With the Columbia River and several tributaries closed to salmon fishing anglers are finding success in other fisheries including; shad, steelhead, walleye, bass and sturgeon. It now looks as though the spring bite has finally arrived in the Northwest, and ocean fisheries for salmon are just a month away and halibut, bottomfish and lingcod catch is fantastic.
Cover Photo: Client Randy McLeod of Salem opted for the steelhead instead of the sausage. After several hours of fishing and only one hookup with an eight-pound native that had to be released April 20 on the Wilson River, fishing guide Bob Gale of Keizer turned his attention to lunch and fired up the onboard grill. Any veteran angler who's ever attempted to grab a bite with their line trailing in the water knows what happens next.
Columbia River: (At Bonneville Dam - 57.2° F / 262.10 kcfs. Gage 19.3. Visibility 4 feet). The Columbia is currently closed to fishing for Chinook salmon but the river is open for shad, steelhead, sturgeon walleye and pikeminnow. (Always check regulations before fishing).
In the upper river the catch of shad is picking up. Best success is from Bonneville Dam to Beacon Rock, but anglers are also finding fish from Beacon Rock down to Longview. Daily passage at the dam is currently averaging 30,000 to 45,000 fish so now is the time to go. This fishery will only last a short time, possibly till mid June.
Sturgeon: Billie Overcash at The Fishery in Cascade Locks (541) 374-8577) said the ODFW checker, on May 29, reported 2 keeper sturgeon kept and 6 oversize released for 11 boats. There were also 9 shad boats checked that caught a total of 290 shad.
On Saturday, May 28 they were letting out a lot of water from the dam, but I had one angler come in who caught two walleye, Overcash said. Also, in a one hour time frame, on this date the checker reported 198 sub legal sturgeon, 8 keepers and 10 oversize for 16 boats.
Boat anglers are buying a lot of chartreuse colored Dick Nite lures for shad, Overcash said. The 4 and 5 ounce seem to be the most popular. Bank anglers are sticking with the shad darts.
In the lower river, from Longview to Astoria, large 47 to 54 inch sturgeon (see photo page 27) are keeping the dust off anglers rods and will continue to do so until the retention closure, which is expected to happen on or about July 5.
WDFW creel reports May 28: Bonneville Pool - One legal per 7 rods. The Dalles Pool - Boat anglers are catching some legals, slow for bank anglers. Deep River - boat anglers one legal for 5 rods. On May 22 Ilwaco charter boats were averaging slightly over one legal per rod and private boat anglers out of Chinook and Ilwaco were tagging one legal per 12 rods.
Bass and walleye: In Bonneville Pool boat anglers were averaging nearly 5 bass per rod on May 28 and bank anglers were also catching some fish. In The Dalles pool boat anglers averaged over 4 bass and nearly a walleye per rod. The John Day Pool provided boat anglers with over 3 bass and nearly 2 walleye per rod.
Willamette River: (Below Falls - 62° F / 9.17 feet / 16,000 cfs / 4.8 foot visibility). Angler pressure for Salmon has dropped off considerably. The lower river will still produce a few spring Chinook this month for determined anglers, but success in the mid-section of the river will end as water skiers take over. The upper river from Milwaukie to Oregon City will continue to produce fair to good catches of Chinook through June. The Willamette River above the falls will also continue to provide fair to good action.
Shad fishing is picking up and success is good from Oregon City to lower Meldrum Bar. This fishery will expand through mid-June as the run continues to build.
North Santiam River: (Below Bolder Cr. 57.2° F / 875 cfs / 3.65 feet). Report by LFN news correspondent Bill Sanderson: River levels allow for good navigation in all river sections this week and allow for good wading and bank fishing in most places. The fish may be closer to the bank at this level than in two weeks, when the river will be a little lower.
With so many of both steelhead and salmon in the river, it makes sense to fish different water for each species. Changing tackle in each different drift will maximize your chances.
Sandy River: (Below Bull Run River - 51 to 61° F / 8.97 feet / 1,290 cfs.). A mud slide on Jordan Road near the Tippy Canoe Restaurant on May 31 sent a fair amount of mud and debris into the river. This will likely affect water clarity in the lower river for the next couple of weeks. With low snow pack daily water temperatures have been fluctuating widely, according to Rob Brown at Jack s Snack-N-Tackle in Troutdale.
Brown said, we have seen water temperatures as low as 51° during the a.m. hours and as high as 61° later in the afternoon.
