A few springers, a lot more steelhead and the late, late, late goose hunt opener in Southwest Oregon highlight weekend opportunities in the Beaver State.
But if you want to stay indoors, there’s the big outdoors show in Roseburg too — we’ll be there giving away free mags and sweet deals on subscriptions (the dagger deal is back!!).
‘Here’s a roundup from OFDW’s weekly Recreation Report:
SOUTHWEST ZONE
- Steelhead fishing continues to hold up on many southwest rivers and streams.
- Cooper Creek Reservoir and Lake Selmac have been recently stocked with trout.
- Several area lakes and reservoirs continue to offer good fishing for holdover trout stocked last fall. These include the Coos County lakes, Expo Pond, Galesville Reservoir, Lost Creek Reservoir and Reinhart Pond.
WILLAMETTE ZONE
- A few early arrival spring chinook are being taken on the Willamette River.
- Winter steelhead fishing is good in the Clackamas and Sandy rivers and Eagle Creek. Steelhead are spread throughout both systems and some good catches have been reported.
- Sturgeon fishing is good on the lower Willamette River.
NORTHWEST ZONE
- Nestucca River: Steelhead angling should be fair to good. Fish are spreading out in the river system, but as flows drop more fish will hold up lower in the system waiting for rain. Look for a mixture of hatchery and wild fish. Drifting lures or bait near the bottom has been productive. With flows dropping, bobber and jigs will be more effective. Spinners are generally a good bet in the upper river also. With rain forecasted through the weekend fishing may improve as flows increase.
- Siletz River: Winter steelhead angling is slowing but still fair overall. Many hatchery fish have moved into the upper river but some are expected to continue returning through the month. Good numbers of native steelhead are showing up. River conditions for the week should allow anglers to fish the entire river.
- Siuslaw River: Steelhead angling is good. Recent rains have moved a new group of fish up into the system. Good catches of hatchery and native steelhead are coming from the lower river up to the Whittaker Creek area. River conditions should be good for this week.
CENTRAL ZONE
- For fly fishers, warm spring-like days have been triggering caddis and blue-wing olive hatches on the lower Deschutes River.
- Fishing also has been good on the Crooked River.
SOUTHEAST ZONE
- Ice fishing on Unity and Wolf Creek reservoirs has been very good. But ice conditions are changing so please use caution.
- Because their water temperatures stay fairly constant throughout the year, both Ana River and Ana Reservoir can offer good winter fishing opportunities.
NORTHEAST ZONE
- Anglers continue to report good fishing on the Grande Ronde, Wallowa, Imnaha and John Day rivers.
COLUMBIA ZONE
- Sturgeon angling is excellent for boat anglers in the Bonneville Pool.
- Counting fish released, steelhead fishing is excellent in The Dalles Pool and good in the John Day Pool for boat anglers. Bank anglers are also catching a few fish.
- Walleye fishing is excellent in The Dalles Pool and good in the John Day Pool for boat anglers.
