Oregon / Washington Fishing Update

[TGF Doug]

Oregon Fishing Report

Updated for for the week of June 3rd – June 9th, 2005

Sturgeon fishing remains good in the Columbia River gorge and only fair in the estuary. It is an unusual scenario for this time of year as the estuary fishery should be well underway by this time of the year. Smelt are taking keepers in the gorge and shad are a must for oversized sturgeon in the same area. Anchovies are the bait of choice for estuary anglers but shrimp produce well in the shallows.

Shad counts are beginning to climb at Bonneville as this fishery enters into its peak period.

Steelheaders on the mainstem Columbia are not too excited over the results they are seeing from last weeks minus tide series. The next series should bring in more fish but that is about 10 days away.

Tillamook springers are hit and miss and we are entering into a tide series that favors lower bay herring trollers. Good spinner fishing was had by many in the upper bay last Saturday. North coast rivers are getting low for high expectations for spring Chinook. Very few summer steelhead are showing this early in the Wilson and Nestucca.

Crabbing in Tillamook and Netarts Bay was good over the weekend. It should remain that way with little freshwater influence.

All Oregon beaches remain closed to the harvest of razor clams. Some estuary and bay areas are effected, so be certain to check the Shellfish Hotline (800-448-2474) for safety information.

Surf perch fishing is good from beaches coast-wide whenever wind and wave conditions allow for the activity. Offshore salmon fishing has been fair to good and bottom fishing is excellent whenever the bars allow safe crossing.

Umpqua anglers are finding fair fishing for springers, improving for shad and good for smallmouth bass.

Water conditions have improved recently on the Rogue providing fresh opportunities for chinook in the upper river.

The lower Willamette is slow for springers but fishing is good for shad from bank or boat.

The Clackamas is poor to slow. A mudslide has the Sandy out of shape below Dabney. Above there, opportunities exist but it's been a slow week. The Santiams have yet to start producing any stellar results for springers or summer steelhead.

This week, trout have been planted at Thissell Pond, Estacada Lake, Faraday Lake, North Fork Reservoir, Small Fry Lake, Smith Reservoir, Breitenbush River, Detroit Reservoir, E. E. Wilson Pond, Junction City Pond, Leaburg Lake, the Upper McKenzie River, Quartzville Creek, Lost Lake, Olallie Lake, Smock Prairie Reservoir, Fall River and Spring Creek were stocked.


Washington Fishing Report

Updated for for the week of June 3rd – June 9th, 2005

The Guide's Forecast's Washington edition is coming to fruition as requested by our numerous readers and pro guide Kevin Newell (360-430-2521) is doing a bang-up job of making it happen. Enjoy the fruits of his labor and for our free version subscribers, here is a re-cap of the Washington report:

Mid Columbia River Fishing Report – Pro Guide Jeff Knotts (509) 366-4052 Jeff reports, “We fished shad at John Day off the bank on the Washington side. The fish were easily caught using red & white shad darts off points on the bank.

We also fished shad & sturgeon below McNary Dam. Shad were difficult as numbers are not here yet. However we did manage to catch some using orange/silver Dicknites.

Kalama River Fishing Report – Wayne and Rob Orzel 360-673-3557 “The conditions are perfect and the river is definitely driftable. Spring Chinook continue to be taken out of the canyon and boaters have been picking up some Kings in the lower river. Summer steelhead are also starting to show in increased numbers.”

Snake River Fishing Report – Pro Guide Pat Long (509) 751-0410 Pat reports, “The Snake is in pretty good shape but still quite high with significant fluctuations from Hells Canyon Dam. Water flows are running between 50,000 and 65,000 cfs at this time and I expect this to continue for some time.”