Fishing report 5-1

Spring is here! Well the weather is sure being temperamental like it usually gets during the Spring-time months. Which has made things interesting all across the board for Springer fishermen. The warmer weather from last week had started to warm up the Willamette which can really get the Chinook snapping. However now this week we have had a bunch of rain and cool temps come rolling in. This has stalled the river temps from rising very drastically, which actually is a positive thing. The fish are starting to pile into the Oregon City area which will give anglers ample opportunity at limits of fresh Spring Chinook! Here you will see many different techniques being used from diver fishing eggs to vertically jigging the deep water up near Oregon City falls. The fish will spend their time milling all around this area waiting for the temps to jump up drastically to give them the heads up to start their journey above the falls. This stacking up of fish gives folks a good opportunity to try different baits, scents or presentations to find what the Chinook will want that day. Down in the Portland Harbor and Multnomah Channel the fish are still filling into the river from the Columbia’s. Here we have had many Pro’s including Josiah Darr who have been finding success trolling flashers and herring as well as 360 flashers and Superbaits or small 3.5 size spinners. 

Up the Columbia Gorge in the Wind River bubble fishery and Drano Lake the Springer fishing has been picking up! These fisheries are very unique in that you can find fish getting caught on nearly any technique you can think of. However at the moment, most folks are finding success trolling triangle flashers and herring or 360 flashers and a wide variety of baits. As the water warms up we will start to see more folks anchoring up and bobber fishing eggs and shrimp or even hover fishing. 

Catch and release Sturgeon fishing is another great fishery going on at the moment. Lots of folks will troll for chinook in the morning and spend the rest of the afternoon drowning their herring chasing Sturgeon. Squid, herring, sand shrimp and smelt all make great baits. 

Bottomfishing remains a stellar option for folks looking for a saltier fishery. This time of year the Lingcod fishing can be super good! Limits of Lingcod have been the norm for folks aboard the boat of Pro, Andy Martin. Twintail scampis as well as Farallon feathers have been accounting for much of Andy’s success. 

Razor Clamming at Long Beach was once again extremely productive. WDFW has been having a ton of digs opening up lately and show no signs of stopping. Be sure to be on the look out for the next dig announcement, as they usually announce it the day or two before the digs take place. 

Kokanee fishing has also continued to be good for folks heading up to Lake Merwin and Yale Reservoir. Pro, KC Talaro, has been finding success chasing these land locked salmon, using dodgers and a number of different baits. Small spin-n-glos, small spinner blades, small bright colored hoochies and Brad’s Kokanee Cutplugs have all been putting fish in the boat. Be sure to have quite a few scent options with you like krill, anise, garlic, sardine, salmon egg or anise/krill. Scent can be a huge factor when trying to limit your boat on Kokanee. 

Trout fishing has continued to improve and folks are reporting great success in many lakes across the northwest. ODFW has continued their planting efforts with stocking more lakes than we can count, however Green Peter Reservoir, Timothy Lake, Clear Lake and Henry Hagg Lake are lakes definitely worth mentioning in this weeks stocking report. Fishing bait on the bottom and under a bobber are always go-to methods. Especially around the areas where the stocking trucks release the Trout. Once the fish start to branch out into the lake, that’s when trolling small plugs or casting spinners/kastmasters becomes very productive.