05-11-2002, 01:01 PM
Fisheries Update<br><br><br>May 10th - May 16th, 2002<br><br> The salmon fishing on the Columbia is not what you would expect for a 300,000 return. Expect hit and miss results for the remainder of the season (we got extended again until the 15th of May). Steelhead will start a good showing on the big river for those knowing where to go. Plunkers off of the beach should score well on smaller spin-n-glos. Gear up for sturgeon as the estuary is heating up for sturgeon and so should your success rates when you get your copy of tech report #3 by logging on to: https://secure.max.net/cgi-bin/sform/the...hrpt.shtml. <br><br>Anglers working the gorge for sturgeon will find a mix of fish but oversize season is right around the corner. Fresh shad are becoming available in the Willamette for desperate anglers. The Willamette is hit and miss but fish are starting to pour over the falls making the upriver fishery worth your time. Trollers are doing fair from Milwaukie downstream. Prawn draggers are doing quite well intercepting springers before they make it to Meldrum Bar by focusing efforts at Cedar Oaks. <br><br>The Santiams will also remain a great option with some high passage days over the weekend. Both springers and steelhead can make for great action on these rivers. The McKenzie is still blown. Salmon and good numbers of steelhead are there for the taking in both the Sandy and Clackamas. The Clack is surprisingly sparse of anglers so far but that will likely change by the weekend. Great tides for a great opportunity on Tillamook Bay this weekend. Too bad only 70% at best of the hatchery springers will be clipped. Be prepared to weed through some before finding one that you can take home for dinner. <br><br>The Umpqua is also a great option for larger than usual springers. A good effort usually results in good catches. Herring have started to enter Yaquina Bay. Crabbing has been slow in Tillamook Bay but keepers are large. Smallmouth bass remain active in the Willamette. <br><br>Kokanee fishing is good at Odell and Wickiup, slow at Green Peter and Lake Billy Chinook. Scheduled for stocking this week: Coffenbury, Benson, Blue, Henry Hagg, Roslyn, Walter Wirth, Timber Linn, Waverly and Freeway Lakes, Mt. Hood, Trojan, Roaring River, Walling and Wahkeena Ponds, Silver Creek and Detroit Reservoirs and Alton Baker Canal. <br><br>Always more at http://www.theguidesforecast.com/<br><br>Get more Oregon fishing information at<br>http://www.theguidesforecast.com