Portland, Oregon Metro Fishing Report – Willamette River spring Chinook fishers are still catching fish in the Portland Harbor, more specifically, the head of the Multnomah Channel just downstream of the St. John’s Bridge, and at Kelly Point Park, with the early morning producing the best bite.
This fishery will begin to fade, but springers will be caught clear through the end of the month. Flashers and spinners are still the go-to, but some trollers are finding success with plastics such as Spinfish too, often stuffed with tuna to entice more strikes.
The mainstem Columbia opens up for adult summer Chinook and a continuation of the sockeye season but we’re well past peak migration so it won’t be what we call “Meaningful opportunity.” See the official press release HERE.
Most mainstem anglers are awaiting the August 1st opener of the Buoy 10 season, which should define “Meaningful” for the 2025 season.
Shad fishing is about over for the season.
Clackamas and Sandy are dropping, and migration is slowing
Clackamas River Fishing Report – It’s still peak season for Clackamas River salmon and steelhead. But just getting this out of the way, there are not many steelhead to be found this year. Spring Chinook fishing, however, has proven to be a surprise story this year.
Mike Roberson of Fisherman’s Marine Supply in Oregon City had this to report, “Well, I’m finally getting some more consistent Clackamas River reports lately. Several customers have been out lately, fishing the early sunrise bite with success, and some bright fish are still in the system. Some of my coworkers have been putting in their time. The picture I provided is of Magness Lavadour and Connor from the Oregon City store. Magness was fortunate enough to get a nice keeper. Unfortunately, summer steelhead are still lacking. It’s been a disappointing season so far.”
Counts at the North Fork facility continue to look good for spring Chinook. A good number of both hatchery and wild Chinook continue to enter the facility, but summer steelhead are relatively scarce.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Provided by avid angler, Jeff Stoeger – Good afternoon all. This week’s report is a lot like last week’s.
I had fished the lower river from a boat, and the river is very low. The river is running at 8.03ft, and the river temperature is running around 65 degrees. There were lots of sunbathers and swimmers. If you plan to fish, make sure to go early, for you will have access to the bank and river.
Once it hits the 10 o’clock hr. and if the weather is on the warm side, everyone comes out of the woodwork and bank access is premium. Oxbow Park and upper sections of the river are areas to search out for holding fish, both springers and summers.”
North & Central Coast Fishing Report – There are still coastal spring Chinook available for Tillamook Bay, Nestucca Bay and Siletz Bay anglers. Minus tides this weekend will concentrate effort in the upper reaches of these watersheds, but don’t overlook a high tide bite that can happen in these upper reaches, oftentimes using herring for bait.
The Trask, Nestucca and Siletz also have aging springers in the upper reaches of these systems, but low, clear and warming waters are making them difficult to score on.
The Nehalem system starts to draw interest around the 4th of July but it’s been quiet the last several years. It’s typically mid-August when those quality fish start to show up.
For much the same reason, summer steelhead are also challenging to catch, but exacerbating the situation is a low return of summer steelhead adults.
Offshore anglers will have rough weather to contend with over the weekend, putting saltwater salmon, bottomfish and halibut out of reach for most anglers.
Ocean crab are molting, and not worth the effort. There are a lot of them however.
This will be the last of the good tides to go dig Clatsop Beach razor clams. We’re on the back half of the tide series however so the best digging is behind us already. The season closes July 15th.
Central-Eastern Oregon Fishing Report by Terry Otto
Trout lakes still hot, rivers offer morning/evening bites. Walleye and Shad slowing in the Columbia River Gorge.
Summer patterns continue to fuel surface bites in local rivers, but midday is slow. Gear anglers and fly fishers are both doing well in the lakes. Trout and kokanee bites are good, and lake trout and bull trout action fair.
ODFW’s Best Bets for this weekend:
Crooked River flows have decreased and the Bowman Dam tailwater is fishing well. Recent ODFW sampling found good numbers of whitefish and fair numbers of trout in the 10-14 range but fewer larger fish.
Anglers continue to report excellent kokanee and trout fishing at Paulina Lake.
Anglers report good trout fishing at Lava and Little Lava Lakes. Recent ODFW sampling indicates good numbers of large holdover trout at Lava Lake in the 20-24-inch range.
Waters stocked in late June:
East Lake, Twin Lake North, Paulina Lake, Twin Lake South, Three Creeks Lake, Cultus Lake B, Metolius Pond.
Stocked in early July:
Shevlin Pond, Fall River, Three Creeks Lake.
You can check the ODFW trout stocking schedule here
Columbia River Gorge
Reports from the friendly folks at the Gorge Outfitters Supply in Rufus show a slowing in the action for both shad and walleye. A few of each species are still being caught, but the bite has slowed considerably. For right now, about the best option on the river is for smallmouth bass.
