    
Dennis Dobson
Unregistered guest
Rating: 
Votes: 2 | | Posted on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 11:01 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report 12/28/01
This is Dennis Dobson at Oregon Outdoors with your north coast fishing report for the week beginning Friday, December 28th.
General Conditions
Area streams have all dropped into shape and are producing good steelhead catches. With little or no rain forecast for the next week expect fishing to remain good to excellent depending on local variables of water flow, clarity and temperature.
Salmon
Although we still have a few days until the chinook season ends on Dec. 31, salmon fishing is pretty much over for the year.
The Kilchis is still producing a few bright chinook.
The Salmon River is also producing, especially in the upper reaches, and should continue to do so through the month. There are also coho in the Salmon and fin-clipped fish may be kept.
There are also a few late arriving 'nooks in the Nestucca.
Steelhead
The Necanicum, mainstem Nehalem and Kilchis are all very low, clear and difficult to fish right now. The Trask, while in good shape, doesn't have near the number of steelies in it that the Wilson and Nestucca have been providing.
The Nestucca in particular has been hot for the last several days, especially the stretch downstream from the mouth of Three Rivers/Jackson Drift through High Banks, Grassy Bank and Pipeline. While a few colored recycled fish are showing up, most of the catch is bright, sea-lice infested chromers.
Fresh fish are being recycled down to Cloverdale on the main Nestucca almost daily from Cedar Creek Hatchery bringing the total of recycled steelies in the lower Nestucca up to more than 2,200 to date. Recycled broodstock hatchery steelhead have also been released in both Cape Meares Lake and Town Lake, near Woods.
Three Rivers is in excellent shape and producing lots of fish.
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 is still producing well 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.
Although the bite has been erratic, several days recently have produced good sturgeon catches on Tillamook Bay for anglers willing to brave the elements.
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
As river levels continue to slowly drop over the next week, look for smallies and bucketmouths to head back out towards the main current. Work near-shore drop-off's, points and creek mouths for you best chances. 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. Trout stocking operations are scheduled to resume in March 2002.
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 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
Crabbing is slowly improving coast-wide as area bays repair after the last few rain 'events'. Watch tide cycles and time your crabbing to coincide with minimum tide movements. 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.
Winter steelheading is now in full swing. This means you can realisitically expect to catch at least a couple of these beauties on any given day. These are full-day driftboat trips. I am discounting my regular driftboat price from $125 to $100 per person through the end of January. You must fill both seats and book a minimum of one week in advance.
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.
GIFT CERTIFICATES for the angler in your life (you?) are always available.
CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS: We can now accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express credit cards and any major bank debit card for payment. Please call us to complete the transaction.
Until next week, have a great time and go catch some fish.
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This is Dennis Dobson at Oregon Outdoors with your north coast fishing report for the week beginning Friday, December 21st.
General Conditions
We've had little or no rain for the last three days and as a result fishing in a couple of local streams has improved. While many local rivers are still far too high and dirty to fish; the Trask, Wilson and Nestucca in particular, Three Rivers, the Kilchis and the Necanicum are all in decent shape and producing fish.
With several days of dry weather forecast for next week I expect to see good numbers of both late chinook and winter steelies being caught over the next week to ten days. Long enough, I hope, to take us into the new year.
Salmon
The Kilchis is still producing late bright chinook. Three Rivers is also providing a few brite late-coming chinook.
The Salmon River is still producing, especially in the upper reaches, and should continue to do so through the month. There are also coho in the Salmon and fin-clipped fish may be kept.
Barring extreme rainfall over the next few days expect the Wilson, Trask and Nestucca to be in good fishing shape by Monday or Tuesday. All will have good numbers of bright steelies and a few late chinook in them.
Steelhead
The Necanicum and Kilchis are both producing good numbers of fresh winter steelies. Fresh steelies are also showing up daily in the traps at Cedar Creek Hatchery on Three Rivers.
Fresh fish are being recycled down to Cloverdale on the main Nestucca almost daily from Cedar Creek Hatchery and while the main Nestucca probably won't fish well until Monday, Three Rivers is hot right now. Recycled broodstock hatchery steelhead have also been released in both Cape Meares Lake and Town Lake, near Woods.
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 is still producing well 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 in Tillamook Bay should improve as runoff from recent rains works its way out to the ocean. Although few prople choose to sturgeon fish on the bay during the winter it truly can be an excellent fishery.
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
As river levels drop over the next week, look for smallies and bucketmouths to head back out towards the main current. Work near-shore drop-off's, points and creek mouths for you best chances. 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 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
Flooded bays along the north coast have reduced both the crab catch and the number of people crabbing. Crabbing will improve dramatically once river and bay water levels have dropped into nortmal winter ranges and we get a series of soft tides. Once again, weather will be the key indicator. 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.
Winter Chinook Special: A couple of local rivers host a late, "Holiday" run of chinook - BIG chinook. Most noticably, the Kilchis is famous among local anglers and guides for producing 40, 50 and the occasional 60-pound chinook between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Prime time for this run is from the first week of December through January 1 (the season ends state-wide on December 31). If you have ever wanted to hang a true trophy on your family room wall, the time to do it is coming up. Winter steelheading will also be in full swing by mid-December. This means you can realisitically expect to catch at least a couple of each species. 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.
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This is Dennis Dobson at Oregon Outdoors with your north coast fishing report for the week beginning Thursday, December 13th.
Once again we are being hammered by winter storms. Every river on the north coast is rising, turning dirty and essentially not very fishable.
General Conditions
Once again, all I can tell you is to pay attention to the weather over the next few days. As soon as these storms move through and rivers begin to drop and clear we'll see the bite pick up.
Salmon
Much like last week 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. The Trask, Wilson and Nestucca will take longer to repair themselves.
The Salmon River is still producing well and should continue to do so through the month. There are also coho in the Salmon and fin-clipped fish may be kept.
Steelhead
Fresh steelies are showing up daily in the traps at Cedar Creek Hatchery on Three Rivers. The 300 fish recycled from the hatchery to Cloverdale yesterday bring the total number of winter steelies released recently to over 600. There are also reports of fresh, bright late season chinook being taken in the Nestucca. Recycled brood hatchery steelhead have also been released in both Cape Meares Lake and Town Lake, near Woods.
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 is still producing well 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.
Just like last week sturgeon fishing on Tillamook Bay can go 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. NOTE: Tillamook Bait Company will be closed from December 14 until the first of the year. 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
As winter storms pour water into the Willamette River, especially from Albany downstream to Canby, look for smallies and bucketmouths to head out of the main current. Flooded creek mouths and flooded brushy areas just outside the main current will hold bass as they wait for the water level to drop. Weedless spoons, night crawlers and soft plastic baits will all entice fish into biting. 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 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
Flooded bays along the north coast have reduced both the crab catch and the number of people crabbing. Crabbing will improve dramatically once river and bay water levels have dropped into nortmal winter ranges and we get a series of soft tides. Once again, weather will be the key indicator. 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.
Winter Chinook Special: A couple of local rivers host a late, "Holiday" run of chinook - BIG chinook. Most noticably, the Kilchis is famous among local anglers and guides for producing 40, 50 and the occasional 60-pound chinook between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Prime time for this run is from the first week of December through January 1 (the season ends state-wide on December 31). If you have ever wanted to hang a true trophy on your family room wall, the time to do it is coming up. Winter steelheading will also be in full swing by mid-December. This means you can realisitically expect to catch at least a couple of each species. 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.
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.
GIFT CERTIFICATES for the angler in your life (you?) are always available.
Until next week, have a great time and go catch some fish. |
