Fishing Report 04-09-2021
Rand Turner caught this nice Spring Chinook yesterday while fishing the Willamette River with Fisherman’s Pro Guide, Chris Vertopoulos. The chrome fish took herring trolled behind a Leo Flasher. Leo Flashers are currently on sale for $3.00 off at Fisherman’s. Nice catch, fellas! (Chris V’s Guide Service: 503-349-1377.)
Fishing report 4-9
Spring Chinook fishing on the Willamette has finally improved the past few days, and anglers are finding success throughout the river. A big concentration of effort is down in the Portland Harbor through the Multnomah Channel. These fish are just cruising up river and not spending a lot of time hanging around, so trolling is the most widely used technique. This year it’s no secret that green label herring are just flat out near impossible to get ahold of, so anglers are having to get creative with their baits. Anglers are having to use herring as small as orange label, and with these smaller baits, fishing them whole has been a popular option. You can add a Spin-n-Glo or small spinner blade in front of your bait to give it some more profile, or run them with a Trinidad Anchovy Helmet. Prawn Spinners and smaller 3.5 size spinners are also good options when trolling in the lower river. The closer you get to Oregon City, you will likely start seeing more anglers back trolling eggs and shrimp, or back bouncing eggs and shrimp. Back trolling Kwikfish or prawns is also a good choice.
Winter Steelhead fishing is definitely winding down and most anglers are starting to switch gears. With that said, there are still a few fish poking around with some rivers having some nice broodstock hatchery fish in them. Bobberdoggin bait or beads, backtrolling plugs or bobber fishing pink worms or jigs will all produce fish. Covering water may be a good idea as you may have to search a little bit to find good biters.
Catch and Release Sturgeon fishing is an awesome way to spend a day, with anglers finding good success in the lower Willamette. These fish love to hang out in the slow, deep water of the Portland Harbor and you can get away with fishing smaller lead. This allows folks to target these fish with heavy salmon rods making the fight fun for anyone. Squid, herring, sand shrimp and smelt are all good bait choices.
Spring-time is a great time to target Trout as a lot of local lakes have been stocked and will continue to get stocked as the weather gets nicer. As the water continues to warm up look for Trout to get more aggressive. These freshly-stocked fish willing take bait under a bobber and fished off of the bottom. Another great choice is casting spinners or Kastmasters as these fish will be starting to branch out from the location that they were stocked and be on the hunt for a new food source.
Kokanee fishing is still good at Lake Merwin and as the lake starts to warm up look for the bite to continue to be good. These delicious landlocked salmon will be on the bite high in the water column. Trolling wedding rings, Wiggle Hoochies, small Spin-N-Glos, Brad’s Kokanee Cutplugs and small spinner blades will all entice bites. Tip your rig with Shoepeg corn and add your favorite scent for a winning combination.
Walleye fishing has been getting better in the Columbia River Gorge. Walleye are one of the most delicious fish that call the Columbia River home, and more anglers are finally starting to find this out. They are relatively easy to fish for, with trolling bottom walkers and worm harnesses being the most popular technique.
Smallmouth Bass are starting to wake up and have began to make their way up from the depths and will soon be moving up shallow. These fish can be caught with deep diving crankbaits, jigs and soft plastic tubes. Targeting ledges and deeper drop offs will help you find early season biters.
Bottom fishing is another fishery that starts to take off this time of year. All types of bottom fish are there to be caught, with Lingcod being one of the most prized catches. Shrimp flies, vertical jigs and large curly tail grubs are all good bait options.
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.
