Photo above: Pro guide Rob Gerlitz (503-812-4950) with his crew of happy salmon anglers from September 26th fishing out of Garibaldi. The crew trolled at the 300-foot line scoring excellent results for the non-mark select fishery closing after September 30th.
Portland/Metro Fishing Report – Coho are starting to stream past Willamette Falls and the fishery upstream is sounding off. Trollers are taking the lion’s share of the catch, with the best action in the early morning hours. The troll fishery downstream of the mouth of the Clackamas is still going, but interest has tapered with improved passage at the falls.
Catch and release sturgeon fishing in the Willamette likely remains a strong option, but few are participating when salmon remain on the “chopping block.”
Columbia River anglers will once again gain access to the mainstem’s Chinook return from Buoy 10 to the upper reaches of the river starting Saturday (10/1). Although most of the Chinook are now upstream of Bonneville, there are still more to come and action should prove fair at times, for trollers working from Bonneville Dam downstream. Large-mesh gillnets will still be allowed in the Columbia in early October so check the full report for commercial fishing dates, these will be days to avoid.
Clackamas River Fishing Report – Coho are present, but not accounted for. Low, warm water continues to hamper angler success, a weather change is desperately needed.
There’s plenty of fish rolling at the mouth and in the lower reaches of the Clackamas, they are just not biting well. Early morning fishers will likely score the best results, but plan on more luck than skill under these conditions.
Sandy River fishing report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger reports – There are a lot of coho stacked up in the river and they are waiting for rain to move upriver. The major problem is that these fish become lock jawed and tend not to bite until they can move. You will find fish holding in all the deep pools and you see them rolling in areas that tend to hold fish.
When the rains do start you can expect the river get crowded with anglers at most of the usual spots. There has been a lot of fall chinook caught that are very bright and should be released for they are all natives. Please keep these fish in the river and not dragging them up on the bank. If you do decide to fish, make sure that you have various offerings to increase your chances.
Find the full report and forecast for Members on the Sandy and the Clackamas from this page here.
North Coast Fishing Report – It’s peak season for north coast anglers and there are plenty of fish around. From wild coho and fall Chinook, estuary anglers are finding fair to good results coming from many of the north coast favorites.
As you read from the caption above, the central and north coast fan favorite, the any 2 salmon season south of Cape Falcon, closes after tomorrow (Friday). It’s been a productive run for those that were able to participate. Anglers will now have to ply these coastal estuaries for wild coho and Chinook in the coming weeks.
Tillamook Bay is producing some wild coho (retention on Wednesday and Saturdays), along with some wild Chinook, requiring release. The Ghost Hole seems to be the most productive option, eelgrass is reported as problematic in the west channel.
The Nehalem is also a stronghold for wild coho, with the best catches coming from the town of Nehalem upstream. There wasn’t enough rain to raise water levels on the NF Nehalem. Zero returning adults have been reported at the hatchery as of yet, the river remains at summer lows.
The Nestucca has fair numbers of Chinook present and we are in peak season here. Weekend tides look good for bobber fishing, but trollers will likely continue to score fair results using flashers and spinners or spinfish.
The Siletz is still booting out good numbers of Chinook and coho are showing in better numbers too. It will likely only get better as we enter October.
The Alsea is producing fair for Chinook and closes after 9/30 for wild coho.
Yaquina Bay has both Chinook and coho available and anglers are finding fish with some regularity.
Bottomfishing remains excellent with most effort remaining in the nearshore. Be cognizant of new bag limits and restrictions. Find them HERE.
Several north coast lakes have been stocked with trophy trout for anglers to enjoy. Check out the ODF&W web site for details on stocking.
See the full North Coast Report and Forecast for Members right here.
Willamette River System Report – Contributor Glenn Zinkus reports:
Alton Baker Canal: Alton Baker Canal was stocked with 900 legal size trout. As always, a great put and take option for anglers and families in the Eugene area. Alton Baker will be stocked weekly into the fall.
Detroit Reservoir: Kokanee reports this week indicate a slowdown in the fishing. Fish are down deeper, but anglers are not reporting much catch.
At this point, there are more reports of the kokanee turning – losing scales and color in the meat.
Water is dropping, but Mongold boat ramp is currently usable. See level report below.
Green Peter Reservoir: Little bit of a pickup in kokanee reports over the past day with good numbers caught by some anglers. Fish have been in the 50 to 90 foot range, with most in and around 60 feet deep.
As a caution, there are some reports of thefts from boat ramps including catalytic converters.
Junction City Pond: JC Pond was stocked the end of May with 1,000 legal size rainbows. Good local option for southern Willamette Valley anglers. Note that Junction City Pond stocking is complete for the season and resumes again in the fall.
Timber Linn Park Pond: Was stocked with 1000 legal size rainbows at the end of May. Note that Timber Linn stocking is complete for the season and resumes again in the fall.
EE Wilson Pond: EE Wilson Pond was stocked with 850 legal size rainbows at the end of May. Note that EE Wilson stocking is complete for the season and resumes again in the fall.
South Santiam Steelhead: No New Fish Counts. Continued steelhead count watch: there were 1528 summer steelhead collected at Foster Dam as of August 29 – this is the latest report as of the 24th..
