Portland, Oregon Fishing Report – Despite Portland being in the “Dead Zone,” fishing on the mainstem Columbia is going well. The reach from the tip of Sauvies Island to Bonneville Dam is highly volatile however, good one day, very challenging the next. Counts at Bonneville have been going well, so well in fact that managers relaxed regulations for upstream and downstream fisheries, enabling anglers access to more Chinook and coho for the next several days.
Coho coubts at Willamette Falls are already underway, and it’s off to a great start. Anglers fishing upstream of the falls may retain ANY coho, hatchery or wild, although they can be challenigng to catch in this freshwater environment. It’s likely to be a productive return again this season.
Find the full report and forecast for Members on this page here for the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.
Clackamas River Fishing Report – Clackamas River anglers saw a nice bump in coho numbers in the lower river. Oregon City’s Fisherman’s Marine employee Mike Roberson reported, “The bite has turned on this week. Quite a few fish spread out in the lower river. The lower stretch to the mouth, the fish are biting best at low tide.”
Most of these fish are destined for Eagle Creek so fishing near the mouth of Eagle Creek is a good idea that subsequently, many anglers will find appealing as well. The fishery is off to a good start however, and should continue to produce good catches for the foreseeable future.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger reports – I hope that you were able to get out and check out the river this week. There were some coho that entered the lower river and were jumping in the lower river below Dabney. I haven’t heard of any coho caught yet, but with the rain forecast, we could see good numbers of coho entering the river and catching could increase over the week.
The weather forecast shows rain off and on over the next week and should bring good numbers of fish into the river and get the fish moving in the river.
The river temp has started to drop due to the cooler temperatures and will only get better with fresh rain bringing the river up and causing the fish to fly upriver.
There is a three fish limit of hatchery fish. When and if you hook a fish, please make sure not to drag it up on the bank until you can identify it as a hatchery or native.
If you want to find out what is happening on the Sandy, All are welcomed to come to the Sandy river steelheaders meetings on the first Thursday of each month at 7pm Glenn Otto Park.
Find the full report and forecast for Members on this page here for the Clackamas and Sandy Rivers.
North & Central Coast Fishing Report – Most of the fleet has left the Buoy 10 area and the coho have too. The recent rain freshet moved lazy coho salmon upstream, but anglers fishing near the Buoy 10 deadline are still finding fresh run fish daily. With Chinook season opened back up, anglers putting in their time are still finding an occasional highly prized upriver bright Chinook.
Coming as a bit of a surprise, saltwater anglers south of Cape Falcon will lose their any coho salmon season after September 15th. Chinook season will remain open however and wild coho opportunity will still be available in many north and central coast estuaries, at least a few days per week depending on the body of water.
Chinook action was slow to jumpstart on the north coast, but anglers fishing the Ghost Hole on Tillamook Bay found some keeper Chinook today, trolling herring on the incoming tide. Hatchery and wild coho are also available here, with a few fish in the west channel as well.
Chinook are also starting to show in better numbers on the Salmon, Siletz, Nestucca and Alsea river/bay systems, and will only get better from here.
Check updated regulations here: Fishing regulation updates | Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (myodfw.com)
Seas look to be friendly through Saturday south of Cape Falcon, making halibut, tuna, salmon and bottomfishing a good option. Ocean crabbing is improving too, but many of the keepers remain fairly empty of meat content.
You can find updated coastal fall salmon regulations HERE.
Find the complete report and forecast for Members in the Northwest Oregon section.
Upper Willamette River System Report – Contributor Glenn Zinkus
McKenzie River Trout and Steelhead. Detroit Reservoir Trout and Kokes.
Alton Baker Canal: Alton Baker was stocked with 900 legal size trout this week. Alton Baker will be stocked again next week with the same number of trout.
Green Peter Reservoir: Water level at 953 feet right now, dropping over the past two weeks. Water level can be found here: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=14186100 Thistle Creek boat ramp is usable. More recreational use than fishing currently.
EE Wilson Pond: EE Wilson Pond was stocked with 850 legal size rainbows last spring.
Waverly Lake: Waverly Lake was stocked two weeks ago with 1,200 legal size rainbows.
South Santiam Trout: Levels are great for fishing.
North Santiam Trout and Steelhead: The North Santiam received 2,200 legal size trout this week. The stocking is complete for the summer.
Leaburg Lake: Leaburg was stocked in late August 1,000 legal size rainbows.
Coast Fork, Willamette River: The Coast Fork was stocked earlier in July.The Coast Fork is steady, and at 185 CFS at the time of this writing. Good fishing levels. Smallmouth bass fishing is prime right now on the Coast Fork.
