    
Dennis Dobson
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 | | Posted on Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 12:24 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report 11/15/01
This is Dennis Dobson at Oregon Outdoors with your north coast fishing report for the week beginning November 15th.
General Conditions
Sorry this is a day late, folks. We just weathered the first real winter storm of the season and were without electricity most of yesterday.
This storm dumped enough rain on the north coast to push most of our rivers over their banks and will have literally flooded (no pun intended) them with fresh chinook and the first of the winter steelhead. Both the Wilson and Trask are still at or just below their banks and slowly dropping. The Kilchis is still high and dirty although it will drop into shape a day or two sooner than either the Wilson or Trask. The Nestucca crested at over ten feet and is currently at six feet, eight inches and slowly dropping.
Since this storm series moved in from south to north rivers further south received far less rain than Tillamook County rivers. The Alsea, Siletz, Sixes and Elk rivers should all be in fishing condition by Saturday or Sunday at the latest. Further north, the Necanicum will also be fishable by the weekend.
Salmon
Once rivers drop into condition every area river will be holding a mixed bag of fresh, bright chinook, winter steelies and a few darker chinook. The Necanicum and Kilchis will shape up first and should be in good fishing condition by Sunday, maybe even Saturday. The Trask, Wilson and Nestucca will take longer to repair themselves. The Wilson and Trask aren't likely to be worth fishing until at least Monday, even as late as Tuesday while the Nestucca might be fishable as early as Sunday, although Monday is more likely.
The Nestucca, from Sixth Bridge downstream to Cloverdale has chinook in every hole. Unfortunately, the water is so low and clear the fishing is iffy at best. There are also a lot of darker fish mixed in with brights. The same is true on both the Trask and Wilson. Lots of fish, low clear water and tough fishing.
On the coast Tillamook Bay is still producing chinook. Until the bay clears itself of flood waters later next week,however, it won't really be worth the effort. The Tillamook Terminal area (inside the jetties) and the ocean control zone (the bubble) both closed on November 15.
The Salmon River is still producing well and should continue to do so through the month.
The flooding this week will have pushed most of the fish in the Nehalem system into the rivers. Drifting the river for coho and steelies is probably your best bet for hook-ups. Some chinook will still be taken by trollers and bobber fishermen on South Fork in the area around the Barn Hole for the next couple of weeks.
Steelhead
There are reports of good numbers of fresh steelies in the Nestucca from Three Rivers downstream to Cloverdale. One bright spot in all of this flooding is Three Rivers itself. Visibility is 18 to 24 inches with good flow and color. There are lots of retuning hatchery steelies in the river and this pretty little stream is well worth your attention this weekend. If the main access areas are too crowded, stop by Nestucca Valley Sporting Goods and ask for directions to the 500 yard stretch behind their shop. There is some excellent steelie water there and far less pressure than the area between the bridge and the dam deadline, Heart Attack Hole, the "S" curves and the piece opposite the Forestry Service office.Corkies and yarn, corkies with a small bit of bait, bobber and jig or bait, flies and spinners will all take steelies this week in Three Rivers as these are bright and aggressive.
Once local rivers drop into shape the steelie fishing will pick up. All of our local streams will have received their first shots of fresh winter fish with this high water.
Sturgeon
The best sturgeon bite on the big river is still concentrated around both Dodson and, lower in the river, near Astoria. All of the standard baits and techniques are producing well. The over-size fishery just below Bonneville Dam kicked into high gear las week with more water flow through the dam and should continue for at least the next two or three weeks. Lamprey eel and smelt, as well as sand shrimp, have been producing good catches.
Sturgeon fishing on Tillamook Bay can one of either two ways over the next week. I have seen both happen and it is difficult to predict which will hold sway. Sometimes after a large flooding event the bay is so full of food for the sturgeon that it doesn't matter where you put your bait but a fish will pick it up. I have also seen times when the bay is full of bait and the fish are so gorged and have such an abundance to choose from that no one gets any hook ups. I'd talk to Dennis or Marie at Tillamook Bait Company to see which way the bite is tending before traveling down here to sturgeon fish. They can be reached at 503-842-5301. There is also an excellent chance that many of the resident sturgeon in Tillamook Bay will move into lower tidewater on the Tillamook River to get out of the silt and mud in the main bay. You might try targeting them in the river instead of the bay.
If you want to wet a line this coming week I'd suggest you call either Ron Byrd at Nestucca Valley Sporting Goods (503-392-4269) for up-to-date info on the Nestucca and Three Rivers or Dennis and Marie Will at Tillamook Bait Company (503-842-5031) for the latest word on the Trask, Wilson and Tillamook Bay. Kelly and Janice at The Jetty Fishery can give you all of the up-to-date info you need on the fishing at Nehalem. They can be reached at 503-368-5746.
Bass and Walleye
No bass report. Walleye fishing on the Columbia remains good to excellent. Most anglers are having their best luck trolling plugs along drop-off's.
Trout
Trout fishing in most coastal streams closed on November 1. All trout stocking for the year has been completed. Fall stocking of larger fish is not scheduled to occur as low-water conditions at both hatcheries and local lakes necessitated early release of these fish.
The stocking schedule is now available on the internet at www.dfw.or.us. AND at www.localfishermannews.com.
Ocean
There has been very limited salmon and bottom fishing along the coast for the last week as seasonal storms have kept most boats inshore on most days. If weather and bar conditions improve, expect the bottom fishing to be good to excellent.
Crabbing and Shellfish
The ocean is closed for dungeness crab through November 30. Crabbing is picking up in both Nehalem and Tillamook bays with consistent limits of good, hard-shelled Dungeness being taken. Netarts Bay is also producing good catches of crab. All ocean beaches from the south jetty of the Columbia River to Tillamook Head, are closed to razor clam harvest for conservation reasons. Except for the jetties at the ocean entrances, all bays in the closure area remain open. For the latest info on beach closures, call the Shellfish Hotline at 503-986-4728 or go to www.oda.state.or.us on the web for updates.
Kilchis River Special: Each year the Kilchis hosts a major run of chum and chinook salmon. When the rains and the run coincide it isn't unusual for anglers to play 10 to 20 chum and a couple of chinook each. And, while the chum are catch and release only, you can take home up to two chinook. Among the most aggressive of the salmon species, chum will pretty much hit anything you put in front of them. And, whether you chase them with conventional gear or fly rods, they are great fighters. This year I am reserving the period from October 15 through the close of chum season on November 15 for chum and chinook fishing on the Kilchis. These are full-day driftboat trips. I am discounting my regular driftboat price from $125 to $100 per person. You must fill both seats and book a minimum of one week in advance. This is one of my most popular fisheries so I suggest you book your seats early to assure you get the date you want.
Salmon Special- Fall 2001 - Nehalem Bay and Tillamook Bay: Parties of two or three people, just $125 per person, per day - a $25 per person savings. Fill all four seats for just $450- a savings of $150. (Standard rate is $150 per person, per day).
Ask Us
If you'd like to ask about local river conditions or book a trip you can reach us by phone at 503-815-2766 or via e-mail at oreoutdd@pacifier.com
And be sure to visit our web site at oregonoutdoors.org. Just follow the link to the homepage. Please sign our Guest Book … we always enjoy seeing who is visiting us.
Until next week, have a great time and go catch some fish. |
