Fish Report

Many Trout Streams Open May 22

That’s next Saturday

Several popular trout streams, especially in the NW, SW and Willamette zones, will open to trout fishing on Saturday, May 22. These streams are closed in the spring to protect outmigrating smolts.

Looking for a Place to Fish?

Locations that are family-friendly, close to home

Easy Angling Oregon includes 101 family-friendly, biologist-recommended places to take the family fishing throughout the state. Don’t have a lot of time and would like to stay close to home? Here are lots of locations close to Portland, Bend, Roseburg, Medford, within Lane County and on the South Coast. 

Best Bets for Weekend Fishing

This week’s Rec Report features updates on Chinook, summer steelhead, shad, stripers, walleye, trout and bass fishing. Here are some highlights:

• Anglers have been catching spring Chinook in the lower Rogue and Umpqua.
• Further north, the Lower Columbia Tributaries, Nestucca River, Tillamook Bay and Trask River offer the best opportunities to catch a spring Chinook.
• There are summer steelhead throughout the Sandy and Clackamas Rivers.
• Shad fishing as been good on the mainstem Umpqua. The season opens May 16 on the lower Columbia.
• Walleye fishing has been excellent in the John Day pool of the Columbia River. Don’t have a boat? Word has it the McNary Channel Ponds hold a surprisingly good population of walleye that can be caught from the bank.
• Stripers are being caught on both the Smith and Coquille rivers.
• Many neighborhood and low elevation ponds have been stocked. These ponds will get harder to fish as water temperatures rise and aquatic weeds grow – helped along by the warmer temperatures. Trout anglers should hit these ponds while the fishing is good.
• Fishing for bass and other warmwater species has been picking up in several locations, including: Emigrant Lake, Mainstem Umpqua, South Fork Coquille, Tenmile Lakes, Henry Hagg Lake, and the Tualatin, Molalla and Willamette Rivers.
• Several lakes in the Florence area offer excellent bass fishing, including Siltcoos, Tahkenitch, Mercer, Woahink and Munsel.
• Finally, check the trout stocking schedule for dozens of waterbodies that have been or are scheduled to be stocked with trout.