Klickitat Fishing Report 6/11/2019: Guide Edition

 Summer is just around the corner and although it is a little early for most of the Steelhead fisherman to be looking to the Gorge for their fix, the Klickitat has been off to a surprisingly strong start.

 The flows have dropped recently do to the cooler temps that we have seen. With the warming trend that is coming that could change this up a little bit but I don't think it will be to drastic.

 All tactics have been productive, we have seen fish move to both the dry fly and sunk fly under a moderate tip.

 There are not a huge number of fish in the system yet but these early fish tend to be very aggressive and the lower fishing pressure can make for some good days of fishing.

Travis Wallace
Western Waters Guide Service

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (11/06/2016)

Summer steelhead fishing has been steady throughout the area.  The Deschutes River gave up some fish last week for many of our local anglers.  Sink tips and bigger flies were producing better than the dry lines, but we did see a fish or two come up to eat small stuff on Scandi lines. Nobody is on the river, which is really nice.  We never saw those big 10+ fish days that the Deschutes is famous for, but hooking a fish makes it a good day of steelheading to me.

Deschutes Steel on the new G. Loomis Asquith!

The Klickitat River is in fine shape this weekend.  The last couple of weeks of the season can be hit or miss, but get it in while you can.  It closes Nov 30.  There are fish in the river.

No winter steelhead on the Hood River yet.

Trout fishing is closed at Laurance Lake, as well as most of the small streams in the area.  Lost Lake is still open and the fishing is phenomenal.  The fish are in shallow and chasing things.  You can strip big buggers really fast and the action is nonstop.

This little trout ate a small mayfly nymph on the Deschutes

Trout fishing on the Deschutes has been all over the place.  Ryan and I floated up high two weeks ago and it was really tough.  Others reported fishing to be great this last week.  Fish were eating really small stuff when we were out: BWOs, midges...  They should be mostly on caddis, but for whatever reason they weren't into them when we were there.

Bass fishing has been on the slower side of good, but they are still around in the Columbia if that's your thing.

The Gorge Fly Shop Team
541.386.6977
info@gorgeflyshop.com
www.gorgeflyshop.com

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report - (10/09/2016)

***Monday addition***  I previously forgot to mention the world premier of the new fly fishing movie Providence at Andrews Pizza/Skylight Theater this Saturday, October 15.  6:30 and 8:30 shows are $10 each.  This is the new movie from Confluence Films, the makers of Drift, Rise, Connect and Waypoints.  These are some of our absolute favorite fly fishing movies.  They always feature great scenery, incredible adventure, and some dandy fishing.  Please join us for a show, have a beer or two, meet other local fisherpeople and enjoy the best pizza in the Gorge.  Call us or Andrews Pizza for details and I will see you there.


Fishing reports have been sparse this month because we have been out fishing!  I spent a week trout fishing on the Kenai River.  Despite the crowds, the fishing was as good (better) than I had imagined.  TJ Dawson from Lakeview Outfitters really showed me a good time and put me on some dandy fish.  I did also fish several days with Jeff Heiskell from Alaska Troutfitters.  He is alright I guess...  Just kidding Jeff, love ya buddy.  Thanks for the good times.  It really should be on every angler's bucket list.  What a beautiful river with some amazing fish.

Jeff with a "its too small for a picture"
Kenai Rainbow

As far as what is happening around the Gorge:  We finally got a healthy dose of the fall rains that we have been asking for.  This did cause some clarity issues on the Klick and the Hood.  That's OK because the summer steelhead run on the Hood is mediocre at best, but it should get the fall chinook into full spawn mode and flush out the older salmon that are hanging around.  I don't put in much effort on the Hood this time of year, but if I only have an hour or two to fish, it is available and gives up a steelhead every once in a great while.

There are no winter steelhead in the Hood River yet... the earliest that winter steelhead have been found in the fish trap on the Hood has been mid November, and that is always after heavy rains.  The winter steelhead really get moving into the Hood well after the New Year.

Dave with a nice hatchery Steelhead
caught on  his brand new Nautilus!

The Klickitat did color up a little bit, but it is reported to not be as bad as expected (as of Saturday).  More rains are coming, but I am not sure how it will impact the local rivers.  The Klick has been producing, but as we are all aware, numbers are very low compared to the ten year average.  This doesn't mean that you won't catch fish, but expect to put in some time and effort for your fish.

The Deschutes seems to have held up pretty well from recent rains.  Clarity is not perfect, but we like a little color to our rivers.

Confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers, gorgeous!

Trout fishing has been at near epic levels on the Deschutes however.  Reports of Mahogany Dun Mayflies, October Caddis and even some Blue Wing Olives (on those crappy, cloudy mornings) are all signs that point to good fishing.  Stripping streamers on trout spey rods has been productive too.  For my time and money I am focusing more on the upper river between Warm Springs and Trout Creek, but the fishing has been good throughout the river.


Fall Chinook should be finishing up their spawn here shortly, so opportunities for fresh, hot salmon are about over, but there are a few Coho Salmon around the tributaries.

October trout fishing!

Lakes are still fishing very well.  We heard of a couple of guys at Timothy Lake tying into some monster trout.  Clear Lake can be very good too for big brookies this time of year.  Lost and Laurance are both fishing very well for smaller "stocker" trout and Goose Lake has been pushing out some fish in the 16" range with consistency.

The East Fork Hood River is very colorful right now... but trout fishing (its always closed for steelhead/salmon) has been decent when it has been clearer.  Time shall tell when it clears up, but it closes on Halloween so get in your small stream trout fishing while you can.

Ryan has been slaying nice smallmouth bass on the Columbia lately.  He isn't giving up any secrets, but he appears to be the only person bass fishing out there...

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 - 09/04/2016

Another beautiful sunset on the Lower Deschutes; August 29, 2016

It feels like fall out there and we couldn't be happier!  Fall is our favorite time of year to fish.  Fall Chinook are pouring into the rivers and catching has been good.  Summer Steelhead numbers are still down, but anglers are still catching them on the Deschutes and the Klickitat.  The fishing on the Klickitat has actually been pretty good this summer and continues to give up fish to dedicated anglers.

The Cowlitz has had a good summer as well.  One of our regulars went 4/4 there one day last week having never set foot near the river before that day.

Yes, the Deschutes has been slower than in recent years, but anglers are catching fish.  Another local went 1/3 in two hours on Friday evening.  He was fishing a dry line just up from the mouth and hooked three fish in less than three hours.

Bass fishing is steady on the Columbia and good on the John Day.  Poppers on the C. early and late in the day and dragging a crayfish pattern near the bottom during mid-day has been the program.  Poppers all day on the JD.

Trout fishing on the Deschcutes has been absolutely fantastic.  The cooler, cloudy weather produced some nice Mahogany mayfly hatches, while the evening caddis hatches have been nothing short of epic.  I was stripping a bugger on the lower river and caught a couple of nice trout last week with little effort.  The fish were fat, happy and scrappy despite 70+ degree water temps for much of the summer.

Goose Lake was recently planted with trout and fishing couldn't be better.  Lost and Laraunce Lakes have also been very good recently.  On good days, anglers should be able to fish a small dry fly all day.  If the fishing is "tough" anglers should use an intermediate line and retrieve a small, weighted olive woolly bugger with a small hares ear (or similar) trailer.  This technique is still very productive, but trout don't always eat dry flies all day every day as some anglers like to believe.

Poor steelhead returns this year have definitely spurred a few anglers into dusting off their unused trout gear for the first time in a long while.  While steelheading on the Deschutes has been slower than usual, trout fishing has been very good.  Whether you try to catch an elusive steelhead or hit up a trout stream, we hope you find yourself a nice piece of water this week to call your own for a few hours.

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 (08/14/2016)

Thank you for reading the weekly fishing report!  A couple of notes here on upcoming events in the area.

We are sponsoring a Hood River Cleanup.  The goal is to remove trash from along the river around the Hood River Powerhouse.  This is a popular area for fishermen, kayakers and general outdoor recreationalists. Unfortunately, there is a lot of trash along the river there.  The event is from 2:00 to 4:00 next Saturday August 20.   There will be a raffle for a couple of prizes donated form our favorite local businesses.  This is part of a wider event called LOVE YOUR COLUMBIA, put on by Columbia Riverkeeper.   More information about LOVE YOU COLUMBIA can be found here.

Please call if you have any questions and see you at the event.

Another event that we are excited for is also put on by Columbia Riverkeeper.  Remember how awfully hot the water was in the Columbia last summer?  Well the impacts on the salmon run was devastating. On August 24, there is an informative talk called Hot Water, Fish Kills, and the Future of Salmon.  It is at Slopeswell Cider and is free to the public.  Please consider attending.  

On to fishing report. 

