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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - 08/28/2016

Find your water...

Summer steelhead numbers are still concerning, although passage did pick up a little bit through Bonneville Dam for a few days last week.  There are about 70,000 steelhead between Bonneville and the Dalles dams right now.  The best theory is that they are hanging in Drano, the Klickitat and off the mouth of the White Salmon seeking cold water before moving upstream through the Dalles dam.  The result is that fishing is better than numbers would suggest in our lower Gorge tributaries.

The Klickitat has been fair for the most part and guys at Drano Lake are doing very well.  Jon and I floated the Klick on Wednesday.  We did not hook any fish swinging flies all day, nor did a couple of other anglers that we ran into that were also swinging flies.  The guys throwing bait or beads under an indicator have been doing well though.  We have not heard of many wild fish being caught, which makes me feel better when we talk to guys hooking multiple hatchery fish on beads.  We find that wild fish are far more likely to eat a swung fly than a hatchery fish.  I say this based on the ratio of wild fish landed to hatchery fish compared to the ratio of wild fish to hatchery fish in the river.

The Deschutes has still been poor to fair for summer steelhead.  Guys have started picking up fish more consistently, but it is still not as red hot as anglers have come to expect over the past decade.  We still need to see water temps drop to pull in more of the out-of-system fish that we rely on in the lower river.  Most of the fish that would normally be found in the lower Deschutes have not crossed the Dalles dam yet.  They typically use the Deschutes as a cold water refuge, but water temps in the Columbia and the Deschutes have been so high that the fish are not crossing the dam or pulling into the D.  Cooler weather coming up should help tremendously.  We should see dam passage improve through September and October with cooler water temps coming up.  Fishing should continue to improve throughout the next two months.

Fall Chinook numbers are very impressive right now.  We are looking at another awesome run this fall.  They don't particularly like eating swung flies, but they often get caught whilst steelhead fishing.  Fishing eggs under a bobber is far more effective.  Once the Columbia River temps drop closer to 65 the bite will get even better.  They do get turned off by warm temps, and this can affect the bite in the tributaries also as they don't always "turn on" after spending so much time in warmer water.

Lost Lake has been the shining star of the summer and continues to fish very well for Rainbow and Brown Trout.  Pulling a woolly bugger or hare's ear nymph on a sinking line is a very good bet, while early mornings and late evenings have been known for epic dry fly action.  Many of the other local lakes are fishing very well too.  Our other favorite lakes are Goose and Laurance, but there are hundreds of lakes within a reasonable drive that are fishing well right now, many of which I have been sworn to secrecy about.

Smallmouth Bass fishing has been great.  The fish are fired up and eating topwater poppers with gusto.  The Columbia has been very productive this summer.  The weed growth is problematic, but there is plenty of good water that is concentrating fish.  They generally do not like to hang out in or near most of the aquatic vegetation in the river, so finding a rocky point with little weed growth should be a good bet.  Poppers are more productive early and late, while a big clouser on a sinking line moving fast, fast, fast is the ticket mid-day, but you MUST get your fly to the bottom or it is not going to be productive.

The John Day River is a different story.  The bass there eat poppers all day every day.

Carp fishing is still good, but starting to wane a little bit.  The river is as clear as it can be, so carp can see you coming in the Columbia from quite a distance.  This has made fishing tougher than it has been previously.  Fishing is better for carp in the backwaters than in the main river although the main river fish are bigger and fatter.

Redband Rainbow Trout fishing on the Deschutes has been fair to good.  Epic caddis hatches in the evening have fish coming to the surface in the last hour or so of light.

Flows:  The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns.  Both are invaluable tools.  You can also check water temps here too...

Hood River:

USGS

NOAA

Klickitat
USGS
NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:

USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:

USGS

NOAA

Columbia River

Bonneville Dam Water Temps
Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

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.  541.386.6977

Andrew Perrault
Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report - 07/24/2016

Sam knows how to handle 104 degrees on the Klickitat

It's finally starting to look like summer out here in the Gorge.  Warmer weather is upon us and we have finally been able to stay out at night without a jacket.  Weather predictions put us over 100 degrees later in the week, so get prepared for our first real dose of summer.

The Deschutes should start to pick up within the next couple of weeks.  It has been fairly tough fishing for summer steelhead, however anglers are picking up a fish here and there.  I did drive over the mouth of the Deschutes on Sunday morning (07/24).  It did not look as if the White River had caused any significant clarity issues from the rains on Thursday, but it was a quick pass over.

White River Below Tygh Valley

Water temps are likely to become an issue again on the Deschutes.  Releasing fish when water is over 70 degrees is potentially lethal.

