Outdoor Report 11/30

Looks like we are finally getting a reprieve from the rain this week. It’s time to start thinking about winter steelhead. We are getting reports daily of steelhead being caught in most of the local tributaries. We expect to see an uptick in reports with the water starting to drop into prime shape over the weekend and into next week. These early fish are caught on a multitude of techniques as some anglers are still targeting chinook and coho. Anglers will target the late arriving fall Chinook with big chinook plugs or big baits of eggs and shrimp, while anglers who are targeting late run Coho may use twitching jigs or spinners. For those that are going to be specifically targeting winter steelhead, bobber and jig or bobber and pink worm are great choices to use when searching for early fish. Great jig choices are Maxi jigs, Aerojigs, Beau Mac jigs and Johns Jigs, while good pink worm choices are Berkley worms, MadRiver worms or B-N-R worms. With floats, you can effectively fish many types of water and cover a lot of water in a short time. Another option is to drift fish for these early winter steelhead. Bait is always a good option as these early hatchery fish love to scarf up sand shrimp or little baits of eggs. Drift fishing a sand shrimp tail with a small corkie, cheater, corkie cluster or soft bead is always a great bet, especially if the water has that steelhead green color. Also, don’t forget to bring along a few spinners and spoons. Sometimes having a few spoons to throw through a run or two can be the ticket that turns a day from a skunk trip into a limit trip. Those that are going to be fishing from a drift boat have a few other options as far as techniques are concerned. Back trolling smaller plugs such as Mag Lip 3.5, Hotshots, x11 Kwikfish or Wiggle Warts is a terrific way to get into some fish and get younger generations into fish without making them cast floats or drift fish. Bobberdogging is all the rage these days and for good reason: bobberdogging is a great option to cover water when fishing from a drift boat because with multiple anglers in your boat you can cover every run thoroughly in just a few passes. Eggs, yarnies, corkies, beads and pink worms are all utilized when bobberdogging for steelhead. For those new to bobberdogging, Fisherman’s Pro Staff Guide, Josiah Darr, will be conducting a seminar at the Tigard store on December 5th at 6:30. Josiah will break bobberdogging down so that even a beginner can go out and utilize this technique. Don’t forget that we will be having our Winter Steelhead Derby once again this year. The derby will start on December 1st and run through March 31st. Only bright hatchery fin- clipped steelhead may be entered and anybody, except guides, can enter a fish. Fish must be gutted, gills are optional. Inquire at the stores or visit our website for more details. Catch and release sturgeon fishing has been very productive in the Willamette for those that have been out targeting them. Squid, sand shrimp and smelt have been the most popular baits recently, however don’t over look herring this time of year. These fish have been feeding on all the cut-plug baits throughout the fall, so they are used to eating herring. Razor clam digging in the Long Beach area is opened this weekend with digs Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday evenings. You can get details by visiting http://wdfw.wa.gov /fishing/shellfish/ razorclams/current.html. As a reminder, Oregon is open every day and with good tides coming up this weekend, it should make for excellent digging on the Clatsop Spit beaches. All good tides will be evening tides so make sure you take a powerful headlamp or gas lantern to help find the “shows”. With the warmer weather, duck hunting has slowed in local hunting areas. Good shooting is pretty much dictated by the weather at this point. When conditions get nasty, the otherwise savvy local birds drop their guard. If mild weather conditions persist, it makes it tough. While duck shooting has slowed, goose shooting has improved. There are a lot of Canada geese in the local area. For those with Northwest Goose Season permits, populations of geese look good in the Willamette Valley and in the Columbia River and should provide great shooting for those who have the permit. If you don’t have one and would like one, you can find the details by visiting http://www.dfw.state.or. us/resources/hunting/ waterfowl/# As always be sure to check local regulations before heading out. Shoot straight, tight lines and most of all, be safe out there.