Portland, Oregon Metro Fishing Report
Rivers have been out since last weekend but the Willamette River turbidity has turned a corner and Willamette River springer seekers may be back after them late in the weekend.
It’s still way too early in the season, but when conditions are fishable, the die-hards will be out there, trying for number 2 and 3 around the Sellwood area. The ice has been broken with John Shmilenko’s springer just over a week ago, so it won’t be long before numbers become a bit more consistent.
The first spring Chinook of the season has bypassed Willamette Falls; however, it is hardly a trend just yet.
Five springers have passed over Bonneville Dam, but the bulk of the spring Chinook in the mainstem here will be Willamette-bound. Nonetheless, interest will increase when water conditions improve.
Upper Willamette Valley Fishing Report by Terry Otto
Wild steelhead biting in the upper Willamette systems. Trout stockings boost local lakes. Summer steelhead, spring Chinook still weeks away.
Best bets this weekend
Multiple local lakes recently stocked with trout
Wild winter steelhead are arriving in upper Willamette systems.
Detroit Lake offers good trout and kokanee
Several central coast lakes well stocked with trout
Upper Willamette Valley Weather
The upper Willamette Valley will be drying out over the next week after the recent rains. The highs will be in the mid to upper 50’s, with a few showers for Saturday. With the rivers on the drop, steelhead angling should be good, and trout fishing should be decent, too. Warm water lakes should also see some increase in feeding activity among bass and panfish.
Trout stocking
Scheduled to be stocked the week of Feb. 23-27:
EE Wilson Pond, Sheridan Pond, Row R Nature Park-(formerly Cottage Grove Pond), Walter Wirth Lake, Cottage Grove Res, Dexter Res, Huddleston Pond-(formerly Hampton Pond)
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.
Willamette Falls fish counts
Wild winter steelhead continue to move over the Willamette Falls with solid daily counts. There are no hatchery winter steelhead released in the upper basin, but the counts show over 30 fin-clipped strays are in the mix of about 3,000 winters so far. The unclipped steelhead may be the vanguard of the upcoming summer steelhead run. As of yet, no spring Chinook have crossed the falls. This will change once the water warms up. Still, we are weeks away from fishable numbers of springers.
Santiam River, North Fork
According to Mike Ferris of Fishermen Mike’s Guide Service, anglers have begun to find a little better luck with the wild steelhead. The river rose to over 6,000 CFS but will soon drop to about 2,000 CFS, but maybe not in time for good weekend fishing. The river fishes best under 3,000 CFS. The fish have spread through the length of the river, with bank anglers in the upper sections finding some takers, and boat anglers are also finding some of these big, wild steelhead. Bank anglers are fishing bobbers with beads, or jigs. The fast water offers good drifting options, and spinners are also effective, especially when the fish are on the move in the mornings. Boat anglers have also been finding steelhead.
Santiam River, South Fork
The South Fork is still running very high, with flows having risen to over 6,000 CFS, and has only now begun to drop. It may be next week before it comes back into good, fishable shape. Matt Halseth of Matt Halseth Guide Service has heard good reports that anglers are getting some of the wild winter steelhead in the lower river. They are currently falling for high water techniques, such as hardware or large plastic worms. Plugs can also be effective.
You can check the river gauge at Waterloo here.
Detroit Reservoir
Refilling the reservoir for the summer has begun. Water levels are currently about 10 feet above the low water ramp at Mongold State Park. Anglers report good kokanee fishing, with some trout falling for trolled kokanee rigs. A few trout are coming to hand for bank anglers fishing with Powerbait. The reservoir gets stocked with trout during the late spring and summer, but those stockings have not yet begun. As a reminder, anglers are allowed to keep up to five trout, with an additional five kokanee.
For the latest information on water levels at Detroit Reservoir, check with the Army Corps of Engineers’ website for more information.
Sunnyside Park Pond
This pond was stocked last week with about 1,000 trout. The 4-acre pond is located two miles above the upper end of Foster Reservoir. The pond also offers bluegill and largemouth bass year-round. The park has a campground and picnic area and is a great place to take kids fishing. There is also boat ramp access to the Middle Fork arm of Foster Reservoir. Please keep in mind that only one fish over 20 inches may be kept per day as part of a 5-fish daily bag limit.
