Outdoor Report 1/19

Well, It appears that old man winter has finally unlocked us from the snowy, icy grip we’ve been in the last couple of weeks. Of course now, with rising temperatures and rain, we are experiencing flooding. The good news is that a drying trend is on the way and, as the rivers drop, fresh Steelhead will be showing. According to NOAA forecasts, some North Coast Rivers could be fishable by as early as this weekend. Whether or not that happens, we should see mostly fishable conditions around the area by mid next week. Keep your fingers crossed. Razor Clamming is still closed in Oregon but bay clams and crabbing are open. There are still plenty of trout available in a number of the waters that ODFW planted with legal and trophy size trout earlier in the month. For more info click here. Waterfowl season is winding down and as ponds and lakes start to thaw and rivers flood, birds will again be spread out. The Columbia River east of the mountains has experienced some great hunting but had very limited, and at times, treacherous access as ice has caused the closing of both I-84 and Hwy 14. If you intend to head east be sure to check for reports from ODOT. Although there have been some awesome recent reports coming from private hunting areas on Sauvie Island, the ice and snow has seen low hunter effort on the WMA A couple of deadlines approaching for Big Game Hunters: January 31st 2017 is the deadline for any hunters who purchased a big game tag in Oregon to report the results of their hunts. For more info click here February 10, 2017 is the application deadline to hunt spring bear. According to ODFW, just over half of the 1stcome, 1st serve SW Oregon spring bear tags had been sold out as of last week. Before heading out, always make sure to check your states regulations. Tight lines, shoot straight and as always be safe!