Portland/Metro Fishing Report – With Willamette coho all but “passed” over Willamette Falls, metro anglers will be on a fishing hiatus until winter steelhead start to show around mid-December. There remains some catch and release fisheries for coho still, but most anglers are headed to their happy hunting grounds or Barco loungers for the remaining months of fall.
The mainstem Columbia is done for salmon, with the exception of the productive mouth of the Klickitat fishery, which should continue to produce good catches for a few more weeks.
Clackamas River Fishing Report – For all intents and purposes, the hatchery return of coho on the Clackamas River is effectively over. Eagle Creek National Fish Hatchery has reported over 4,200 adults that have returned to the facility, although significantly less than last year, still a fairly robust return. It didn’t take much water to inspire those fish, but much more water is on the way.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger reports – Well this week we saw the river dirty up and turn ideal over the last couple of days. The forecast is for the river to take a huge spike over the weekend with the river almost going to 15ft by Saturday.
There has been some nice fish being caught over the last couple of days and with mixture of nickel bright and some that are dark ones. There is still some summer steelhead being caught as well as some very dark fall Chinook in the mix.
Find the full report and forecast for Members on the Sandy and the Clackamas from this page here.
North Coast Fishing Report – It used to be that November brought about another round of late-season Chinook, mostly back to the Tillamook Basin, the Wilson and Kilchis Rivers in particular. That component of Tillamook’s crippled return has all but disappeared in the last 6 or 7 years, there’s little to fish for this time of year.
North Coast anglers have little left to pursue, until the return of winter steelhead, which is still many weeks away. Some of the first steelhead start to show in early December, but that seems an eternity away for an avid sport angler.
The Nestucca, Siletz and to a lesser degree the Alsea, remain options for late-season Chinook, but anglers shouldn’t get their hopes up as a low-pressure system comes barreling towards the coast, dropping the barometer for the “Atmospheric River” about to make land-fall.
Between the drop in barometric pressure and the ensuing river rise, anglers will be on hold well into next week for a return to fishable conditions.
Crabbing may hold up, especially on the lower Columbia, if you dare (and stupidly) brave the weather conditions about to hit you in the face. Bottom line: It’s a good weekend to start an indoor project.
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.
SW Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Jeff Rome reports:
Well, we seem to be in that “in between” time of year where summer steelhead action is towards the end waiting for winter fish to start coming. Chinook and coho are in the rivers, but more rain is needed to really get it going for its few week season. Trout and bass angling is off the table due to cold and low water conditions till next spring most likely, and the ocean is very iffy this time of year with spotty opportunities to get out for bottom fish or crabbing. So, we can spend some time cleaning out our tackle boxes, tying up rigs for winter steelhead, and watching some football and world series games…..time well spent until more favorable conditions😉
The Chetco saw some rain and again not enough, therefore the ODFW extended gear restrictions until 12:59pm November 15th. Same with the Winchuck River (see more info below). There was a decent bite mid week by those anglers bobber fishing with the standard shrimp/roe cocktail but tapered off as the flow decreased. More significant rain is expected this weekend and should provide another bite. Both bank and boat anglers working the bobber fishery are seeing a good number of jacks….which is a good sign and those working bobber / eggs in tidewater areas are also seeing a goon number of fish.
The Elk and Sixes got enough rain to spark anglers (mostly locals) attention and did manage to catch a few…. mostly in the Sixes, during a short window of opportunity till the next freshet this weekend which should get them in good shape.
The Rogue river also got its shot of rain to move lower river fish up river where anglers last weekend saw a slight influx of half pounders, a few coho and some summer steelhead. The best success was on the mid Rogue from Chinook park down to Griffin Park by boat anglers covering lots of water. More rain is expected this weekend and should get more fish moving around and could be good for those hardy “Winter Steelhead” anglers who don’t mind and are prepared for cold and wet conditions.
The lower Rogue River action has reduced to few anglers targeting coho from Indian Creek on up to Agnes with fair success. Most attention turned those angler’s attention to the Elk and Sixes which should start coming into full swing after this next big rain.
The main Umpqua is still seeing a few Chinook being caught by die hard anglers, but the fish quality is starting to deteriorate with darker fish as they have been held back by the low water conditions. The last rain did see a few brighter fish in the mix and should still provide opportunity for those willing to endure some wet conditions.
The ocean looks to be off for several days due to cold windy and wet conditions. The crabbing was good last weekend in many bays until rain flushed them back out in the ocean. It doesn’t look favorable until several days after rain stops…..whenever that is🤔
Be safe, be nice and enjoy!
Jeff’s expanded report, multiple lake updates, and forecast in this week’s version for Members!