Fall Creek Reservoir, Bikini Pond, Blue River Res, Cottage Grove Res, Canby Pond, EE Wilson Pond, Dexter Res, Hills Creek Res
Scheduled to be stocked the week of March 23- 27:
Canby Pond, Dorena Reservoir, Walter Wirth Lake, Junction City Pond, Sunnyside Park, Foster Reservoir, EE Wilson Pond, Row River Nature Park (formerly Cottage Grove Pond), Dexter Reservoir, Sheridan Pond, Timber Linn Lake.
You can check the ODFW trout stocking schedule here.
Dexter Pond road closure
No public access into the Dexter Ponds Hatchery at least through Summer 2026 due to construction. Please call the USACE Park Ranger Office at (541) 942-5631 with questions.
North Fork Santiam River
According to Mike Ferris of Fishermen Mike’s Guide Service, fishing this week in the upper North Fork Santiam is still slow for wild steelhead. He was drifted the river this past week, and did land one wild winter. That fish took a spoon. Other anglers they encountered had caught no fish. The river bumped up a bit following rains this past week, but is already settling down and flowing at about 2,680 CFS.
You can check the gauge at Mahama here
Detroit Reservoir
Refilling the reservoir for the summer began on Feb. 1. The reservoir is now slowly filling up. Last week’s rain helped with that. Water levels are currently about 90 feet above the low water ramp at Mongold State Park. The main boat ramp at Detroit Lake State Park is also available.
Matt Halseth of Matt Halseth Guide Service has heard good reports from anglers fishing Detroit Lake recently. The kokanee are growing and biting well. The schools are still holding in the upper 20 feet of the water column, especially when it is cloudy. Most anglers are trolling dodgers and kokanee spinners tipped with kokanee corn. Some trout are also being caught, mostly by bank anglers fishing Powerbait on the bottom. As a reminder, anglers are allowed to keep up to five trout, with an additional five kokanee. Juvenile Chinook are often encountered in the spring, and they must be released unharmed. Anglers need to be able to tell them apart from kokanee and release any chinook unharmed.
South Fork Santiam River
The South Fork is giving up some wild winter steelhead, according to guide Matt Halseth. No report on methods or baits. The run is peaking right now, and the fish are spread throughout the river. No reports of summer steelhead being caught as yet.
McKenzie River
The river continues to see a large release of water from Cougar Reservoir and is not at its best for now. However, it should be dropping into shape soon.
Row River Nature Pond (Formerly Cottage Grove Pond)
Was stocked each week in March with 1,000 hatchery rainbow trout. The fishing dock has been replaced, and the Cascade Family Flyfishers have removed aquatic vegetation and blackberry around the pond to improve access and angling success. Cottage Grove Pond is open to year-round fishing and is accessible from the asphalt pathway behind the truck scales on Row River Rd. In addition to fishing, these ponds also offer wildlife viewing opportunities.
Dexter Reservoir
Will be stocked the week of March 23, and again the week of March 30, with 3,000 hatchery rainbow trout. Dexter Reservoir near Lowell is visible from Hwy 58. Boat and bank access is available through state and county parks. Parking and bank access are also available from the causeway near Lowell.
Sandy and Clackamas River reports by Jeff Stoeger and Bob Rees
Clackamas River Fishing Report – Water conditions have been good on the Clackamas River and although the bulk of Clackamas County anglers are more focused on a Willamette River spring Chinook, there are fair options still remaining on the lowly Clackamas.
For the most part, hatchery winter steelhead are over for Clackamas River anglers, with a few still being taken at Dog Creek as of late. It’s an early morning forray for those still fishing this spot, with sporadic results for fish that have been lingering for many weeks now.
The few boats still floating from McIver downstream are largely finding wild fish to exercise with, but most folks, as we mentioned before, are targeting a consumptive opportunity, especially since some of the better action has been taking place in the Oregon City reach.
Mike Roberson from Fisherman’s Marine in Oregon City had this to report, “Seems like some fresh fish have moved into the river in the last few days. We’re getting reports from the mouth all the way up to Dog Creek and some very nice, bright chrome fish. Summer steelhead are starting to show and there was a rumor of a springer caught on the Clackamas as well.”
There’s nearly 2,000 adult winter steelhead over the NF facility at this point, that’s several hundred more than last year at this same time period.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger shares: Wednesday brought a beautiful day on the Sandy, with periods of rain mixed with sun breaks through most of a float Jeff took. The day started slowly after the park opening was delayed, with Dabney and Lewis and Clark not opening until 8:30 a.m. after a call to state parks.
The lower section of the river was floated, and the river was rising throughout the day. Even with the increase in water, visibility remained good at roughly four to five feet.
