News: Oregon Fishing Forecast - Aug 30, 2018
By Bob Rees, The Guides Forecast
Portland/Metro - Fall Chinook passage is slow to go at Bonneville Dam, but that's not stopping motivated anglers from trying their hand at Pro-trolling in the Portland to Longview stretch as numbers grow in the region. Catches have yet to take off, and with little time remaining in the Tongue Point (near Astoria) to Warrior Rock (near the mouth of the Lewis River) fishery, anglers will have little time to score. That reach closes on September 2, but will remain open upstream of Warrior Rock to Bonneville Dam through September 14. Anchor anglers had the best chance on the most recent strong tide series. Overall, the Chinook run is tracking slightly behind last year's return, as expected.
Summer steelhead haven't fared as well. The states closed the mainstem Columbia River to the retention of steelhead effective last Monday. Returns are expected to come in lower than last year. A section of the John Day is also closed, from Tumwater Falls downstream to its confluence with the Columbia.
It's too early to gauge the coho return, but the run is tracking slightly ahead of last year.
The Clackamas and Sandy still have summer steelhead available, and with the cooler weather, rafting traffic has slowed. These residualized fish remain quite timid however, but the overcast skies and cooler weather has improved opportunity. Coho are soon to show in each of these metro tributaries too.
More trout are coming to Willamette Valley lakes this week, check the ODF&W web site for details on which lakes offer the best opportunity.
The Tillamook Report - It hasn't been a fantastic week for Chinook fishers in the Tillamook region. Fall Chinook are soon due to almost every north coast system, and catches have been recorded already. Action was reported as slow on the Nehalem early in the week, but tides will weaken and action should pick up at the bay entrances over the Labor Day weekend.
The Nehalem, Tillamook, Nestucca, Salmon, Alsea and Siletz River mouths should all be fair prospects over the long weekend. Overall, the fall return isn't expected to be tremendous, but catchable numbers will certainly be in order. Troll herring on the bottom during outgoing tide, but stratify baits on the incoming, especially around high tide. Hatchery coho should be available on the Nehalem and Tillamook Bay systems.
Ocean salmon fishing for coho closes on September 3, with nearly 70% of the quota remaining. Many wild coho were caught during the open season, a good sign for the September 7 opener that will run every Friday and Saturday through the end of the month or the quota of 3,500 fish is harvested.
Astoria area - The Buoy 10 fishery closed last Friday for Chinook, but remains open for hatchery coho. Anglers are witnessing fair catches of coho at or near Buoy 10 itself. Lower Desdemona Sands has also been productive recently.
Softer tides over the weekend should prompt fair to good catches of Chinook above Tongue Point using spinners or bait at high tide and the first part of outgoing. Again, this reach closes after September 2.
For a more detailed report, go to www.TheGuidesForecast.com