Ok, so summer steelhead numbers are dismal coming through Bonneville and The Dalles dams.  Less than 2,000 fish a day on average this week through Bonneville when we historically should be passing 5,000-8,000 a day right now.  We might end August with less than 100,000 for the year...

Nick caught this badboy right behind me on an Unconditional

Fishing however, is not bad.  The Klickitat has been producing steelhead for anglers with some consistency.  The Deschutes has been kind of slow and steady.  The problem with the Deschutes is that hundreds of anglers have this skewed perspective that you should be able to go out and hook a dozen fish on dry lines every day this time of year; and that is just a recipe for failure.  The solid anglers around here have been reporting a fish or two a day, and that should be considered a great day of steelheading anywhere.  So many of our anglers are expecting such a high catch rate based on a couple years of phenomenal fishing that they don't believe that hooking a couple of fish a day is good enough.  Water temps are still a factor in the Deschutes as the river has been peaking above 70F the past few days.

Fish are still eager to eat dries on
high mountain streams

The Klickitat was in great shape up until Friday when the heat finally started to cause some minor clarity issues.  It could definitely be in worse shape.  We shall see what the weather has in store for us for this week, but a couple of cool nights would do wonders for the clarity.  Otherwise it has been fishing well.

I fished with Nick for a couple of hours on Wednesday.  He picked my pocket with a Larimer's Unconditional, fished on an OPST Commando Head and an Airflo FLO Tip T-10.  We had both wanted to fish that fly and I gave in and let him fish it...  my mistake.  He landed a nice hatchery steelhead that went right onto the barbecue.

Our high mountain lakes and streams are still fishing very well.  I backpacked into a lake near Mt. St. Helens last weekend and caught a couple of nice brook trout with little effort on my Tenkara Teton Rod Package.  It was great.  I stuck four flies in my hat and my rod into the side of my pack.  Fishing was easy, the mosquitoes were minimal and the views were spectacular.

Bearded Bassmaster with a nice one!

Smallmouth bass fishing has been good on the Columbia lately, although the super hot days are not exactly getting the bass too excited.  Ryan and John were doing better on Friday night dragging drop shots on the bottom than with the fly rods, but there was plenty of action to keep them excited.  The John Day is still fishing very well for bass too.

I spent a few hours searching for carp along the Columbia on Thursday, but only saw one and it was not in a place where I could catch him, so I gave up and went paddle boarding instead.  A good call when it was pushing 100 degrees out.  I did see a few carp around Wells Island when I was on the SUP, but I didn't stop to cast on them.

Lost Lake is a good call for beating the heat this week.  The lake is chilly cold, the fishing has been fantastic and the scenery can't be beat.  Laurance Lake is also a good call.  The fishing is just as good, but the scenery is not like Lost Lake which looms under the eye of Mt. Hood.

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 Report - (07/17/2016)

Gorgeous sunrise on the lower Deschutes

Fishing remains fantastic throughout the area.  The local rivers have stayed in decent shape considering it is mid July and the Hood, Klickitat and White Rivers will all typically be flowing dirty this time of year.  However, cooler weather has kept them all in good shape so far this month.

Apologies for the lack of reports weekly, the Sage closeout sale has been keeping us all very busy.  We also received our first shipment of Tom Larimer's new casting DVD: Skagit Revolution.  It is a very good video that breaks down spey casting and gives you everything from the basics to some advanced techniques.  It is very clear and easy to understand as Tom is a great instructor, plus the Gorge Fly Shop is a sponsor of the video.  Pick it up while its hot!

Trout Lake Creek is one of the hidden gems of our area.

On to the fishing:  Ryan and I went up to Trout Lake Creek last week with a couple of Tenkara rods.  We caught a couple dozen little trout on a good variety of attractor dry flies like stimulators, hoppers and royal trudes.  It is a fun creek to spend a day chasing small rainbow trout.  While you won't run into any monsters in our small creeks, the scenery, abundance of trout and remoteness make it a little gem in our backyard.

Chris and I also spent a day fishing the lower part of the Deschutes for summer steelhead.  Conditions were great on the river, although it was bright and sunny.  We swung flies all day and all that we caught were a handful of smallmouth bass!  This was very surprising considering the first bass we caught was 8 miles upstream.  That is a considerable amount of whitewater for a bass to navigate in order to end up that far from the Columbia.  We also caught another one over 6 miles from the mouth of the river...  No steelhead landed, but there was one brief hookup on a small purple leechy pattern.  The Klickitat and the Hood are still in decent shape and there are a few steelhead showing up.  As long as we stay under 90 degrees, our local rivers should stay in shape.  The Hood doesn't get a ton of summer fish, but it is an option when there is decent visibility.