South Santiam Trout: Flows are dropping and getting a bit low for trout in the upper South Santiam River above Foster Reservoir.
Friends did quite well last week for rainbows and cuttroats on the stretch below Foster dam; but no new reports from anglers this week.
North Santiam Trout and Steelhead: The North Santiam received 2,200 legal size trout late July.
Can you believe there is MORE? Find the full report and forecast for Members on the Willamette Valley/Metro from this page here.
Central Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Glenn Zinkus reports:
Weather Outlook Across Central and Eastern Oregon:
After a cooler and cloudy day today, sunny skies return and stay into next week.
There is a warmup coming again with widespread temperatures in the 70s, and 80s starting Sunday in many places in the region. Temperatures will remain in the 80s through next week.
High country will be very nice with temperatures topping out in the 60s and 70s at higher elevations.
The Cascade Lakes Highway Area Remains Closed Due To The Cedar Creek Fire
The Cascade Lakes Highway is closed from just south of Lava Lake to the Klamath County line.
Lava Lake and Little Lava Lake access just opened over this past week.
ODFW News – Angling Restrictions
Crooked River and Ochoco Creek
Closed to Angling
- On the Crooked River from the Hwy 97 Bridge (near Terrebonne) upstream to Bowman Dam
- On Ochoco Creek from the mouth at the confluence with the Crooked River upstream to Ochoco Dam
John Day River:
Angling for, and retention of steelhead will be closed in the mainstem John Day above Tumwater Falls (and tributaries above this boundary) from Sept. 15-Dec. 31, 2022 due to low projected returns.
Haystack Reservoir: A temporary rule to lift limits in Haystack Reservoir will be in effect Sept. 16 through Nov. 30 as the pool will be drawn down to facilitate emergency gate maintenance.
And so much more for Members. Check out Glenn’s detailed reports and forecasts right here for both Chinook and Steelhead Members!
SW Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Jeff Rome reports:
It was another good week for Chetco estuary Chinook fishing as the “season” is starting with decent numbers of good quality fish in the 20-30 pound range and a good percentage of wild and hatchery fish.
The Rogue Bay is starting to see more coho as the Chinook run is tapering down. There’s good numbers of fish in the estuary and bank anglers are targeting the coho with Silver C spinners up river. Half pounder and summer steelhead catches around Agness has picked up.
The mid-Rogue River is flowing at a steady 1100 cfs now which has anglers targeting Chinook back trolling the canyons and the mouth of the Applegate and at Finley Bend by bank anglers. Summer steelhead are throughout the river. Fly anglers are catching them on egg patterns.
Coos basin estuary Chinook catches on the Coos river remain fair from the Empire boat ramp on up to Chandler bridge. Wild coho season is open now a few have been caught from Charleston on up river.
Winchester bay is producing nice crab and anglers are getting fair catches of salmon in the main Umpqua estuary.
The north Umpqua is producing fair catches of summer steelhead
The Coquille River is producing nice catches of stripped bass from Rocky Point on up through Riverton.
Be safe, be nice and enjoy!
Tight Lines 🎣 – Romer
SW Oregon Guides Forecast
Marine Forecast:
The weekend looks a bit windy and rough until maybe Sunday where boats out of Brookings-Harbor could get out to finish up the halibut quota. Probably a no go further north until early next week.
Good ocean conditions earlier this week brought plenty of action for bottom fish anglers and some nice Ling cod .
Winchester bay is producing good numbers of crab
Bottom fish is open to All-depths starting on Sept. 1. The daily general marine fish bag limit was reduced to 4 fish starting on Sept. 6 with no retention of China, copper, or quillback rockfish along with no retention of cabezon.
Andy Martin- Brookings Fishing Charters 541-813-1082
Andy reports there was good numbers of both wild and hatchery Chinook catches in the Chetco estuary this week. Even some bank anglers bobber fishing with sand shrimp caught a few up at Tide Rock and Social Security beach.
The ocean has been rough the past few days and Andy hopes Sunday into next week will bring calm seas to get out for more bottom fish and halibut. Last weekend was great for limits of rock fish
Jeff’s expanded report, multiple lake updates, and forecast in this week’s version for Members!
SW Washington by Ian Carter
BEST BET – Gotta give the Lower Columbia a go.
Lewis ReportThis evening I drove up to the hatchery and couldn’t help but notice the falling leaves and a Lewis River full of Coho. Strangely the fishing pressure was unusably light. There were many small Coho jumping everywhere. I didn’t observe any catches for the dozen bank fisherman and five boats while I was there. The launch at Cedar Creek had only five trailers. The initial run of Lewis coho tend to be smaller with the bigger fish typically arriving in November.
The water flow hasn’t changed. It’s so low that there are new cotton woods emerging on the island at the hole in the wall.
The WDFW angler checks showed 53 bank rods kept one Chinook jack, 11 coho and one coho jack. Two boats fishing five rods kept seven coho jacks and released two Chinook. The stream flow data can be found here: USGS-North Fork Lewis.
