Fishing Report 02-18-2022
With rain coming just in time for the peak of winter steelhead season, it’s time for anglers to be thinking of tangling with trophy steelhead, like this monster that Robert from our Oregon City store caught and released from a coastal river a couple of seasons back! Now is a great time to fill reels with new line, tie rigs, check gear and make sure you are ready for some of the best winter steelhead fishing the world has to offer! Come see us at Fisherman’s Marine and Outdoor if you need help. Fish on!
Fishing Report 02-18-2022
Winter Steelhead fishing has gotten to be fairly tough with the lack of water. Rivers have been low and clear. There are still fish to be had, but folks are having to really work for them and use finesse techniques to entice bites. We have had a couple of showers this week and a bit more rain is forecast this weekend. Once rivers pop back up in height, look for the fishing to be really good! Once we have nice green water, most all techniques will work and going with something you have confidence in can be a great starting point. Plugs, jigs, worms, bait, beads, yarn and good old Corkie and Yarn will all produce fish.
All though the Winter Steelhead may not be enjoying the warmer than average temperatures, the Spring Chinook sure don’t seem to mind. We have had several more hatchery Springers brought into our stores to be weighed in and as each week passes we should see more fish getting caught. Most of the anglers that had success seemed to have been using herring, either plug-cut or whole.
Catch and release Sturgeon fishing was decent this week and quite a few folks took advantage of the nice weather and anchored up in the lower Willamette in search of Sturgeon. These fish are also liking the warmer weather and warmer water which typically equates to a better Sturgeon bite. Squid, herring, anchovies, smelt and sand shrimp are among the top producing baits this time of year.
Bottom fishing remains an excellent choice this time of year. In fact, Fisherman’s Pro, Andy Martin, has been having such great success that he has reported catching some really nice Lingcod by having them hitchhike to the surface. This just means that they are trying to eat the smaller fish that an angler hooks and they refuse to let go until they reach the surface and have to be pulled off of the other fish. Curly tail grubs have been working well, as have Rock Cod Rigs, vertical jigs and Chase bait Ultimate Squids. As we near spring we expect the near-shore bottom fishing to heat up!
Razor Clamming continues to be excellent in Long Beach and along the Northern Oregon coast. Looking to the future, WDFW has tentatively set a load of future clam digging dates all the way through April. So, be on the lookout for these dates to get approved.
Crabbing has been good in lots of the Oregon Coast Bays. The unseasonably nice weather has created great Crabbing conditions as the water conditions have been great!
Kokanee fishing remains excellent at Lake Merwin. This fishery is still under utilized for how good the quality of fish are and how plentiful they can be. Still high in the water column, these great biting fish will attack Wiggle Hoochies, small spinners, wedding rings and Brad’s Kokanee Cut Plugs. Always tip your offering with a kernel or two of Shoepeg corn and bring along a few different scent options to give your offering a little different flavor.
Trout fishing is starting to get going again and this beautiful weather is definitely helping move things along. Both ODFW and WDFW have started to stock lakes again and will ramp up their stocking efforts the closer we get to spring. If Trout fishing is on your agenda then be sure to keep an eye on the stocking schedules that both of the departments put out. If you are there after a lake has been recently stocked there is a good chance that these fish will be hanging around the location where they were released. They typically will hang close to that area for a week or two before branching out and exploring the rest of the lake.
Always be sure to check local regulations at ODFW and WDFW before heading out. Find reports and two most widely used baits, information on the Fisherman's Community page.
