Portland, Oregon Metro Fishing Report – Although summer steelhead numbers continue to buck prediction, effort and catch remains relatively low. The good news however; the famed Deschutes River fishery will see extended opportunity due to this surprise rebound in returning adults, and that’s great news for a change.
Willamette River spring Chinook anglers are still at it. Despite it being August, trollers are still working, and catching, Willamette River spring Chinook and numbers crossing Willamette Falls are still surprising too. We’re still far below the prediction and one has to wonder if egg take goals will be made from this year’s mediocre at best return.
Hatchery summer steelhead ascension is still better than hatchery spring Chinoko passage, that should provide some fair opportunity for upriver summer steelhead fisheries.
Find the full report and forecast for Members on this page here for the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.
Clackamas River Fishing Report – It’s still a Dog Creek show for the few still pursuing Clackamas River summer steelhead and a few spring Chinook still in good shape. It’s a first light bite but most anglers are awaiting what most hope will be a good return of hatchery coho, still several weeks away.
Passage of wild spring Chinook is also disappointing at the North Fork facility, this following impressive returns of wild steelhead and coho salmon in recent years.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger reports – I hope that you have had a chance to get out the last couple of days while the river cleared up. The river is currently running at 8.09 ft and the water temperature is running currently at 63.36 degrees and will continue to climb as the weather is forecasted to climb back up into the low to mid 90’s over the weekend. The river will start to turn silty green again and could stay that way until the weather cools down.
There have been lots of swimmers and tubers on the river and they start to show up around 10 am in the morning and with the warmer weather returning you will find more people heading to the riverbanks to cool off.
There have been a few guys that have been floating the river and they have had to drag their rafts and boats over quite a few shallow spots on the river.
Fishing will continue to stay active for the next month or so, until we see the first coho show up with the first good rain. So, get out and try your luck while you still have the chance.
Find the full report and forecast for Members on this page here for the Clackamas and Sandy Rivers.
North & Central Coast Fishing Report – The Buoy 10 fishery opened today and those that targeted Chinook in the river were largely disappointed. There were Chinook caught, both wild and hatchery, but there was a fair bite for anglers closer to the mouth of the river, for coho, swept in from adjacent outside ocean areas.
Ocean coho fishing has been good coast wide but Astoria shines as the best option. These coho fisheries are slated to go until around mid-month if the quotas last that long, which may not be the case for the Columbia River (north of Cape Falcon) fishery.
Pacific City posted the best coho catch rates south of Cape Falcon, but Garibaldi has held its own all season.
Ocean Chinook fishing is improving, but not surprisingly, the saltwater Chinook catch only makes up a small portion of the catch.
Halibut opportunity remains robust but the catches are still falling short of the robust quotas offered to Oregon anglers.
Effort is now shifting to albacore, still 30 to 40 miles offshore, but providing excellent sport and table fare for those willing to put in the effort.
Crabbing is improving in the ocean, but a lot of softshells remain.
Find the complete report and forecast for Members in the Northwest Oregon section.
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Central Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Glenn Zinkus reports
Middle Deschutes High Water. Metolius Hatches Picking Up. Highest Lakes – East, Paulina, Three Creek Fishing Well, But Sometimes Windy.
Weather Outlook Across Central and Eastern Oregon:
We’re into a few days of a hot period, including now at the time of this writing, Friday. There is a brief cooldown at the higher elevations on Saturday which will go into the 80s, with warm weather again on Sunday and Monday – into the low to mid-90s depending upon location.
The Deschutes canyon will be hot – into the 100s from now through Friday, 90s on Saturday, and back to 100 on Sunday.
Lower Deschutes River: Like much of the summer (at least starting in July), the stretch from Warm Springs to Trout Creek is a best bet for trout.
Middle Deschutes River: The Middle Deschutes jumped up this week and is off-color to muddy right now. Hold off fishing there this week.
Upper Deschutes River: The upper Deschutes near Little Lava is doing well – okay water temps and air temps about 10 degrees cooler than Bend.
Lake Billy Chinook: Good kokanee reports from Billy Chinook, with schools ranging from up top to as deep as 100 feet. Some anglers are report best success at 15-40 feet.
Crooked River: Fishing is great. Mostly nymphing, but there have been some active dry fly periods. Early morning hours – water has remained cool.
Metolius River: There is good evening caddis action happening starting late afternoon, and a spinner fall before dark.
The golden stone action along the upper river in the Camp Sherman area – most above Allingham up above Camp Sherman to Lake Creek continues to go strong.
Odell Lake: Water temps in the 60s, and cooler down deep. There are mixed kokanee reports over this past week, with the full moon affecting the bite last week.
Wickiup Reservoir: At 39% full. Reports of the kokanees being spread out and the bite is slow. Still, persistent anglers are catching some fish for a morning’s effort.
Crane Prairie Reservoir: Early mornings are best – in the locations with incoming cooler water flows from the Deschutes and Cultus Creek.
Devil’s Lake: Stocked in early June. Friends have been catching trout on spinners. Devils Lake was stocked during the week of June 18th.
Members can always see so much more in the complete report as well as the forecast for central Oregon by starting right here.
SW Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Jeff Rome reports:
Tripple digit temps will tempt anglers to head to the higher lakes and coast for fishing opportunities this weekend. The ocean this past week has been very productive for pretty much everything from coho, halibut, lings and rock fish. A little wind chop is forecast into the weekend but shouldn’t be enough to keep boats off.
Lakes such as Lost Creek, Hyatt, Fish, Diamond, Howard Prairie and the Rogue above the dam would be my cool best bets. The Rogue Bay hasn’t kicked into high gear yet with hit and miss action days. The rest of the Rogue summer steelhead catches have been lackluster. The panfish and bass bite is doing well on several of the lakes and the Umpqua and Coquille systems. Don’t forget your sunscreen!
Ocean outlook for the weekend is looking decent with a variety of good cooler fishing up and down the coast Coho along with bottom fish and halibut have been good to excellent earlier this week and should remain so providing good ocean conditions. There’s still plenty of halibut quota and the size/ quality has been good especially out of Brookings. Jetty fishing is another great option when you can’t get out on the ocean and still wanna be fishing.
The Rogue River summer steelhead are in, but they’re not biting well due to the heat and tons of river floaters! Fishing early before floater traffic is a must for best success on hooking a summer run steelhead. The Rogue Bay Chinook season is still hit and miss and could get good anytime.
Lost Creek, Diamond, Hyatt, Howard Prairie, and Fish lakes are still my best bets of good lake fishing. Fish early before it gets too hot. Lost Creek and Diamond have been excellent lately!
Winchester Bay is a good coho option along with bottom fish. Crabbing has tapered due to molting season. Pink fin perch are abundant as well.
Bass are multiplying and a few striped bass are being taken on the main Umpqua. Some river floaters tossing spinners on the North Ump have gotten a few summer steelhead.
Be safe, be nice and enjoy!
Tight Lines 🎣 – Romer
Jeff’s expanded reports, multiple lake updates, and forecasts including his past reports can be found here for Members! There is SO much more.
Read this week’s SW Washington fishing report.