Fishing Report – 4/24

Spring Chinook

Spring Chinook are spread out and biting just about everywhere right now. The Willamette has been especially productive from Oregon City down through Scappoose, with consistent reports of fish being picked up throughout the system. Pro Staff like Josiah Darr have been finding success trolling in the lower river with herring, prawn spinners, and a mix of hard spinning baits. Up around Oregon City, David Johnson has been putting together solid days as well, keying in on jumbo jet divers paired with eggs, sand shrimp, prawns, and smaller plugs. Fishing has been good and is only trending upward as we push closer to May.

Drano Lake and the mouth of the Wind River are also starting to turn on. These fisheries can go from decent to wide open in a matter of days. Trolling is the dominant approach, but there’s no single “right” way to do it right now. Anglers are mixing triangle flashers, 360 flashers, or even running without flashers entirely. Bait and gear choices are all over the board, including herring, anchovies, sand shrimp, prawns, plugs, prawn spinners, and Spin-N-Glo setups. Having a variety of bait and scent options is key to standing out in the crowd.

Techniques & Gear: Trolling herring and prawn spinners, jumbo jet divers with eggs or shrimp, triangle and 360 flashers, flat-lined plugs, rotating bait and scent combinations.

Sturgeon

Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing on the Willamette has been solid. Locating fish hasn’t been overly difficult, especially for anglers utilizing electronics. These fish are holding in deeper holes where current funnels bait along the bottom. With salmon runs building, sturgeon are actively feeding and less selective, making this a great time to get into them.

Techniques & Gear: Fishing deep holes with squid, herring, sand shrimp, anchovies, salmon eggs, and prawns along the bottom.

Bottomfish

Bottomfishing has been outstanding up and down the coast. Out of Garibaldi, Ted Teufel has been reporting quick limits of lingcod and rockfish, with some days seeing more time spent running to the grounds than actually fishing. Down south, Andy Martin continues to stay on consistent bites with near-daily limits of lingcod and plenty of rockfish action to go around.

Techniques & Gear: Jigging and bait fishing for lingcod and rockfish, fishing structure and reefs, heavy jigs and bait rigs.

Razor Clams

Razor clamming was very productive during the last opener on the Washington coast. There are more tentative digs scheduled, so keep an eye out for updated announcements. When conditions line up, these digs can be very worthwhile.

Techniques & Gear: Standard clam digging setups, monitoring tide charts and opener announcements.

Surf Perch

Spring surf perch fishing is shaping up nicely. With warming daytime temps and consistent low and negative tides, the incoming tide bite has been strong. Fish are active and feeding, making this one of the better times of year to hit the beach.

Techniques & Gear: Sand shrimp, clam necks, and Berkley Gulp sandworms fished in the surf, focusing on incoming tides.

Trout

Trout fishing is going strong across the state with heavy stocking continuing. Coastal lakes have seen solid plants recently, including Devil’s Lake and Tenmile Lake, both receiving significant numbers of fish. Checking stocking schedules before heading out can make a big difference in success.

Techniques & Gear: Nightcrawlers under a bobber, PowerBait off the bottom, and casting spinners from shore.