You can see water temps on the Deschutes here.

A nice Snake River Cutthroat Trout from Idaho.
Rocky Mountain trout streams are fishing well right now.

It looked as if the Klickitat was in decent shape still despite heavy rains on Thursday.  Again, I was just driving by Saturday evening and Sunday morning, but from across the Columbia it looked great.

I did a quick float with a friend from out of town on Wednesday.  We didn't fish much, he was more interested in the scenery and the beer. I did swing a couple of runs really quick and did not have a grab.  It was really nice to wet wade all day though.

We have heard that fishing for steelhead was good a couple of weeks ago, but seems to have slowed down quite a bit with both fish passage over Lyle Falls and catch rates on the river.  The early push of fish was mostly hatchery origin summer steelhead from the reports we received.  With hotter weather predicted for later this week, clarity will most likely become an issue.  It will be a wait and see game as long as 90+ degree days are in the forecast.

It is time to get your backpacking gear out!!!

The Hood River did spike from the rains Thursday.  It colored in all day on Friday and looks like cement on Saturday.  The East Fork of the Hood is where most of the color tends to come from, so it is usually in worse shape than the main river.  I would bet that trout fishing on the East Fork is going to be tough this next couple of weeks.

The Deschutes has been fishing well for rainbow trout.  Caddis nymphs doubled with larger attractor nymphs like possie buggers or stonefly nymphs will be your best beet.  Caddis dry flies in the evening are producing fish as well.

Small stream trout fishing is good in other places though.  Eagle Creek is fishing well with general attractor dry flies; so is Trout Lake Creek.

Local lakes are fishing very, very well too.  They usually slow down by this time of year, but the cooler weather this summer has kept them in awesome shape.  Lost Lake has been phenomenal from what we hear.  Goose Lake and Laurance Lake are both fishing very well too.  Goose can be quick to slow down when it gets really hot as it is shallower than the other two, but it should hold out this week.  Pulling a bugger or damsel nymph on an intermediate line is a good way to catch a pile of fish.  Morning and evening dry fly hatches are likely, but not a sure thing.

The reward for a 4 mile hike.  Solitude, beauty and brookies.

Backpacking into the high mountain lakes is now a great option.  The mosquitoes are starting to recede and the lakes are fishing well.  There are countless lakes and ponds in the Gifford Pinchot Forest to explore.  A parachute adams is about all anyone would need out there, but having a couple of options is always a good idea.

Smallmouth bass fishing on the John Day is still very good.  A super place to take beginners, kids or anyone that needs to catch a bunch of fish; the John Day is the place to go.  Small popper patterns should get you into fish all day long.  Cottonwood Canyon is the best place to start.

No reports on the Columbia River smallmouth bass fishing lately.  Ryan has been out of town.

Carp fishing has been good too.  Weed growth in the small ponds near hwy 84 has been minimal this year and the carp are in the shallows as thick as peanut butter.

Flows:  The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns.  Both are invaluable tools.  You can also check water temps here too...

Hood River:

USGS

NOAA

Klickitat
USGS
NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:

USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:

USGS

NOAA

Columbia River

Bonneville Dam Water Temps
Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

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.  541.386.6977

Andrew Perrault
Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports (06/06/2016)

Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - (06/05/2016)

We hope that everyone if finding some relief from the heat out there.  Fishing is about as hot as the weather is, so find a piece of cool water and get on it.  

Fish rising on a local lake at sunset.

Trout fishing is going well throughout the area.  Small streams are fishing well, the water levels are in generally good shape and the fish are happy.  Eagle Creek, Trout Creek and the East Fork Hood River are some good small streams with scrappy trout in our area that can keep an angler busy all day.  

Lakes are also fishing well for rainbow trout.  Lost Lake has been great.  Flying ants are keeping fish near the surface early and late in the day, while trolling slow and deep during the heat of the day will produce nice fish with consistency.  Goose Lake, Laurance Lake and Kingsley are the usual haunts for locals here and are all fishing well.  

The Deschutes River is still fishing well for rainbow trout.  PMD patterns in the morning, caddis in the afternoon/evening, and stoneflies opportunistically throughout the day.  Try a spent caddis really early in the morning too.  

Summertime rainbows on dries!

No reports of any summer steelhead in the Deschutes, but the Klickitat opened up last week and there were a fish or two caught from what we heard.  It was fairly busy for early June, but most people just wanted to get out on the river as did Ryan and I.  I did hook one steelhead on the swing, but it popped off after ten seconds of glory.  The river is in decent shape as of Sunday morning, but this warm weather can cause some clarity issues in both the Klickitat and the Hood River as glacial melt can dirty up the river pretty quickly in these hot spells.  