Sandy and Clackamas River reports by Jeff Stoeger and Bob Rees
Clackamas River Fishing Report – Prior to the current river rise, anglers fishing on the Clackamas were reporting better success for both wild and hatchery fish. The river was running low and clear however, so the rain freshet was a welcome event.
Most recently, the river has been too high for anglers to justify a trip, and it was still high, but turning green by the time of this writing (Thursday at 2:00 p.m.). It should be in fishable shape by the weekend however.
Although there are no recent reports, we’d reference last week’s report where Fisherman’s Marine employee Mike Roberson reported that the bite had picked up. Dog Creek is only going to become a stronger option as the season progresses, but there’s a good slug of fish already stacking up there for anglers to take advantage of, and there is a good stacking of anglers starting here too.
Counts of steelhead at the NF facility have been humming along. To date, there are over 330 adults past the facility, along with 15 hatchery fish that got recycled back downstream, maybe to the hatchery. The late run coho numbers have finally zeroed out, but it was a great return for that run of fish; nice to see this unique strain of coho rebound given how tough it’s been on this return in recent years.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger shares: What a week of weather it has been.
During the past week, the river slowly dropped as air temperatures fell, and the water temperature also continued to decline. Over the weekend, another atmospheric river moved through and pushed the river up from 9.1 feet to 12.58 feet. At that time, the water temperature was 42.5 degrees.
The river is currently running at 11.57 feet and 43.7 degrees. It is a little off-color, with visibility at around 2.5 feet.
As of today, the hatchery has received 227 hatchery fish. They have also hole-punched the gill plates of 137 recycled fish and released them at Lewis and Clark Park.
Fishing was fair to good throughout the entire river this past week.
North & Central Coast Fishing Report by Bob Rees
North coast rivers are coming under ideal scenarios at the time of this writing. Although weekend fishing is likely to still be fair, the best fishing took place earlier int he drop, on Wednesday and Thursday. The fishing wasn’t epic however, but the crowded hatchery fish systems did yield good results.
It is an ideal scenario during peak season, when north and central coast systems fish beautifully following a mild, but significant rain freshet.
The Nestucca was still a bit high on Thursday, but water color was good enough to fish. The Wilson came in on Wednesday and the Siletz and Alsea did too.
The Kilchis, Necanicum and NF Nehalem all fished by Tuesday and did produce a few biters, but overall, not quite what excited steelheaders had hoped for.
The mainstem Nehalem is still a few days off, but should fish good by the weekend. Upper river anglers can fish sooner.
The herring are near Yaquina Bay and former guide and avid angler Bill Kremers reported good herring action and greater lingcod action off of Seal Rock. He accomplished limit lingcod fishing, which is surprising with the new 3-fish bag limit, but when you’re using fresh jigged herring, maybe it shouldn’t be.
Herring reports indicate they are nearing the bay entrance, but the bigger schools are still offshore.
Seas were a bit too rough for bottomfishers, but some made it out with fair sea bass success and good lingcod fishing.
More robust trout stocking is happening, particularly around the Newport area.
Much more on the site for Chinook Members:
- Buzz Ramsey’s latest post – Time for Cowlitz Winter Steelhead. Dial in your tactics as fresh winter steelhead flood the Cowlitz, and Blue Creek lights up with fast, consistent action for anglers who time it right. 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: Early Springers by Scott Haugen. Early springers are already proving picky on the lower Columbia, and the anglers willing to experiment are the ones finding the first chrome of the season. You can find the article HERE.
- All the STS articles are located here.
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Members head to the Member’s Landing Page to find everything you have access to.
It is my understanding that the use of bait is not allowed on the North Santiam River prior to April 22nd below Big Cliff Dam, correct me if I am wrong. Please do not endorse the use of bait if this is in fact true. I know for a fact a lot of people illegally use bait on this stretch already.
Thanks, Griffen. Sorry that I am just seeing this. I have removed the reference.
Thank you much!