Oregon fishing report
Portland/Metro Fishing Report
With another successful mainstem Columbia fishery in the books, effort will shift to the Willamette River, where anglers are still struggling for consistent results. It’s still challenging fishing, but Oregon City anglers saw fair fishing today, and numbers continue to climb at Willamette Falls as the season progresses.
Overall catches improved slightly from last year during this same reporting week, but are about 1/2 of the 5-year average. The hardware bite is improving and jiggers are showing up in Oregon City as concentrations of fish stage before ascending Willamette Falls.
Sturgeon fishing tapered a bit in the Portland Harbor this week.
Pro guide Grant Putnam succumbed to neck and brain cancer today (4/23), fighting this sinister disease for many months. It’s a tragic loss to the sportfishing community, we’ve had WAY TOO MANY of these lately.
To honor Grant, we at The Guide’s Forecast would like to invite you to view Grant’s webinar with us on 360 flashers, the new era of catching salmon in the Pacific Northwest.
Grant, like us at TGF, always embraced the value of getting anglers invested in the success of our fisheries, so they in turn could become warriors of these fish, for future generations of sport anglers. We invite you to go to our WEBINAR PAGE and order FOR FREE, Grant’s webinar so he too, can HELP YOU CATCH MORE FISH.
Rest in peace Grant Putnam, the community you built around you will miss you beyond words. And oh yeah… F * * K CANCER!
Don’t overlook our FREE webinar on bar and ocean safety too. No fish is worth risking your life for.
Upper Willamette Valley Fishing Report by Terry Otto
Trout stockings getting serious. Summer steelhead, spring Chinook showing in the upper Willamette systems. Warm water species biting in local lakes.
Best bets this weekend
Summer steelhead and spring Chinook are beginning to enter the upper Willamette systems.
River system trout are becoming more active, good hatches increasing.
Trout stockings got serious this month, thousands stocked.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass are biting in warm water lakes.
Panfish are beginning to feed hard ahead of the spring spawn.
Upper Willamette Valley Weather
Starting this weekend, anglers should see nice, spring-like weather through the weekend and the following week. Partly cloudy skies and highs in the upper 60’s will dominate all week. No rain is forecast for the Eugene area.
Willamette Falls Fish Counts
As of April 21, 6966 fin-clipped steelhead have passed the falls, with the vast majority of those being clipped summer steelhead. 1,033 spring Chinook have also crossed the falls.
Trout stocking
Stocked in April: EE Wilson Pond, Row River Nature Park, Alton Baker Canal, Foster Res, Sunnyside Park Pond, Junction City Pond, Timber Linn Lake, Green Peter Res, Foster Reservoir, Dorman Pond, Willamette River Coast Fork, Fall Creek Res, Cottage Grove Res, Dorena Res, Huddleston Pond, Blue Lake, Salmon Creek, Canby pond, Waverly Lake, McKenzie River R-1 and 2 below and above Leaburg Dam, Clear Lake, Fall Creek, Blue River Res, Leaburg Lake, Silver Cr. Res, Quartzville Creek, Turner Lake, Clear Lake, Blue River Res.
You can check the ODFW trout stocking schedule here.
Dexter Pond road closure
No public access into the Dexter Ponds Hatchery at least through Summer 2026 due to construction. Please call the USACE Park Ranger Office at (541) 942-5631 with questions.
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North Fork Santiam River
According to Mike Ferris of Fishermen Mike’s Guide Service, fishing this week was slow in the upper North Fork Santiam River. The river bumped up a bit following rains this past week, but is already settling down and flowing at about 1,680 CFS. While reports for summer steelhead and spring Chinook have been slow, a few fish are being found here and there, but fishing is still pretty spotty. The spring Chinook will be best tempted with salmon eggs, but the summer steelhead can be taken on a wider assortment of methods and baits. Spinners, eggs, sand shrimp, jigs, and beads will all take steelhead.
You can check the gauge at Mahama here
Detroit Reservoir
The reservoir is continuing to slowly fill up with the help of last week’s rain. Water levels are currently about 20 feet below full pool and slowly rising. Mongold State Park boat ramps as well as the main boat ramp at Detroit Lake State Park are available. When the weather is nice, especially on weekends, the boat ramps can get crowded, so plan ahead.
Reports from anglers fishing Detroit Lake recently point to the kokanee growing and biting well. The schools are still holding in the upper 20 feet of the water column, especially when it is cloudy. Most anglers are trolling dodgers and kokanee spinners tipped with kokanee corn. Some trout are also being caught, mostly by bank anglers fishing Powerbait on the bottom.
South Fork Santiam River
According to Matt Halseth of Matt Halseth Guide Service the South Fork is giving up some spring Chinook and summer steelhead, although the fishing is still a little slow. No report as yet on methods or baits. These runs are just getting started. The spring Chinook will be biting salmon eggs, but the summer steelhead can be taken on a wider assortment of methods and baits. Spinners, eggs, sand shrimp, jigs, and beads will all take steelhead.
