Portland/Metro Fishing Report
It finally happened, and the Sultan of Sellwood made it happen!
Spring has finally spring (despite the snow), as Punxsutawney springer saw his (or her) shadow on Wednesday, February 18th at the foot of the Sellwood Bridge. Avid angler John Shmilenko aided pro guide David Pyle into this 14-pounder while trolling a cut-plug green label herring on the morning tide. Springer season is officially underway!
Although a significant river rise is forecasted for next week, anglers should have the weekend to make the most out of the ideal conditions the Willamette is currently experiencing. There is, however, a chance that water temperatures could drop, which would make fish more lethargic when opportunity rings. At least the water is running clear and we know there’s more than one spring Chinook in the river, right?
Fishery managers met today (2/19) to decide how long the mainstem Columbia will remain open for the sportfleet. They adopted the staff recommendation:
Season: Sunday March 1 through Wednesday April 8, 39 retention days
Area: Buoy 10 line upstream to Beacon Rock plus only the Oregon and Washington banks from Beacon Rock upstream to the Bonneville Dam deadline.
Legal upstream boat boundary defined as: A deadline marker on the Oregon bank (approximately four miles downstream from Bonneville Dam Powerhouse One) in a straight line through the western tip of Pierce Island to a deadline marker on the Washington bank at Beacon Rock.
Daily Bag Limit: Two adult hatchery salmonids (Chinook or steelhead) per day, but only one may be a Chinook. Shad may also be retained. All other permanent regulations apply.
Sandy and Clackamas River reports by Jeff Stoeger and Bob Rees
Clackamas River Fishing Report – The Clackamas remains relatively quiet with anglers a bit more interested in the Sandy River this year. Action has been sparse with relatively low effort for peak season opportunities.
Tim Wilson of timwilsonsellshomes (realtor) reported taking a hatchery fish last week when the water was at 12.65. The river is now closer to 12.20, getting pretty low and clear for productivity purposes. He’s heard of a few wild fish in recent days.
Craig Mostul of Stevens Marine in Milwaukie reported a “5 fish day last Monday, but then it got slow.” Two of the 5 fish were hatchery take-homes, 3 were wild.
There hasn’t been much info coming out of Dog Creek, one of the more consistent fisheries as we get later into the season.
There haven’t been a bunch of winter steelhead adults bypass the NF facility just yet, but they’re coming, rest assured.
Nick Ackerman of PGE sent us his monthly report about adult and juvenile passage. It reads:
As of the end of the month our late-run coho return stands at 3,392 and we expect to land between 3,400 and 3,500 for the year. This will be the second-largest return of late-run coho since 2000. The total coho return (early + late) for the run year is now at 12,259 which is the fourth highest return on record and 5th straight year of over 10,000. It is very early in the winter steelhead return, but our count of 224 wild adults at the end of January is well above average.
With relatively cold water temperatures and stable flows in January, this year juvenile counts were low with about 9,000 juvenile salmonids through the North Fork bypass and 2,000 through the River Mill bypass.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger shares: Good morning, everyone. I hope you had a chance to get out on the river this past week. Fishing was strong, with good numbers of steelhead caught throughout all stretches of the river. Jim Rose is pictured with a beautiful winter steelhead caught on a 12mm bead. On Tuesday, Jim’s group landed five fish.
Beads, spinners, and plugs produced consistently all week. Divers and bait also did well, with sandshrimp, coonies, and cured eggs all proving productive. Local guide Jack Glass had good success bobber doggin size 20mm beads and running plugs, and he also put two more native steelhead into the broodstock program.
River conditions are ideal right now. The river is running gin clear, sitting at 9.46 feet with a water temperature of 40.46 degrees. Both the level and temperature are slowly dropping due to the cold weather and low-elevation snow in the foothills.
Boaters have been able to cover water efficiently. The river is high enough for sleds to run the lower river, and rafts are floating from the Revenue Bridge downstream with takeouts at Dodge Park or Oxbow. Flows are also high enough that those floating from Oxbow down are not needing to get out and push over gravel bars. A quick heads-up: Oxbow Park is doing major work inside the park, and some areas are taped off and not available for parking.
North & Central Coast Fishing Report by Bob Rees
We’re past the early season steelhead portion and it’s full on broodstock season, along with what looks to be a good wild run too.