I fished the mouth on Tuesday. It was pretty slow trolling, as we only hooked and lost one nice Chinook in three hours. We gave up on that and tried twitching and tossing plugs. I located a bunch of fish in the deep hole on the downriver side of the RR bridge on the Clark County side. We caught three bright Coho within an hour, but we unfortunately had to leave. No doubt we would have caught more.
Kalama Report
There are a lot of fish in the Kalama, but I can’t find any reports of too many being caught. WDFW checks this week showed similar results: Kalama River – 14 bank rods NO catch
WDFW anglers’ checks reported the following: Cowlitz River I-5 Br downstream – 82 bank rods kept one Chinook, two coho jacks and released two Chinook and one coho. 24 boats/57 rods kept four coho and released two Chinook and 10 coho. Cowlitz River Above the I-5 Br – 36 bank rods kept one steelhead and released three Chinook.
Water flow on the Cowlitz at Castle Rock got a bump a few days ago. It’s now up to 3,700. Real time water flow data can be found here USGS-Cowlitz
Trolling at the mouth has been good, not great. Dave Mallahan with Dave’s Guide Service fished the Cowlitz this week. He indicated that things are kind of slow, with some hatchery coho starting show.
THIS JUST IN: The Cowlitz and Washougal Rivers will close October 1st for the retention of hatchery Chinook:
See the Cowlitz press release HERE.
See the Washougal press release HERE.
Washougal Report
It’s still early and the river is super low, but some fish are making the trip to the hatchery.
Toutle Report
Nathan at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Kelso as heard great reports of Chinook in the Toutle. They are holding in the lower end in deeper water waiting for rain. Coho are really beginning to show but large numbers haven’t made it to the Green River yet.
Naselle Report
Early coho are starting to show. As a reminder the river is closed above the highway until October 17th.
Columbia Gorge and Tributaries
Carl from Klickitat Canyon Market isn’t over optimistic for fishing in the next week or so. The river is currently a nice chocolate brown with glacial tints and this little bit of rain won’t help to clear it. There was good fishing four or five days ago with lots of both Chinook and Steelhead in the mix. Consistent cooler mountain temperatures are needed to clear up the glacial melt.
The coho have yet to show in any numbers at the mouth of the Klickitat. Carl says they should be arriving soon.
Jim Milanowski with Looney Coonies fished the mouth of the Klickitat this week. They caught four Chinook between two of them. Jim went on to say that he would view the fishing as “fair”.
Reservoir Reports
Riffe Lake – The landlocked variety in this lake being Silvers, tend to stay in better shape longer. Fishing is pretty good right now and the fish have some size.
Mayfield Lake – During the fall the 1000’s of stocker trout placed over the summer grow extremely quickly. They have voracious appetites and can make for a fun day of trout fishing. It should remain good as the nights get slightly cooler and longer.
Columbia Summary
Lower Columbia River east end of Reed Island upstream to Bonneville Dam counts– 278 salmonid boats and 42 Washington bank rods were tallied during Saturday’s flight.
For the area open below Bonneville Sec 1 (Bonneville) – 91 bank anglers kept eight Chinook, seven Chinook jacks, one coho and released one Chinook. 273 boats/707 rods kept 240 Chinook, 96 Chinook jacks, eight coho, one coho jack and released six Chinook, 10 Chinook jacks, two coho jacks and one steelhead.
Smaller Lakes Report
Horseshoe Lake – I talked to a couple guys that had a good day Bass fishing. They focused their efforts on the south shore of the northern side of the lake by the docks.
Silver Lake – Crappie fishing is going strong. The fish are very aggressive and hungry in anticipation of winter.
High Lakes – Folks are pretty tight lipped about exact locations but there are many to choose from. Reports indicate that they are mostly fishing well and will continue to do so. That is, until the coming temperature changes and the fall turnover is complete.
Coastal Report
Salmon Fishing ended the season on a great note for Coho. There have been many large hatchery Coho caught in the last week or two in Westport. This is good news for the bays and rivers. The harbor is fishing great for Coho up to the Johns River. All marine salmon closes September 30th, other than the area from Buoy 10 that is re-opening on October 1, 2022. Here is the notice:
Effective 12:01 AM Saturday October 1, retention of Chinook and hatchery coho (adults and jacks) is allowed in the mainstem Columbia River from the Buoy 10 line upstream to the Tongue Point/Rocky Point line. The daily adult bag limit is three salmon, of which only one may be a Chinook. All other previously adopted regulations remain in effect.
Salmon fishing might be a good option in the Buoy 10 area, albeit it has been comparatively slow for offshore Coho out of the Columbia compared to Westport.
Tuna fishing is still going strong for some folks. The fish have moved further offshore. I’ve heard of catches this week beginning at 42NM. Reports indicate that fish are in small schools and boats are getting lots of fish once the jumpers are located.
Razor Clams Some toxin reports have come back negative. By the time you read this you will possibly still have time to catch the Friday tide. Hopefully by the next planned season, October 8th through October 14th the toxins will be safe. Here are the tide details in case you go on Friday:
Sept. 30, Friday, 10:43 p.m.; -0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
The most current info can be located here.
There is A LOT more for SW Washington Members here. Become a SW Washington Member here.