McKenzie River – Trout: The mainstem McKenzie flow at Vida is 2,670 CFS. Temperature range has been steady over the past week, in the range from 52 to 59 F and safe for trout fishing. The upper portions of the McKenzie above Blue River are cool. Watch for nearby fire activity.
Members – find the latest complete report and forecast as well as past reports for Members on the Willamette Valley/Metro start on this page here.
Central Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Glenn Zinkus reports
Lower Deschutes Trout and Lower Deschutes Steelhead Looking Good. Fires Affecting Access To North Century Drive Waters And Upper McKenzie. Metolius Hatches.
Weather Outlook Across Central and Eastern Oregon:
Friday and Saturday temperatures will top out in the mid-70s in most locations and drop into the mid-60s on Sunday with mid- to high 60s going into next week. Breezy for Thursday into Friday, and also Saturday-Sunday. Nights will be cool.
The Deschutes Canyon will have temperatures in the upper 70s on Friday and Saturday, 70 on Sunday, and low to mid 70s early next week.
Depending upon location, it will be smokey at times. That said, the Sisters area cleared out very nicely on Thursday.
Central Oregon is currently affected by some local fires, most notably the Bachelor Complex Fires are affecting the north portion of Century Drive.
See the latest closure notice here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/deschutes/alerts-notices/?aid=90433
Lower Deschutes River: Steelhead reports through this week have been great, for anglers who know the runs and buckets very well. Mainly from Maupin on down, but there are reports of steelhead being caught upriver as far as above Trout Creek.
Trout fishing is solid. Warm Springs to Trout Creek is excellent, and has been the “it” location all summer. Lots of fish being caught between Warm Springs and Trout Creek, and on the multi-day float from Trout Creek to Maupin.
Middle Deschutes River: Fishing great – it’s a prime location now.
PMDs are still going. Caddis, and some BWOs are coming off the river. Jeff Perin reports that BWO emergers, cripples, and duns will cover you for all cycles of the BWOs.
Upper Deschutes River: Affected by the Bachelor Complex Fires.
Lake Billy Chinook: Recent good kokanee reports – fish in the 9 to 12 inch range – many towards the upper end of the range.
Crooked River: Fishing is great.
Metolius River: Glory Days on the Metolius – and a good bet right now as there is unimpeded access.
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:
The ocean should open back up for boaters trying to get the rest of the halibut quota as well as great Fall bottom fish and ling cod action. Crabbing is picking back up after the rain and will continue to improve with meatier crabs. Coho are nosing their way into the estuaries while Chinook catches are picking up on the middle Rogue River. The Rogue Bay and Winchester Bay is seeing fresh Chinook along with increased numbers of coho. The main Ump is seeing some prime Chinook action from the bay all the way into Reedsport. The lakes that have the better water levels are seeing some good trout catches as the boater traffic and cooler weather prevails. Remember to set your DVR for the Civil War game Saturday…Gooo Beaves!
Ocean outlook is looking good again after a brief few days of wind and rain. There’s still good amount of halibut quota left and the bottom fish along with ling cod are biting well. It will be the last weekend to catch coho in the ocean up north between Humbug Mountain and Cape Falcon (Chinook ok still.) Crabbing is better further North towards Charleston and Winchester Bay. Jetty fishing can be good as well if you don’t have a boat.
Winchester Bay on up towards Reedsport, Chinook catches have improved along with coho in the ocean. Crabbing has been good. Salmon anglers are also getting better catches on the Coos from the jaw jetties up to Chandler Bridge.
The Rogue Bay anglers saw a slight spike in catches of both Chinook and coho that have moved into the bay after some rain. Weekend outlooks call for more rain that could move more fish into the bay. The half pounders are in up from Indian creek on up.
Fall Chinook are still rolling all over the mid-section of the Rogue River from Galice up through Gold Hill. Anglers working wrapped plugs in the deep holes and seams have been getting a few nice fish. Decreased outbound flow from the dam has the river around 1300 cfs now and will concentrate fish in these holes. Summer steelhead are present too and have been taken on plugs fish to target salmon, but it’s best to target them with silver spoons and side drifting worms with corky.
Lost Creek, and Fish lakes are low, but the cooler weather will make them good Fall Lake fishing. Diamond Lake is still producing good catches of fat trout.
The main Umpqua is finally getting some decent catches of Chinook and a presence of coho in the tide water. Upwards from Scottsburg, the bass bite is excellent. The North Ump is seeing a little bump in summer steelhead catches and the South Ump will close to all fishing September 16th where bass fishing will be excellent till then.
Be safe, be nice and enjoy! Gooo Beaves! 🏈🙌😎
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.