The Washougal opened up on Saturday and it tends to produce some nice summer steelhead in June as well as the Sandy and Clackamas.  

Ryan and I spent the early morning hours on Sunday sturgeon fishing with Josh Frederick of Big Fish Guide Service.  June is the best month to catch a true river monster.  Sturgeon in the Columbia can reach over ten feet in length, and the big ones go crazy for the shad that are running in the river now.  While we didn't hook any huge fish, we did catch plenty of smaller fish.  Fishing with Josh is a lot of fun and a good change in pace from trout and steelhead fishing that tends to rule the area.  He has plenty of openings throughout the summer, so don't hesitate to give him a call.  

June is the best month to hook into a giant sturgeon

Speaking of shad, they are running pretty thick now.  Still not really sure how to get them on the fly with ease around here, but it can be done.  People tend to do well upstream near Rufus and near the John Day Dam, as well as off the mouth of the Washougal, but I don't know of any places right here in the gorge that an angler can get them shallow.  

Carp fishing has been turning on.  They are in the shallows feeding heavily throughout the day.  Many of the little ponds on the side of the Columbia are good spots to find carp as well as the main river.  Really, just about any piece of water with slow or little current around here will hold carp.  We have a nice selection of carp flies here in the shop now.  Stop by and check them out.  

Smallmouth bass are still snappy in the Columbia.  The topwater bite has been great early and late in the day, and fish are happy to chase buggers and baitfish patterns.  The weed growth is starting to be an issue, fishing will get a little more difficult in the Columbia over the next month, but for now it is still in good shape. Aquatic plant life can hamper angling efforts when the weeds get thick.  

Throwing a small popper on the John Day should put you into a few dozen bass and it is a wonderful way to get friends and family into fly fishing. 

Flows:  The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns.  Both are invaluable tools.

Hood River:

USGS

NOAA

Klickitat
USGS
NOAA

Clackamas:

USGS

NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:

USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:

USGS

NOAA

Columbia River

Bonneville Dam Water Temps
Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

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.  541.386.6977

Andrew Perrault
Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (05/22/2016)

May 22, 2016

It has been a great spring for fishing in the Gorge so far and the fishing outlook improves even more in the next week or two.  The Oregon general season trout opener for rivers and streams is next Saturday, so our favorite small streams like the East Fork Hood and Eagle Creek will be open on May 29.

Other streams in Washington open in the next few weeks too.  The Klickitat opens June 1, while other streams in WA like Trout Lake Creek open on the first Saturday in June (June 4).

Rainbow Trout fishing on the Deschutes continues to be good.  The best fishing has been around the Trout Creek area and upstream to Warm Springs, but good trout fishing can be found anywhere along the river now.  While fish are still eating bigger stonefly imitations, refusals are common with the big bugs.  Try smaller stoneflies like a Yellow Sallie on the surface.  Trout are certainly eating PMD nymphs during the day, as well as caddis pupa in the evenings while snacking on the occasional stonefly and maybe even some caddis surface action before dark.

Lost Lake is the closest place to catch a nice brown trout.

Trout fishing in the local lakes has been really good too.  The flying ant hatch is in full swing at Lost Lake among others, and the fish are happy.  Have some black ants, woolly buggers and parachute adams and you will be a happy fisherman too.

Early summer steelhead fishing has been occurring, but reports are spotty.  The Clackamas seems to be kicking out some fish as well as the Kalama, but there has been very little action reported in the Gorge as is typical for our area.  Summer steelhead wont arrive in numbers for a couple of months, but there are always a few hanging around if you can find them.  The Klickitat opens next Wednesday (June 1), so that will at least provide more options for local anglers looking to swing into an early chromer.

Spring Chinook fishing has been good throughout the area.  Many locals put down the spey rod and pick up a baitcaster this time of year, but it is possible to swing a fish or two.  The locals that hang around the mouth of the Hood River have been catching the occasional Springer lately.

Smallmouth bass fishing has been fantastic lately, although Ryan's trolling motor has been broken, so we haven't been getting on the bass this week.  Other anglers have been crushing 'em though.  The full moon really gets bass riled up.  There are a few spots along the Columbia that someone could get them from shore, but having a boat helps tremendously.

Flows:  The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns.  Both are invaluable tools.

Hood River:

USGS

NOAA

Klickitat
USGS
NOAA

Clackamas:

USGS

NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:

USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:

USGS

NOAA

Columbia River

Bonneville Dam Water Temps
Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

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.  541.386.6977

Andrew Perrault
Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"