SW Washington fishing

Willamette Valley/Metro- Gillnet test fishing reveals that a larger number of steelhead remain in the mainstem. Although some upriver spring chinook are appearing in both sport and test net fisheries, it’s not the number most were expecting for this time of year. Although the fish may be present, strong sport catches are not reflecting this, likely due to cold water conditions. Catches should continue to ramp up with the last week of March and the first week of April to produce good catches as long as the season stays open.

Sturgeon fishing remains slow although some keepers are coming from the Portland to Kalama stretch.

Water temperature at Willamette Falls is hovering in the mid-40s with the level on the rise. About 200 summer steelhead have been counted along with over 4,300 winters. A few summer steelhead have been taken on the Town Run near Eugene.

Prior to the deluge this week and with the March Brown hatch imminent, lower McKenzie anglers took large redsides on nymphs. Water levels are rising this week.

The Santiams are on the rise and will be out of shape through the coming weekend.

The Clackamas and Sandy have been producing fair to good results but will be out of shape and unfishable until sometime next week. Low level snow will keep temperatures cold but when temperatures rise and levels stabilize, the action should be good.

  
Northwest – Steelheaders have been met with challenging conditions lately, with wind and snow deterring many Willamette Valley anglers from making the trip. Action has been good however although anglers were faced with low water conditions over the weekend.

The Wilson continues to be a top producer although the Nestucca is a close second. Both systems have good runs of hatchery fish right now with a fair sampling of wild fish mixed in. ODF&W has indicated production goals are on target to meet next year’s needs for the broodstock program, indicating that a healthy return of wild fish are coming back to the Wilson and Nestucca basins.

Low water conditions late last week were cause enough to pull plugs when most anglers continue to side-drift. Charlie McCormick and his fishing partner Colby took their 2-fish limits on K11x Kwikfish on Friday working the water between Siskeyville and Sollie Smith Bridge. The largest fish tipped the scales at 10-pounds.

The Trask has been producing fair numbers of wild fish recently. Less crowded, anglers have a few different sections of the river to float based on river heights. This system will only get more productive as April approaches.

Smaller streams such as the Kilchis, Necanicum and North Fork of the Nehalem may be the best options over the weekend as another round of high water is expected mid-week. Boaters need to exercise extreme caution however as recent high winds and moisture-laden snow have likely downed large conifers into the river systems.

Although the offshore chinook season south of Cape Falcon opens this week, wind and wave action will keep all participants in port. Ocean waters were hard on fisherman last week as 6 people lost their lives off the coast of Oregon and Washington; be fully prepared and don’t take chances.

Southwest – When boats have been able to get out, it has been "lights out" for lingcod and near limits on rockfish for all. Rough ocean conditions this week will intensify into the coming weekend.

Ocean Chinook opens on March 15th off the central coast and promises excellent fishing as the season gets underway. A strong return is forecast with the season extending through September and possibly into October. The opener south of Port Orford will open May 1st.

Winchester Bay has been producing good crab catches but rain this week will slow results. The Umpqua system is swelling this week as storms move through. Steelheading on the South Umpqua slowed in low water last week but will fish well once conditions improve from this week’s freshet. Catch and release fishing will be good on the north Umpqua when it drops as large numbers of winter steelhead were observed at Winchester Dam on Monday this week.

Crabbing has been good in Coos Bay but a flush of fresh water is likely to drive Dungeness back out to the ocean.

Rogue spring chinook, while not yet available in great numbers, had being taken through the past weekend. Storms will blow out the lower and middle rivers for the weekend to come. The upper Rogue will be the best bet if it doesn’t get too swift.

Fresh steelhead entered the Chetco with rain this week. While steelheading is usually winding down this late in the season, it was good once again over the past weekend.

Eastern – Fishing has been very slow on the middle Deschutes with the water high and swift. However, on Monday this week, irrigation started and the water level has dropped considerably. Blue-Winged Olives are hatching along with midges in this stretch. Prospects and water conditions will improve in April.

SW Washington – With most anglers focusing on spring chinook on the mainstem Columbia, late arriving winter steelhead in the districts rivers are often overlooked. The Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis Rivers are still producing fair catches of steelhead for the few that are participating in the fishery.

Many streams close to steelhead fishing on March 15^th while tributaries upstream of Bonneville Dam open to spring chinook. Fair returns are forecasted for the Wind and Drano systems but only 7 salmon have passed Bonneville so far so anglers are still weeks away from productive fishing in these areas.