McKenzie River
The McKenzie River is fishing well. From the Blue River area down, anglers are seeing some march browns, caddis and a few stoneflies. The best trout bite has been on double nymph rigs and dry dropper rigs, and also some small streamers and soft hackle swung, including on a 10′ sink tip.
The lower McKenzie River is open to retention of adipose fin-clipped salmon and steelhead and non-adipose fin-clipped steelhead greater than 24 inches long. A Columbia River Basin Endorsement is required for anglers targeting salmon and steelhead in the McKenzie.The river was stocked the week of April 20th with 6,000 hatchery rainbow trout.
Sandy and Clackamas River reports by Jeff Stoeger and Bob Rees
Clackamas River Fishing Report – The Clackamas didn’t quite get the bump that the Sandy did, but low-level rain did raise metro rivers, keeping some color in the water to keep anglers motivated.
The Clackamas did boot out some summer steelhead this week, but creel counts starting in early May will give us a more realistic idea as to how the fishery is performing over-all. Given the Clackamas hasn’t yielded much in the way of spring Chinook catches in recent years, interest is minimal. Hopefully that changes this year, as this should be the first year where all possible returns have a broodstock spring Chinook component that the Clackamas should realize. Anglers and biologists are hopeful that this will lead to a more robust return and harvest of these high quality fish, hopefully more resiliant to the environmental challenges wild and hatchery fish will face this year and into the future. We’ll know soon enough.
There’s still some downrunning winter steelhead and will continue to be into May, but they seem especially snappy this time of year. Hopefully experienced steelheaders will be intercepting more summer steelhead than spent winter-runs, but it can certainly be a mixed bag this time of year.
As we’ve stated in recent weeks, with Oregon City reaching its peak this time of year, Clackamas County anglers are much more focused on spring Chinook vs. summer steelhead. That won’t change anytime soon.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger shares fishing this week was fair to good overall. There was action for summer steelhead, a few late winter steelhead, and some spring chinook. Most of the activity has come from Dodge Park down to the mouth.
Spring chinook have been caught in fair numbers, though not in a way that suggests a major push has arrived. Summer steelhead appear to be providing the more consistent action. One report from anglers floating from Oxbow to Dabney over two days noted eight hooked summer steelhead, along with one hooked chinook that was lost.
Over the last couple of days, the river rose by more than a foot. The water turned off-color with the bump in flow, but conditions are expected to improve over the next couple of days with warm, clear skies and clearing water.
North & Central Coast Fishing Report by Bob Rees
It’s mostly quiet on the north and central Oregon coast, as anglers anxiously await the return of spring Chinook. Run timing has changed drastically for this run of fish, with some of the best fishing now taking place in late June and July, obviously, many months away.
Saltwater opportunity is starting to crank up however. TGF readers that didn’t take advantage of Rob Gerlitz’s special missed out on some great ling cod fishing. We tapped out at our 15-ling limit in about 2.5 hours (3 nice lings X 5 anglers), along with 24 quality crab (that’s going for $79.99/lb. cracked out of the shell). It isn’t often that you can go on a guided fishing trip and catch enough protein to pay for the trip.
Winter steelhead fishing is done, but summer steelhead are showing in slight number on the Wilson, Nestucca and Siletz River systems, and I do mean slight.
Bottomfishing, and very soon, halibut fishing, will take center stage out of the north and central coast ports. Anglers get pretty excited and there’s reason to be. The limit and the season has been liberalized, offering a 2 halibut/day, 7-day a week season now underway, south of Cape Falcon that is. Even with this incredible opportunity, the annual quota often goes unmet.
Until then, anglers small and large should take advantage of the robust stocking schedule ODF&W has performed in this regoin of Oregon. You can find out where all the fish have been planted by going HERE.
Much more on the site for Chinook Members:
- Buzz Ramsey’s latest post – Last Day Columbia Report, What’s Next.A slow springer season turned into a last‑day Columbia adventure packed with big fish, tight friends, and a look at what’s coming next for anglers. Chinook Members can read Buzz’s post HERE.
- Bill Monroe’s latest post – Trout seasons don’t close in Oregon. Oregon’s year‑round trout stocking is delivering fast action, big fish, and easy spring getaways for anglers who want bites without the guesswork. Chinook Members can read Bill’s post HERE.
You can find all the articles from these two professionals on this page.
- Salmon Trout Steelheader article of the week: Long Line Trolling Techniques by Larry Ellis. Discover another productive way to catch one of Oregon’s most pursued species. See his 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 (From last week)
Columbia walleye still biting very well, schools moving shallow. Spring rivers, Deschutes surface action beginning to pop. Lake Billy Chinook bull trout good, kokes excellent.
Note: Recent snows may have closed some roads that opened early.
Best bets for weekend fishing
Shevlin Park youth and disabled fishing pond, Prineville youth pond, and Pine Nursery Pond were recently stocked to provide excellent spring break angling opportunities.