Fishing pressure was light, with only three boats on the river for the entire day. That kept the lower stretch feeling open and quiet compared with the usual circus humans insist on creating whenever fish are involved.
The best area to focus on continues to be from Cedar Creek down to Dabney. There has also been good action in the Oxbow and Dodge Park areas, with fair to good numbers of both native and hatchery fish being encountered.
A few summer steelhead have also been caught, and anglers are still waiting to see the first springer photo. The hatchery has been recycling hatchery fish, and there are reportedly some very nice fish in the mix.
North & Central Coast Fishing Report by Bob Rees
It’s become a ho-hum late season for north and central coast steelheaders, with most of the consumptive public re-focusing their efforts on Willamette Valley spring Chinook. That’s leaving district rivers a bit less crowded, and for justifiable reasons.
Reports from pro guide Rob Gerlitz (503-812-4950) fishing on the lower Wilson was that it has, “Not been too bad, but it’s kind of slow today (Thursday) although I have seen a few caught.” Rob works the Mills Bridge to Sollie Smith Bridge reach most days. Like most of the season, there will be a batch of biters come through one day, gone the next.
Pro guide Kent Anderson (503-550-6303) reported from the Nestucca stating, “It’s been very slow and low water too. We’re getting a couple of opportunities per day, a mixed bag of fresh fish and spawners too. Today’s rain (Wednesday) should help, or confirm that the run is over. I still have trips for 2 more weeks!” I’m not sure he’s all that excited about running those trips if the fishing remains challenging. He has a way of pulling off a great day either way. By the way, Kent still has a few open spots for his Nushagak trips in Alaska if you’re looking for a great time on a good river.
Most other guides are switching focus to spring Chinook so reports are becoming more sparse, and so are the crowds.
North coast rivers have remained somewhat low over the course of the past week, making the mainstem Nehalem a good option under these conditions. Again, crowds are heading elsewhere, but it seems that this system has had a good run this year and it’s likely holding up.
The Trask and Siletz were still putting out mostly wild fish for the fewer people fishing those systems. Stray hatchery fish didn’t seem to be much of a thing on the Trask this year and the Siletz hatchery fish are largely done from the system by the middle of March.
The NF Nehalem hatchery hotline reported on Wednesday, that there had only been one caught off the platform in the previous two days. The river is low and clear but rafters working from the hatchery to Aldervale were catching an occasional late running broodstock fish.
Winter steelhead returns this year weren’t great, and the fishery is swiftly fading, as is the interest. Most folks will wait for offshore opportunities, especially since coastal spring Chinook aren’t showing up in great numbers until the summer months anymore.
Much more on the site for Chinook Members:
- Buzz Ramsey’s latest post – We Caught Olympic Peninsula Steelhead. A slow start turned into a steelhead frenzy on the OP, with our crew hooking 25 fish in just two and a half days. Chinook Members can see his post HERE.
- Bill Monroe’s latest post – Dick Tracy, George Orwell, meet your great grandchild, eDNA! eDNA is turning yesterday’s science fiction into today’s surveillance reality, and the implications for our rivers and wildlife are bigger than Orwell ever imagined. Chinook Members can read Bill’s post HERE.
You can find all the articles from these two professionals on this page.
- Salmon Trout Steelheader article of the week: TROLLING FOR CHINOOK ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER – Randall Bonner. Dial in your troll and unlock the secrets to consistently hooking Columbia River springers before the short season slips away. HERE.
- All the STS articles are located here.
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Members head to the Member’s Landing Page to find everything you have access to.
SW Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Jeff Rome
A welcome round of rain recently refreshed our much‑needed rivers, setting up an excellent weekend for anglers chasing winter steelhead and spring Chinook. None of the systems blew out, and all are expected to be on the drop through the weekend—prime timing for anyone looking to get out.
The main and North Umpqua, along with the entire Rogue River, stand out as the best bets. The main Umpqua should offer improved conditions for both springers and winter steelhead. The North Umpqua, which was already producing solid steelhead catches before the rain, should be in great shape as flows settle.
On the Rogue, the hatchery reported 176 new winter steelhead this week, bringing the total to 270. That’s a strong sign that good numbers of fish are spread throughout the system, with more likely pushing in thanks to the recent rainfall. The lower Rogue should also see an uptick in the spring Chinook bite, along with continued opportunity for steelhead. The ocean is another good bet for the weekend to catch some big ling cod and early Chinook. Reports for both have been good from Brookings on up to Winchester Bay.
Many lakes and ponds have now been stocked as well. For inland anglers looking to take advantage of the improving weather, top picks include Lost Creek, Lake Selmac, Diamond Lake, and Fish Lake. Coastal lakes mentioned earlier remain reliable trout producers, too.