Portland/Metro Fishing Report – High water and inclement weather has kept folks from recreating on most waterways in the metro area. The Willamette and Columbia systems are largely devoid of sport fish anyway and steelhead returns are just entering an interesting phase right about now. Anglers will get interested in spring Chinook later next month.
Clackamas River Fishing Report – Anglers have not been exercising their Clackamas River fishing fantasies, we need a good return this year to reinvigorate those. Between the cold and wet weather, effort has been low. There has been some wild winter steelhead ascend the North Fork facility however, but numbers remain sparse. Wild coho on the other hand… impressive. Good numbers of late-run wild coho continue to migrate upstream, hopefully a sign for good things ahead.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger reported, “Hello All. I hope you had a great Christmas and that you were able to spend time with family and friends. Last week the weather threw us a curve ball and we saw ice and snow that closed I-84 and it made it hard to get to the river and you had to go the back routes to get there. Before we had this weather event, there were fish caught using beads in size 12-14mm in pink and natural color and blue fox spinners in size 4-5.
Find the full report and forecast for Members on the Sandy and the Clackamas from this page here.
North Coast Fishing Report – Cold weather and flooding events has kept anglers off our north coast streams. Waters are receding however, just in time for peak season for the early returning steelhead on smaller north coast streams.
The North Fork Nehalem, Necanicum, Big and Gnat Creek and the Klaskanine River will all start fishing by Friday (12/30). These small systems fish best in high water, and these systems will drop quickly over the weekend.
Larger systems such as the Wilson, Trask and Nestucca Rivers should have some steelhead available, likely with an equal mix of wild and hatchery fish. Those larger systems will come in early next week, but we’re still several weeks away from peak season, when more broodstock fish begin to show up.
Crabbing the lower Columbia should kick into high gear again when the weather calms down. Despite a large influx of fresh water, the lower Columbia and likely some north coast estuaries, will remain productive.
The ocean won’t be an option for a while.
Don’t overlook fall trout opportunities on the coast, the north coast stocking schedule can be found HERE.
See the full North Coast Report and Forecast for Members right here.
Willamette River System Report
We won’t even bother with a forecast section this week. The Willamette is high, muddy and a bit dangerous to navigate this weekend. The region’s snow accumulation, along with the pineapple express will have this river out for several days. Don’t waste your time here this weekend and next week, more so due to the amount of wood debris coming downstream which may create dangerous navigational issues for all boaters.
Central Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Glenn Zinkus reports:
Glenn is writing bi-weekly this time of year. Members, go HERE to see his report from last week.
SW Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Jeff Rome reports:
Well, it’s end of the year and those looking to get the most out of their fishing licenses and tags have very few options as the current “atmospheric river” is blowing out most rivers and providing blustery weather conditions keeping most…..even the die hard winter steelheader at home watching football and tying up rigs for future use.
Best possible bets for angling opportunities would be the upper Rogue from Dodge Bridge on up. The flow is more consistent from the dam and has been holding summer steelhead and some coho. The mid Rogue will also be an option as it’s lowered into fishable flow but is expected to blow out later into the weekend. Summer steelhead and end of the season coho are still available with newly arrived winter steelhead just coming in daily.
The Sixes and Elk rivers are blown out right now, but depending how much rain comes this weekend, either might be fishable for late Chinook. Be on the ready!
The Chetco, lower and mid Rogue, and Umpqua systems won’t be fishing good until after the rain subsides a few days…. it doesn’t look good till well after New Year’s day 😕
The ocean will be off limits with gale warnings through New Year’s eve. Also, crabbing a no go with all the fresh debris laden water entering the bays.
On behalf of myself and TGF, I’d like to express my sincere thanks to all my readers/ followers. Cheers to many tight lines and a Happy New Year🥂🎣🍻😎🎣
Be safe, be nice and enjoy!
Jeff’s expanded report, multiple lake updates, and forecast in this week’s version for Members!
Check out our SW Washington fishing report for this week, as well.