Fishing Report 04-16-2021

Ed Shearer took advantage of the gorgeous weather yesterday to catch this equally gorgeous Willamette River Spring Chinook while fishing with Fisherman’s Pro Staffer, Chris Vertopoulos. The shiny Salmon hit a Mulkey 3.5 Spinner trolled behind a Pro Troll Flasher. Great catch, gentlemen! (Chris V’s Guide Service: 503-349-1377.)

Fishing report 4-16

Spring Chinook fishing has been decent on the Willamette as anglers are finding success throughout the river. Folks down in the Multnomah Channel and Portland Harbor are finding their best success trolling herring, prawns and spinners. These fish will continue to enter the river for the next few months and this area will consistently produce fish. As you move up river, folks will still troll with either triangle flashers or 360 flashers. Once you get up to the Oregon City area you will start to see a wide variety of techniques being used. Back trolling eggs, shrimp, prawns or Kwikfish will be the most widely used techniques, with folks also backbouncing, vertical jigging and anchor fishing.

Drano Lake and Wind River will both start to produce fish any day now as the run continues to build. Anglers in these fisheries will implement a wide variety of techniques for the next few months. Trolling triangle flashers with cutplug herring or prawns is a good choice. Trolling 360 flashers with prawns, Brad’s Cutplugs, Kokanee Cutplugs and even spinners will produce fish. Some folks will just flatline Mag Lips, Wiggle Warts or Kwikfish. And, as more fish start to accumulate in the lake, you will also see anglers bobber and egg fishing.

Catch and release Sturgeon fishing is another great option this time of year, as the warm weather and good fishing can make for a great day on the water. Squid , sand shrimp, herring and smelt are all good bait choices.

Bottom fishing is another good choice right now. With a healthy bag limit and good fishing it’s easy to see why folks like to cash in on this fun fishery. Chase Baits, curly tail grubs, vertical jigs and shrimp flies are all good options when choosing your tackle.

Trout fishing has been good and will get even better with all the warm weather we have been having. As water temps continue to rise, these fish become phenomenal biters and will get caught with almost any technique you can think of. Casting spinners, Kastmasters and bubble-and-fly all work well. Fishing bait under a bobber or off of the bottom is a go-to option, and boat anglers will find success trolling small Mag Lips, Flatfish, wedding rings and small spinners tipped with nightcrawlers.

Kokanee fishing continues to be good up at Lake Merwin. These delicious land-locked Salmon have been caught high in the water column lately, and typically when you find one biter, you find many more. Trolling a dodger with a small hoochie, spinner blade, Spin-N-Glo or Wiggle Hoochie have all proven deadly.

Smallmouth Bass are just starting to work their way up near the shoreline and will keep creeping their way up, especially if this warm weather trend continues. Soft plastics, shallow and deep diving crankbaits as well as lead jigs will all produce fish.