Fishing Report 05-14-2021
Trout fishing continues to heat up across our region, as shown by this nice rainbow caught earlier this week from a lake in the Mt. Hood Country. Be sure to check out our excellent selection of Trout gear at all three Fishermans’ locations. Fish on!
Fishing report 5-14
Spring Chinook fishing around the Metro area was decent this past week with anglers finding some of their best success in the Portland Harbor and Multnomah Channel. Trolling with a 360 flasher and 3.5 size spinner or Brad’s Superbait has been the most widely used technique. Again, these fish are usually suspended up off of the bottom, so most anglers will try to stagger their trolling depths until they find success and try to focus their efforts on that depth.
Spring Chinook are also being caught now in local tributaries. Bobber fishing with roe and sand shrimp is hard to beat, and a fair number are caught each season by back-trolling plugs. Tributary Springers will also slam hardware like spoons and spinners, especially at first light. There are also some Summer Steelhead present in local rivers.
Catch and release Sturgeon fishing in the Willamette been good and should continue to be good for a while longer. In the Columbia, from the Wauna Powerlines down to the Buoy 10 line, fisheries managers have set a 3 day a week Sturgeon retention season. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through June 5th will be open for sturgeon retention in this area of the river. Fishing will close, even for catch and release, at 2pm on those retention days. Squid, herring, anchovies and sand shrimp have all been good baits to choose from.
Bottom fishing has been quite good with a lot of really nice size Lingcod in the mix. This time of year makes for a really good haul of ocean caught fish and shellfish. Drop your Crab pots on the way out, catch your quick limit of Rockfish and swing back in to grab your full Crab pots.
Smallmouth Bass fishing is rockin’ and rollin’ with anglers reporting lots of fast-paced action on the Willamette as well as the Columbia. These fish are moving up shallow getting ready to spawn and in doing so they become extremely aggressive. Shallow diving crankbaits, tube baits, jigs, soft plastics and spinnerbaits will all catch fish at times. Focus on coves and rocky outcroppings as theses are places that fish like to congregate.
Trout fishing has been good and will continue to be good for quite some time. ODFW has been busy planting the majority of local lakes and will continue doing so through the early summer. Spinners, Kastmasters, spoons and bubble and fly are all good choices for anglers looking to move around and constantly be busy. Whereas fishing nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, shrimp or Powerbait are all good options for folks wanting to prop up a camp chair and kick back and wait for the fish to come to them.
Kokanee fishing has also been good and anglers are still finding success high up in the water column. If the warm weather persists we will start to see the fish sinking down deeper searching for cooler water. Trolling has still been the go-to technique with folks finding success trolling small Spin-N-Glos, small spinner blades, bright colored hoochies and wedding rings. Bring along a few different scent options to keep the bite going.
There are a few shad showing up in the Willamette River at Oregon City, and this run will only build in the coming weeks on both the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Small wobblers like Dick Nites and Wild Weasels will catch their share, as will small grubs and Shad Darts. Be sure to check out our extensive selection of Shad gear at all three Fisherman's Marine & Outdoor Locations.
Always be sure to check local regulations at ODFW and WDFW before heading out. Find reports and two most widely used baits, information on the Fisherman's Community page.
Spring Chinook fishing around the Metro area was decent this past week with anglers finding some of their best success in the Portland Harbor and Multnomah Channel. Trolling with a 360 flasher and 3.5 size spinner or Brad’s Superbait has been the most widely used technique. Again, these fish are usually suspended up off of the bottom, so most anglers will try to stagger their trolling depths until they find success and try to focus their efforts on that depth.
Spring Chinook are also being caught now in local tributaries. Bobber fishing with roe and sand shrimp is hard to beat, and a fair number are caught each season by back-trolling plugs. Tributary Springers will also slam hardware like spoons and spinners, especially at first light. There are also some Summer Steelhead present in local rivers.
Catch and release Sturgeon fishing in the Willamette been good and should continue to be good for a while longer. In the Columbia, from the Wauna Powerlines down to the Buoy 10 line, fisheries managers have set a 3 day a week Sturgeon retention season. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through June 5th will be open for sturgeon retention in this area of the river. Fishing will close, even for catch and release, at 2pm on those retention days. Squid, herring, anchovies and sand shrimp have all been good baits to choose from.
Bottom fishing has been quite good with a lot of really nice size Lingcod in the mix. This time of year makes for a really good haul of ocean caught fish and shellfish. Drop your Crab pots on the way out, catch your quick limit of Rockfish and swing back in to grab your full Crab pots.
Smallmouth Bass fishing is rockin’ and rollin’ with anglers reporting lots of fast-paced action on the Willamette as well as the Columbia. These fish are moving up shallow getting ready to spawn and in doing so they become extremely aggressive. Shallow diving crankbaits, tube baits, jigs, soft plastics and spinnerbaits will all catch fish at times. Focus on coves and rocky outcroppings as theses are places that fish like to congregate.
Trout fishing has been good and will continue to be good for quite some time. ODFW has been busy planting the majority of local lakes and will continue doing so through the early summer. Spinners, Kastmasters, spoons and bubble and fly are all good choices for anglers looking to move around and constantly be busy. Whereas fishing nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, shrimp or Powerbait are all good options for folks wanting to prop up a camp chair and kick back and wait for the fish to come to them.
Kokanee fishing has also been good and anglers are still finding success high up in the water column. If the warm weather persists we will start to see the fish sinking down deeper searching for cooler water. Trolling has still been the go-to technique with folks finding success trolling small Spin-N-Glos, small spinner blades, bright colored hoochies and wedding rings. Bring along a few different scent options to keep the bite going.
There are a few shad showing up in the Willamette River at Oregon City, and this run will only build in the coming weeks on both the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Small wobblers like Dick Nites and Wild Weasels will catch their share, as will small grubs and Shad Darts. Be sure to check out our extensive selection of Shad gear at all three Fisherman's Marine & Outdoor Locations.
Always be sure to check local regulations at ODFW and WDFW before heading out. Find reports and two most widely used baits, information on the Fisherman's Community page.