Overall, it’s been a mediocre season for north and central coast steelheaders, we haven’t had the best water conditions to work with lately.
Effort has been light on the bigger systems, with the water being low and clear for much of the week. There’s still fish being caught but one guide, pro guide Kent Anderson (503-550-6303) on the Nestucca, begrudgingly reported, “Fishing has been slow, but steady, a couple of fish daily and the weather has been crappy.” Kent sent along the picture above, reporting that Jerry Martin of Eugene from Wednesday (2/18). What a nice broodstock fish! Kent’s a great guide and still has a few empty seats for his Nushagak salmon camp this summer (in Alaska) so call him if you’re interested.
The Nehalem River had just a few folks floating and bank fishing on Wednesday morning when we were out looking for elk. This river is in the best shape when others are too low to fish comfortably.
Despite the Kilchis and Wilson being low, there is still some traffic, at least on the Wilson. There were no boat trailers at the 101 take-out on the Kilchis on Monday; that was to be expected. The Wilson has had light traffic too, with most serious steelheaders focusing their efforts from Donaldson’s gravel bar to Sollie Smith or downstream of Sollie in a power boat.
There’s also been little effort on the Trask but some fish are showing up. Not surprisingly, the bulk of them are wild, but there is a rare hatchery stray over here. The water has been too low to focus any amount of effort at the Dam Hole, but folks still try nearly every day.
Siletz River anglers will be excited for a weather change, the water is getting a bit worked over. The bigger tide series brought in a few new fish, but most are waiting out the next rain event, which should produce better catches for mostly boaters.
The NF Nehalem hotline reported slow fishing this week, but there were some steelhead taken off of the disabled platform last weekend. The water is obviously low and clear here, but will rise again over the weekend. Despite the bulk of the steelhead being early returnees, there are later returning broodstock fish that will come back to the facility well into March.
Big Creek and the Klaskanine and NF Nehalem hatcheries were burdened with a lot of returning adults, so much so that hatchery workers stocked Lost, Sunset and Coffenbury Lakes with plenty of hatchery steelhead that should still respond to still water techniques over the next several weeks. Vernonia Pond is stacked with steelhead too.
Much more on the site for Chinook Members:
- Buzz Ramsey’s latest post – Tillamook Winter Steelhead. Prime‑time winter steelhead action is unfolding on the Tillamook rivers, and this on‑the‑water report reveals exactly what anglers are finding right now. Chinook Members can see his post HERE.
- Bill Monroe’s latest post – Thar she Snows! From record Sierra snow to wild water‑moving schemes, this week’s column dives into the surprising weather twist reshaping the West. Chinook Members can see his post HERE.
You can find all the articles from these two professionals on this page.
- The article of the week: Read it and Catch Fish, from the STS vault by Frank Amato. Frank and the editor talk about what’s changed in the last 55 years, and what hasn’t! You can find the article HERE.
- All the STS articles are located here.
Not a Chinook Member? Become a Member or Upgrade here.
Members head to the Member’s Landing Page to find everything you have access to.
Central-Eastern Oregon Fishing Report by Terry Otto
Local lakes boosted by trophy-sized brood trout stockings. Spring rivers, Deschutes fishing well. Columbia walleye slowed by tough conditions.
Best bets for weekend fishing
Broodstock rainbow trout were stocked into Haystack Reservoir, Ochoco Reservoir, Pine Nursery Pond, North Twin Lake and South Twin Lakes the last week of January. Additional fish were stocked into Haystack Reservoir this week. Many in the 4-8 lb range.
Anglers continue to report excellent kokanee and bull trout fishing at Lake Billy Chinook. The Metolius Arm of Lake Billy Chinook will reopen to angling March 1.
The Crooked and Metolius Rivers continue to provide excellent winter angling opportunities.
Anglers report excellent nymphing opportunities on Fall River.
Anglers report good bank fishing opportunities for trout at Haystack Reservoir, now with surplus brood fish being stocked.
Trout stocking
Excess brood stock trout were recently released in Taylor Lake, Pine Hollow, and Haystack Reservoirs.
Weekly fish stocking will resume in March, 2026.
Broodstock rainbow trout were stocked into Haystack Reservoir, Ochoco Reservoir, Pine Nursery Pond, North Twin Lake and South Twin Lake the last week of January. As a reminder, to allow everyone a chance at catching one of these fish, only one fish over 20 inches long can be harvested each day.