Lake fishing for trout has been absolutely phenomenal.  Damselfly and dragonfly nymphs are a huge food source for trout in most lakes this time of year.  Trolling a Carey Special, ultra damsel nymph or even a woolly bugger should get you some nice fish in our local lakes.  Lost Lake has been fishing very well from what we have heard, as well as Laurance, Goose (WA), Timothy and Clear Lake.

Smallmouth Bass are snapping on the John Day (as well as the Deschutes apparently, LOL!).  They are eating everything you can throw at them.  Most anglers prefer to use a small bass popper, but grasshopper patterns, streamers and nymphs work just as well.  Cottonwood Canyon is a great place to get started on the JD.

The Columbia River has been a bit windy this past week, which hampers bass and carp fishing out there, but the fishing has been good when we get a break from the wind. The wind can dirty up the river, so having a full day where it is not "nuclear" out there would be preferable...

The Deschutes has not been fabulous for trout fishing, but it hasn't been awful.  The caddis hatches have not been prolific recently.  Cooler, inconsistent weather has led to smaller hatches, but the trout are still eating...

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 (06/12/2016)

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report - 06/12/2016

What a gorgeous weekend we have had here, I hope everyone got out to enjoy the cooler weather and great fishing across the area.  Trout fishing is still fantastic in most of the usual spots, summer steelhead are slowly trickling in and bass fishing is as good as it gets.

I know that many of our Deschutes River rainbow trout anglers are not very familiar with hatch cycles and tactics for trout after the stoneflies have waned, but it is not as difficult as one would imagine.  Throw small mayfly nymphs in the morning, look for a hatch around mid-day into the afternoon (it may or may not bring fish to the surface near riffles), start throwing caddis pupae in the late afternoon or early evening (some people fish them all day) and then move onto caddis dries when the sun is no longer on the water.  You can always fish a general attractor dry like a Royal Wulff or a Madam X, and fish are still looking for yellow sallies opportunistically throughout the day, so that is an option if you are not into changing flies all that much.  It is likely not as productive as nymphing, but it is sure a lot easier to plan for.  Another productive strategy is to toss a dead caddis dry early in the morning before the sun is on the water.

Early season on the Klickitat...

Summer steelhead are starting to trickle into the Gorge tributaries.  Still no word on any action on the Deschutes.  The water temps on the Deschutes already reached 72 degrees last week, but they have dropped back down with the cooler weather this week.  

The White River likely caused the lower Deschutes to muddy up too, but again, no one has told us if that happened, it is just typical when it is hot in the area.  The Klickitat was in poor shape last week after all of the hot weather caused the river to muddy up, but it looks decent today (Sunday).  Not a lot of action reported on the Klick, but there are a few fish around and all I need is one.

While we haven't heard of much happening on the Washougal, it is a favorite June steelhead stream for local anglers.

Jim reported to us from the North Umpqua last week.  He fished a dry all day, all week and had one fish come to his dry in four days; but he was super excited about it even though it didn't stick to the hook.  That is the proper attitude of a dedicated steelhead fisherman.  Thanks for the report Jim.

Smallmouth Bass fishing is nothing short of incredible on the John Day.  Poppers all day long...  The Columbia River has been windy and cold most of last week, so we have heard few reports from the usual anglers, but the fish are still in shallow water from the few guys we have talked with.

High mountain lakes are the only places to find a brownie here

My favorite fishing this time of year is to hit the small mountain lakes as soon as the roads are open to get into them.  There are hundreds in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and dozens in the Mt Hood National Forest that hold nice trout.  While you are unlikely to find ten pound monster rainbows, you will find solitude, beauty and great fishing at any number of out-of-the-way places.

Lost Lake, Laurance Lake, Goose Lake, Clear Lake and Timothy Lake are all bigger lakes in the forest that have good camping and great fishing.  The rest of them shall remain unnamed on this report, but will be there when you find them.

Small streams are fishing well for trout too!  Eagle Creek has been very good, as well as the upper Clackamas, and Trout Lake Creek.  The East Fork Hood was very muddy last week when I went by, but it has cleared up with this cool weather.

Carpin' is another good option, especially when it is sunny, warm and calm.  With carp, it is more about the presentation than the actual fly as long as the fly is in the right ballpark.  They are in every pond and in the main river all throughout the Gorge. Also, we now have a good selection of carp flies...

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

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

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