Portland/Metro Fishing Report
Chinook passage at Bonneville Dam is starting to explode. Despite a forecast similar to last year, the numbers of returning adults and jacks is outpacing that of last year. It’s early yet, but given anecdotal observations by guides and anglers in the downstream fishery, it seems clear to us that this run too, has been under-predicted. More will be revealed in the coming days however.
The fishery from the mouth of the Lewis to Bonneville Dam is often viewed as a dead zone but there can be explosive catches at times in this reach, especially with the revolution of the 360° flasher and spinner combination. There’s been a few good reports from this reach of river, but for the most part, it’s a challenging fishery so far this year.
The states of Oregon and Washington have announced a 3-day opener for sturgeon, starting about mid-September. Take a look at THIS press release for more information.
Clackamas River Fishing Report
Anglers are awaiting the return of hatchery coho salmon, due soon to the metro two (Sandy and Clackamas) in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, summer steelhead remain an option in the upper reaches but anglers are a bit burned out on this fishery as the dog days of summer have its impact on the success of this fishery.
Sandy River Fishing Report
Avid angler Jeff Stoeger reports – “Hello All. I hope that you all had a chance to fish this last week. The river cleared up and was running green with a light silty color. I can confirm that the first coho was caught the other day and it was on a spinner. The first good rain will bring more coho into the river as the springers and summers have all but come to a crawl. There are still fish to be caught in the mid to upper river with most of the fish being on the darker side. The weather forecast is for the weather to start cooling down and we hope that we have seen the end of those 90-degree days and back to mid 70’s and low 80’s for the next couple of weeks. The crowds have started to slow down on the river for school will start next week and the river will have more access and less pressure. The river is running in the mid 60’s and is running at an 8 ft level.”
Find the full report and forecast for Members on the Sandy and the Clackamas from this page here.
North Coast Fishing Report
The Buoy 10 fishery opened up for any Chinook today (8/25) and although the fishing wasn’t as good as it was the day before, several anglers took their limits of fish (Chinook) if they put forth the effort. Hopefully you’ve been following our YouTube reports, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for almost daily updates. Paid subscribers only have access to today’s report and tomorrow’s FORECAST. Coho have yet to show in any measurable number, but it won’t be long now.
The ocean weather has been rough, too rough to pursue the long offshore coho salmon that are out there in abundance. They’ll certainly be here by Labor Day, likely sooner.
Ocean salmon south of Cape Falcon is closed for coho, but remains open for Chinook. The any 2 salmon season starts in early September and action for large coho ought to be good for those willing to travel a bit further offshore if needed. Pro guide Rob Gerlitz (503-812-4950) reported easy limits (when the season was open) at about 350 feet of water due west of Twin Rocks. Rob has switched over to bottomfish, where limits of rockfish are easy, and he found a special spot for large lingcod too, just outside of Garibaldi.
See the full report and forecast for Members right here.
Halibut restrictions have liberalized, but anglers are still having trouble finding the mother lode. It’s open 7 days/week starting September 1st.
Ocean crabbing is good, but nearly half of the keepers are still in a soft-shell state. Bay crabbing is challenging given all the effort put out by summertime folks.
Estuary Chinook seasons are about to get interesting as early arrivals should start in this weekend. Regulations are complex this year to be sure to check the ODF&W web site for your region. Click on REGULATION UPDATES when you go to this page.
Estuary coho seasons have been set. It should be a good year for these fish. Go HERE to get all the latest information.
Willamette River Fishing System Report
Contributor Glenn Zinkus reports:
Green Peter Kokes. Detroit Lake Kokes. Middle Fork Willamette Trout and Steelhead. Explore The Upper Forks Of The Middle Willamette
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 through the summer.
Detroit Reservoir: There are continued good kokanee reports. Kokes about 70 feet down. Reports of some good catches, with angler reports of hot kokanee bites early in the morning before the winds come up.
Green Peter Reservoir: Coninued reports of kokanee catches at Quartzville – one angler reporting a great day of non-stop action. Kokes between 45 to 55 feet. . More reports of fishing well for kokes up to about 12 inches. Best fishing now in the Quartzville Arm over the past week. Earlier in the day seems to be best for some other anglers.
South Santiam Steelhead and Chinook: Continued steelhead count watch: there were 1515 summer steelhead collected at Foster Dam as of August 17 – this is the latest report as of the 24th.. This continues to be multiple times higher than previous years. But note that this is only about 12 fish in a week – the South Santiam steelhead run seems to be slowing down.
Willamette River – Steelhead
With increased numbers of steelhead, anglers are back on the water looking for steelhead. Note that not a lot of anglers are doing this yet. Steelhead runs in the Springfield area starting to produce. Latest guide reports are that there is typically 1 to 2 per day caught per boat.
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:
Lower Deschutes River: The Lower Deschutes is steady near the dam, with flows of 3620 CFS in Madras and 4060 CFS at Moody. Water access is good.
Temperatures on the lower portions of the river are in the 54 to 57 range at Madras, with PGE with continued lower temps from the bottom draw from the dam (including a 3 degree drop over the past two days), and 65 to 70 degree range near Moody. Temperatures in the lower portions of the river will get too hot for afternoon fishing outings.
Middle Deschutes River: There is a mix of PEDs, PMDs, and some caddis on the river from Bend to Steelhead Falls. Coolest cooler water temps in the Steelhead Falls area from the Whychus Creek inflow and some springs. Evenings have been producing.
Upper Deschutes River: The upper Deschutes from Little Lava to Crane Prairie has been fishing well with good water levels. This is a good cool water refuge location with the incoming hot weather again.
Lake Billy Chinook: Smallmouth are going strong – but no new reports since the heatwave began.