You can check the ODFW trout stocking schedule here.
Weather
Colder weather has finally arrived, and with it some chance for central Oregon snow. The cold temps may slow the trout bite. The temps may warm this weekend, before turning colder again next week. The tough conditions have kept most walleye anglers off the Columbia during the past week.
Columbia River
The good folks at the Gorge Outfitters Supply in Rufus report that few anglers tried for walleye this past week. There were few reports on angler success. The fish are in pre-spawn mode, and some very nice trophy-sized walleye have been caught recently, including a new Washington state record over 20 pounds caught by a Pasco angler.
Bonneville Pool sturgeon
The one-day sturgeon retention fishery in the Bonneville Pool was mostly a success, if nothing else because the quota was not busted in the one-day event. However, with anglers retaining 982 keeper sturgeon of the 1,250-catch guideline, it is unlikely that anglers will get another day of retention in the pool.
Prospects for another day are better in The Dalles Pool, since only 50 were sturgeon caught. That leaves another 200 fish in the quota that could be caught in the pool.
A decision on whether angers will get more time should be announced by the states today.
Lower Deschutes River
Amy Hazel at the Deschutes Angler Fly Shop in Maupin reports that angler have been getting the redbands to respond to nymphing, and on the cloudy afternoons, there are still BWO hatches coming off. She said the colder temps might slow the bite, but the fish still need to eat some, and will take slow-moving targets. Remember, Warm Springs, Mecca, Dry Creek, Trout Creek, South Junction are all closed until 4/22/26.
You can check the river gauge at Moody Rapids here.
Metolius River
Jeff at The Fly Fishers Place reports that the Metolius is fishing good again, with BWO hatches coming off well most afternoons, especially on cloudy days. He has heard reports of Cinygmula’s hatching. It is time to get some #14-16 yellow comparaduns, sparkle duns, knock down duns and soft hackles in the box for the Metolius.
Nymphing is good right now, Don’t forget how well Red and Orange nymphs are on the Metolius. Here are 3 to have: Red Lightning Bug, Red Copper John and Fire Starter Jigs. Speaking of jigs, a PCP, Jig Napoleon and Olive Perdigon too. Golden Stones, Eggs, 2 Bit Hookers and Micro Mays in the BWO size.
Crooked River
The Crooked River is a solid choice now and unless something really extraordinary happens with snow pack we are not going to have a big dam release this winter or spring so plan on good water conditions for now. Recent reports have Eggs and Zebra Midges finding takers.
Olive Perdigons, 2 Bit Hookers, Skinny Nelson, Fire Starter, Scuds, Midge Winker, Olive Mini Gulp and Slum Lords will get you through on the nymph side whether that is tight lining or with a NZ Wool indicator.
Lake Billy Chinook
The Metolius Arm of Lake Billy Chinook closed to angling on November 1 and will reopen March 1, 2026. Anglers are reporting excellent kokanee fishing with nice-sized fish being landed on the Crooked and Deschutes Arms. Fish have been moving deeper in the water column over the last few weeks as water temperatures decline. Harvest is limited to 1 bull trout over 24 inches under the daily trout limit. No bag or size limits on brown trout and bass.
SW Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Jeff Rome reports
If you didn’t get out for Free Fishing Weekend with your Valentine, you’ll have another shot this Friday and Saturday before the next wet storm rolls in Sunday and pushes rivers near, or into, blown-out territory.
My top picks for the weekend are the Middle and Lower Rogue. Winter steelhead anglers have been into some nice fish since last weekend.
On the Middle Rogue, the stretch from Chinook Park down to Griffin Park has been productive for boaters running plugs.
Down lower, both bank anglers and boaters have found success. Bank plunkers are doing well with Spin-N-Glo and egg combos, and boaters are continuing to pick up fish pulling plugs.
Further north, the North and Main Umpqua would be my next best bets before rising water shuts things down. Pressure has picked up, and so have catches.
As for the coastal rivers, you might squeeze in a shot on the Chetco, Elk, or Sixes for slow to fair action before the storm arrives late Saturday. Timing will be everything.
Unfortunately, the ocean will be wet and nasty this weekend, and likely for a while after the storm passes. If you are hoping to chase crab in the bays, you may still find a fair window Friday and Saturday before conditions deteriorate.
Wherever you decide to fish, this will likely be the last opportunity for at least a week before rivers settle back into shape.