Over 50 years of fishing the Northwest for Salmon, Steelhead & Sturgeon
I have included the above calendar for your convenience. Generally, beginning at the first of January, we will be fishing for keeper sturgeon & winter steelhead. Seasons & quotas are ever changing, so any reservations made are with the understanding, our target fishery may change with little notice from OR Dept. of Fish & Wildlife.
Spring salmon begins in the Lower Willamette River in mid-March. I continue to fish for "Springers" well into June, following them into the Santiam Watershed, conditions permitting. We also fish the Nestucca River & Tillamook Bay as alternatives.
By June 1, the shad fishery on the Columbia & Willamette Rivers is picking up, and that also means, the catch & release fishery for over-sized sturgeon below Bonneville Dam is in full swing!
Floating the Santiam River for Summer Steelhead, either in drift-boat or by 3-man pontoon in the upper river for a true get-away experience that combines a great day of fishing as well as some great white water adventure. This is a great all-summer fishery!
The arrival of August, means the much anticipated Buoy 10 fishery is about to take off. I usually start booking trips by the second week, but typically, the third week is usually "peak". I also target those fish on up the river to Bonneville well into September.
This is also the start of the coastal fall chinook, followed by coho salmon fishery. Around mid-september, I can be found on anyone of the coastal bays, including The Nehalem, Tillamook, Siletz, then later on, following the fish up into the rivers themselves.
Another alternative is the Columbia River above Bonneville. The native tribes have really stepped up, helping out the sportfishers, with an expanding hatchery program that has been very successful. We are fortunate to be able to target salmon at Wind River and off the Klickitat, even into December. This also a great alternative to the coastal fishery if the weather would otherwise be a factor, especially if it meant cancelling the trip.
And that brings us right back to the early arriving winter steelhead of the Clackamas, Sandy, & Wilson Rivers as the year winds down.
I hope this short synopsis has helped inform you what is going on and where, and to give a rough idea of the run timing. Dont forget to check out my blog as I will post what I know is happening, even the bad days!