Anglers continue to report excellent kokanee and bull trout fishing at Lake Billy Chinook. The Metolius Arm is fishing well with bull trout up to 31″ being caught.
The Crooked and Metolius Rivers continue to provide excellent early spring angling opportunities for redband trout and mountain whitefish.
Deschutes River surface action heating up.
Anglers report excellent nymphing opportunities on Fall River.
Early Openings
Low snowpack is allowing early access to lakes that are typically inaccessible in spring including North Twin and South Twin Lakes, Davis Lake, Crescent Lake, Cultus Lake, Lava Lake, Little Lava Lake, and Sprague and Century Gravel Ponds. The Lava Lake Campground and boat launch remained closed and access to Lava Lake is limited to small craft, kayaks and float tubes at this time.
Trout stocking
Stocked the week of March 30 – April 3: Pine Hollows Res, Bikini Pond, Baker Pond, Rock Creek Res.
Scheduled to be stocked the week of April 6-10: Fall River.
You can check the ODFW trout stocking schedule here.
Weather
A warming trend is on tap for the coming weekend in the Bend area, with highs both days to be in the upper 60’s, following a cold week. Also, both days should be cloudy, perhaps a perfect storm for trout anglers looking for surface action on local rivers and lakes. During the week proper it should turn cooler, with daytime highs about 10 degrees cooler, with some scattered showers on Monday and Tuesday.
Columbia River
The good folks at the Gorge Outfitters Supply in Rufus report that the walleye fishing continues to be very good, with anglers finding the fish in water that is much shallower. The schools are now reportedly spawning, but still biting in 12 to 25 feet of water. However, heavy wind for much of the last week has kept a lot of anglers off the water. Bottom walkers and deep-diving plugs have still proven effective. Jigging can also bring action now that the schools are in shallow.
Lower Deschutes River
Amy Hazel oftThe Deschutes Angler Fly Shop in Maupin reports that it has been windy, but the trout fishing has been good. “The fishing has been getting better here,” said Hazel. “There have been a lot of hatches, a lot of March browns around, and some caddis. The fishermen are really happy.” She expects the big mayflies to start hatching earlier than usual, since the water is much more warm than usual for this time of year. She expects to see them by the end of the month.
You can check the river gauge at Moody Rapids here.
Metolius River
Jeff at The Fly Fishers Place in Sisters reports that the Metolius River continues to be well worth the effort no matter your pursuits. For trout and whitefish the nymphing action is by far the best. It seems like most of the best fishing for trout so far is below the hatchery and around Bridge 99. He would still recommend the Allingham to Gorge section and fish it well, but the reports are the best catches are downriver.
Lake Reports
South Twin Lake was one of the standouts this week, with Balanced Leeches and Chironomids.
No new reports on North Twin, but it should be pretty darn good too.
Davis Lake is open and the Bass bite is decent down the lava cliffs. I have not heard any trout reports, but the access to the lake is good at the moment.
Chickahominy is still fishing well, either bank access or with a boat. Balanced Leeches and Damsels, Scuds, Blobs, Chironomids.
Lake Billy Chinook
The Metolius Arm of Lake Billy Chinook reopened March 1, 2026. Anglers report good fishing for bull trout with fish up to 31″. Anglers are reporting excellent kokanee fishing with nice size fish being landed on the Crooked, Deschutes, and Metolius Arms. Kokanee have been remaining deep in the water column over the last few weeks.
Bull trout and smallmouth are also biting well, and are taking a Jig Minnow stripped on a sinking line.
All the arms are producing Bulls and this ought to be a super week to be there.
SW Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Jeff Rome
As we shift from winter steelhead into spring Chinook season on our inland rivers, it’s also a great time to enjoy the excellent spring fishing happening across our lakes and ponds. Most waters have been freshly stocked with trout and are sitting at good levels, making them ideal for a relaxing family day on the water. And for those heading to the coast, the ocean is offering productive rockfish action along with opportunities for Chinook “outside.” In short, there’s something for nearly every angler right now.
Ocean & Bay
Ocean conditions look favorable for boaters from Brookings up through Winchester Bay. Rockfish and lingcod are plentiful, and anglers are hoping the salmon bite rebounds after the recent storm. Big lingcod are holding close, perch fishing has been solid, and crabbing in Winchester Bay continues to be excellent.
Rogue River
Springer catches on the Rogue picked up following the recent rise in flows. With the river dropping into better shape this weekend, all sections should fish well—from the lower near Lobster Creek, to the mid‑river below Hog Creek, to the upper stretch between Shady Cove and Dodge Park. Expect opportunities for both spring Chinook and the tail end of winter steelhead.
Umpqua System
Steelhead numbers on the Umpqua haven’t been standout this season, though the North Umpqua did produce some respectable catches last weekend.
Lakes & Ponds
If trout are on your mind, nearly any lake is a good bet right now. Top picks include Lost Creek, Applegate, Fish Lake, and Galesville. Lake Selmac has been productive as well, offering both trout and some quality largemouth bass.
Be safe, be nice, and enjoy!