Outdoor Report 11/16

A lot of the chinook have moved into the rivers now, but you can still find fall chinook at the coast. The rivers will continue to fish for the next few weeks, as the water level starts to go down plug fishing will be the go-to. When backtrolling using larger plugs like Kwikfish and Killerfish in size 16, or large Hawgnose Flatfish will help shake off the leaves that are still in the water. After the water drops even more bobber fishing will be a better choice, as the water should be clearer, and then shrimp and eggs will be the go-to. There are fish to be caught in Tillamook Bay, however the fishing will start to drastically taper off in the next few weeks. Anglers in the bay are still fishing herring and spinners, but more and more are starting to fish 360° flashers and small 3.5 spinners. These late run Tillamook fish can be some of the biggest of the year, while there may not be the numbers that the early season has, the size of these fish can make up for it. The Cowlitz and Lewis Rivers are both right in the middle of their second run of coho. These fish are big, bright and aggressive. Techniques such as twitching jigs, spinners and casting wiggle warts will be among the top producers. Eggs are always effective for coho but if you’re looking at a fishery to conserve your bait, this can be one of those. These fish are typically aggressive enough that jigs, spinners and plugs will be sufficient for bringing home some fish for the grill. Winter steelhead are starting to poke their heads into the tributaries. We have had reports from nearly every local river that there have been steelhead caught. Not huge numbers by any means, however for this early in November, we have had enough reports to start talking about them. These early fish are usually caught by anglers targeting late run coho. Spinners, jigs and bait are all great options if you’re looking to target both species. If you’re going out to specifically target winter steelhead, then fishing jigs or pink worms under a float work great, as well as your typical drift fishing rig. Small hand tied yarnies, corkies and beads are all great choices to drift fish for these early fish. Ducks have been spread out with the sheet water created by recent rains, but we are in for a drying trend that should move the birds into more consistent bodies of water later this week. Some big storms earlier in the week on the coast should have moved some widgeon ducks inland a bit. This typically is the week water fowlers have a good chance to see some major migrations of Mallards in Western Oregon and Washington. Keep your eyes peeled. The average “ducks per hunter” number on the Sauvie Island management unit jumped to 2.9 on Monday. Before heading out make sure to check local regulations. Tight lines, shoot straight and most of all be safe.