Crooked River: The Crooked River continues fishing well with flows still at around 175 GPS. Fish up the first few miles below the dam for the best opportunities and cooler water in this heat wave.
Prineville Reservoir: Prineville Reservoir is at 19 % full. Bass and crappie reports have all been good.
Crane Prairie Reservoir: Crane Prairie reports have been mixed. Jeff Perin reports that most of the success is coming from Quinn and Cultus channels. The shallow waters of Crane are still susceptible to summer heatups when we have temps that climb into the 90s or 100s for prolonged times
And yet there is a lot more for Members. Check out Glenn’s detailed reports and forecasts right here for Chinook and Steelhead Members both!
SW Oregon Fishing Report
Contributor Jeff Rome reports:
Monday was “tuna time” out of Brookings with a couple of boats getting into a bunch of fish…..smiling faces and screaming reels! The wind returned mid week to keep the tuna safe until next week when calmer winds hopefully return.
Rogue Bay fall Chinook continues to be steady with lots of fish still in the bay despite increased water flow. A good number of jacks are also getting hooked. Seems that most fish are being caught from the 101 bridge to the bar and around the dredge. The wind picked up mid week making “Googan” watching quite entertaining amonst the crowded bay I hear.
Summer steelhead are in better numbers all through the Rogue as the count so far at the hatchery is the highest for a decade. Increased flows the past week help get more fish up to the mid and upper reaches and reports of some nice fish in the 3-5 pound range. A few Chinook are in the mid section now but hot and smokey weather has kept success low for now.
DIAMOND LAKE-trout fishing has been productive for early morning trout anglers. Those targeting browns are getting some nice ones and those targeting rainbows are getting them in the deeper colder water….all mostly in the mornings. Smoke from close by wild fires has not been too bad lately but can change any minute and should call to check for notifications. If you’re not getting bites, then change up your bait or lures. Slow trolling a silver spoon is a good bet. Good quality of fish ranging from 14-20 inches have been the norm where anglers have been targeting the shrimp beds and South end of the lake.
LEMOLO RESERVOIR: Rainbow, brown and koke fishing has been fair to good especially during the week when there’s less boat traffic. Besides stocked trout, there are also Kokanee and are considered trout that fall under the daily limit for trout of 5 per day, with only one of those measuring over 20 inches. Anglers can also retain tiger trout if they happen to catch one that migrated down from Diamond Lake.
Jim at Rogue Outdoor Store – Gold Beach, Oregon 541-247-7142 reports that the Rogue Bay still has lots of fish holding from the 101 bridge to the ocean. Fish finders with fish crowded screens have been reported by many guides and anglers working that section of the bay. For some reason, the bite this week has been in the afternoon with consistent catches of at least 1 fish per boat.
A good number of jack are also being caught as is an incedental.
Jeff’s detailed report, multiple lake updates, and forecast in this week’s version for Members!
SW Washington
by Ian Carter
Buoy 10 is hot hot hot. We have a Sturgeon opener on the horizon and Merwin is producing some very nice sized Kokanee.
REMINDER, please verify the regulations before fishing any body of water.
Warm Water Area Lakes
Lacamas Lake – I heard of a few catfish caught this week during the night.
Kress Lake – Korey at Bob’s Outdoor in Kelso shared that fishing is excellent for Sunfish and Bass. He’s been employing a Ned rig. The Ned rig is a finesse fishing technique that involves using small plastic worms, craws, or creatures paired with a light mushroom style head so it can easily float off the bottom.
Lewis Report
On Sunday morning I took a drive-up Hayes Road to the Cedar Creek boat launch. Lucky for me it’s only 10 minutes from my home. There was some activity, but it wasn’t hopping. In the 20 minutes I was present there were no fish hooked. I observed approximately 20 bank anglers, and a half dozen boats. My Steelhead gear got dusted off this morning and I plan on hitting that area on Thursday and Friday evening. I’ll report on the trip next week.
Kalama Report
Korey at Bob’s hasn’t heard of much success on Steelhead, although there are a bunch of fish in the river. Chinook have yet to show and the coho are weeks away. WDFW didn’t report anything from their checks.
Cowlitz Report
Steelhead fishing is still ok, not great.
Flows are finally stabilizing. At Castle Rock the river is running high at 4,000cfs, still 25% higher than “normal”. Water visibility is 14 feet and water temperature is 54.4 degrees F, about the same as last week.
Toutle Report
Nathan at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Kelso wasn’t available this week for comment on the Toutle. I plan on reporting about this under reported river as the fall progresses.
Canyon Creek
I took the fly rod to Canyon Creek for a few hours on Monday morning. It was a loads of fun. Managed to catch and release a half dozen trout on a little prince nymph.
Reservoir Report
Merwin is fishing very well. Some friends camped at Beaver Bay on Yale this week. They fish from a canoe and report pretty good fishing early in the morning.
Columbia Summary
Jim from Looney Coonies says the dam counts are climbing with the last tide exchange. Wobble bite has improved, and the fish are running deep with the 72-degree water. Trollers are picking up a few. Next week should be excellent.
Don’t forget that Kelso Sportsman’s is having a Coho Contest from August 1st through November 15th. The heaviest gutted and gilled Coho will win a “Guided trip with Blair Johnson of BGS North West.” They will be doing a raffle for 2nd prize you will get an entry for every Five pounds of Coho that you bring in.
I fished on Saturday with my father and Stanley. We trolled the same productive spot as last week by Warrior rock. The only difference besides no fish this trip was the tide. Our great days were during the early morning high slack as opposed to the early morning low slack this past Saturday.
There is A LOT more for SW Washington Members here. Become a SW Washington Member here.