Fish Report
As the flows drop, anglers will have a good shot at some steelhead
by OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Staff
3-24-2022
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As the flows drop, anglers will have a good shot at some steelhead using the spot and stalk technique with small bait and light line. Boat anglers have had some success side drifting yarnies/eggs/soft beads, fly-fishing, and running plugs. Bank anglers may want to drift yarnies/eggs/soft beads in known steelhead holding areas. When fly-fishing, as steelhead push down river post spawn, they become more aggressive at hitting the fly. Anglers are finding them holding on the inside of seams and deeper riffles under an indicator or using a dry dropper rig with stonefly, egg or leach imitations.
Spawning ground surveyors have seen fish actively spawning in all surveyed tributaries, but please remember that fishing in tributaries this time of year is illegal.
Also, ODFW is interested to hear if your hatchery catch has secondary marks/clips. If your catch is missing an adipose fin, please also check the pelvic/ventral fins (on the bottom/belly) for right or left fin clips and let us know!
More Reports
OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Reports
for Thursday, March 24th, 2022Chewaucan River: Fishing will start picking up as the water warms this spring
Phillips Reservoir: The ice is beginning to melt, and there now is a substantial amount of open water
Pilcher Reservoir: The reservoir is mostly covered by slush
Thief Valley Reservoir: Thief Valley Reservoir is now ice-free
Thompson Valley Reservoir: Access is available and the water is very low
Unity Reservoir: The ice has begun to melt at Unity Reservoir
Wolf Creek Reservoir: There is still ice over much of Wolf Creek Reservoir
Brownlee Reservoir: Anglers in the Powder River arm have recently had good catches
Imnaha River: Mid-March through mid-April often is one of the best periods for steelhead
Umatilla River: The flows in the Umatilla have come up in the last week
Detroit Reservoir: Water level is about 75 feet above the bottom of Mongold boat ramp
EE Wilson Angling Pond: Will be stocked this week
Green Peter Reservoir: This reservoir is slowly filling again
Santiam River ( North Fork) : Next run of spring Chinook and summer steelhead won’t arrive until late April/early May
Santiam River (South Fork): Trout harvest is now closed until May 22
Alsea River: Winter steelhead fishing is starting to slow down on the Alsea
Kilchis River: The Kilchis River is a little on the low side
Necanicum River: The Necanicum will be low and clear this week but should still be fishable
Nehalem River: The Nehalem is a little on the high side but is still green and is on the drop
Nestucca River: The Nestucca is in good shape and still dropping
Siuslaw River: Winter steelhead fishing is starting to slow down for the season on the Siulsaw
Trask River: The Trask is in prime condition and dropping
Wilson River: The Wilson is in decent shape and dropping
Ben Irving Reservoir: Ben Irving remains cloudy for a long time after rains
Diamond Lake: People are still ice-fishing at Diamond
Elk River: Later season steelhead fishing can be excellent on the Elk
Emigrant Reservoir: Water temperatures are increasing and warmwater fishing should be picking up
Galesville Reservoir: The boat ramp is just usable and anglers are taking advantage of it
Hyatt Lake: Open water is available but the reservoir still extremely low
Illinois River: There are still some good-looking winter steelhead to be caught
Pistol River: With clear water conditions anglers will want to use small baits and light line
Rogue River- Lower: Fishing conditions are low and clear
Rogue River - Middle: Anglers are catching steelhead regularly from Grants Pass to Robertson Bridge
Rogue River- Upper: Winter fish are being caught on a more regular basis in the upper Rogue
Winchuck River: Current conditions are low and clear
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