Lower Deschutes River
Jeff of The Fly Fishers Place in Sisters reports that the lower Deschutes has been fishing well, although cool weather slowed the surface action last week. Warmer weather is on the way so hatches should come of better, but the best action is in early morning, and especially in the evening. Nymphing is also very good, once again, early and late in the day.
Metolius River
The main hatches now include PMD’s #16 on all sections of the river, Yellow Sally’s #16 (although you could seen them as big as a #12 occasionally), Little Olive Stones #16-18, Blue Wing Olives #20 mostly on the middle river, Golden Stones #8-10 mostly on the upper river from Allingham up to the Headwaters, and a lot of Caddis including #16 Tan, #16-18 Olive and #14 Grey. All areas of the river from the headwaters section down to below Bridge 99 to the Candle Creek area are good now. Dry fly times are usually noon to 4’ish, and 8 to dark, but keeping your eyes open for the little
Fall River
Fly-anglers continue to report good and consistent fishing in the Fall River. Continued monthly stockings have replenished the Fall River providing excellent angling opportunities. Nymphing and stripping small streamers with light fluorocarbon tippet have been the most effective methods.
Crooked River
Anglers report good trout fishing and excellent catches of mountain whitefish now that flows have dropped below 300 cfs following several months of high flow releases for flood control. ODFW staff conducted annual fish population monitoring on the Crooked River June 24-27th between Big Bend and Cobble Rock Campgrounds and found good numbers of whitefish and fair numbers of trout in the 10-14-inch range.
Lakes Reports
The following lake reports were posted by the folks at Fly and Field Outfitters in Bend.
East Lake is showing consistent action, particularly in 8 to 12 feet of water. Chironomids, Scuds, and Callibaetis are working well under indicators, and stripping small nymphs or soft hackles is also turning fish. On calmer days, ant and beetle patterns have been getting attention up top, especially in the mornings.
Paulina Lake is fishing well for both rainbows and browns. Balanced Leeches and Red PTs fished under indicators near shoals and along deeper edges have been producing steadily. Stripping Damsel nymphs or small baitfish patterns continues to be a go-to tactic when fish are cruising. Surface eats on ants and beetles are definitely in play when the lake lays down.
Little Lava Lake continues to be a solid choice, with reliable dry fly windows during Callibaetis hatches and consistent subsurface action on Chironomids—especially olive and red patterns. Red Holographic Jigs, Spicy Squirrels, and Blood Worms remain go-to patterns for both hatchery and wild fish, including some nice brookies.
Crane Prairie Reservoir has been mixed, with off-colored water in some areas due to early algae. That said, the Quinn and Cultus arms are fishing better, with clearer water and active fish. Indicator rigs with Callibaetis, Damsels, Chironomids, and Balanced Leeches are producing best during the cooler parts of the day. A slow drop-off in activity mid-day is expected but evenings can still be productive when the wind dies down.
SW Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Jeff Rome reports
After a reprieve of a couple of days of cool nights and lower 90-degree weather, the weekend into next week is looking like HELL! Well, at least temperature-wise. 100–105-degree temps in the Rogue Valley are expected starting Saturday, so if you’re wanting to wet a line, I’d head up towards Diamond Lake, the upper Rogue River, Howard Prairie, Hyatt, Fish, Lake of the Woods, or the coast to beat the heat. Another option is to take your fishing rod and toss a fly or spinner while floating the river.
The Rogue Bay Fall Chinook season started off slow, with a few days prior being the best. Boat traffic on the bay is respectable, with some anglers working the holes a little further upriver. So far this week, only a handful of fish have been caught. With the dam slowing outflow ending a few days ago, the river should steady, and the fish should start stacking up. Weekend outlook is fair with probable windy and or foggy conditions from the inland heat.
The ocean has been pretty good for coho, ling cod, bottom fish, and even some Chinook lately. Mid to latter week before winds picked up, limits of coho were had out of Brookings along with lots of bottom fish and big Lings. Weekend outlook is a bit iffy again with winds being a factor depending on where you go out of. Surprisingly, crabbages out of Brookings and Winchester Bay have been good still. There is still plenty of halibut quota, and you’ve got till the 15th for fin-clipped coho from Cape Falcon to Humbug.
The middle and upper Rogue River has some summer steelhead, but unless you fish really early, expect the river to be crowded with river floaters.
Other lakes like Lost Creek, Galesville, Applegate, and Selmac are “warmer” options as well.
Striped bass fishing on the Coquille is still good. – Tight Lines 🎣 – Romer
Read this week’s SW Washington fishing report.