Last week’s rains really got our rivers up and moving, which
certainly helped move salmon and steelhead around. More rains predicted for this next week could
help too. We shall see as the week
progresses, but it looks like cold weather should deposit mountain snow and the
rivers should be in prime shape.
Chinook Salmon are all but done. A large number of fish moved into the tributaries after last week’s high water event. There are salmon spawning all over the place, especially at the mouth of the Hood. Please let them spawn and die in peace. This has been a long journey for them.
Summer Steelhead: The
local rivers all blew mud for most of last week. They started coming into shape Wednesday, and
are improving dramatically as the weekend progresses here. The Deschutes is improving and should be in great shape
this week. The Klickitat was in great shape Friday with 18” of visibility and
improving. Jon and I did not manage to swing into a fish. It wasn’t due to lack of effort or
conditions; both of which were stellar.
We did spend a good chunk of the day exploring the upper part of the
river as Jon had never seen it and I had never fished off the road up there,
only floated through it.
The Hood River
was looking good on Thursday with 2.5’ of visibility, but the powerhouse access
was closed for construction, leaving the mouth of the river as the only place
to fish. There are several dozen salmon
spawning down there (see picture) and it is not holding many steelhead when
there are that many Chinook on beds, so I left.
Again, please refrain from fishing for spawning Chinook; it is
prohibited to fish for Chinook in the Hood River
right now. I have already fielded
several calls inquiring about how to catch them since they moved in this week
and are visible from the footbridge near the mouth of the river.
Targeting Chinook
in the Hood River is prohibited after June 15.
Trout fishing is closed on several local lakes and streams
now. Please consult the regulations
before fishing.
Areas closed for trout include: East Fork Hood, Hood River (for trout), Eagle Creek, and the Deschutes upstream of the northern boundary of the
Warm Springs Reservation. The White Salmon above the county road bridge below the powerhouse (old dam). Laurence
Lake is also closed, as well as
the Metolius River
above Allingham
Bridge .
Areas open for trout include: Deschutes downstream of the Warm Springs Reservation (Maupin area and downstream are open),
Smallmouth Bass fishing
has been tough now that the level of the Columbia
is so low. Ryan did not catch a single
bass last week when he went out. This
was the first time since moving out here last year that de didn’t get at least
one in a day of fishing. The temps are
dropping, which is good.
As always, we are happy to talk fishing any time. Give us a call if you have any specific
questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some
encouragement to get out of the office.
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