Fishing Articles

ODFW on Willamette River samon
by ODFW, FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Willamette River

Under permanent rules, the Willamette River remains open to retention of adipose fin-clipped adult Chinook salmon and adipose fin-clipped steelhead seven days a week. Fishery managers will monitor harvest and passage and may need to adjust the season depending on actual returns and catch rates. Effective February 1, 2017, the use of barbed hooks is allowed when angling for salmon,...
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States set Columbia spring Chinook seasons
by ODFW, FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Columbia River

Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington set spring Chinook salmon seasons for the Columbia River Thursday during a joint state hearing in Vancouver, Wash. The recreational springer season on the Columbia River from the mouth upstream to Bonneville Dam is scheduled to be open from March 1 – April 6, with boat angling restricted to below Beacon Rock. The Columbia River spring...
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Mad river high and muddy
Kenny Priest
by Kenny Priest, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
Mad River

With the river high and muddy, there’s been very little fishing pressure this week reports Justin Kelly of Eureka’s Redwood Marine “I haven’t heard of any fish being caught, I don’t think there’s many around right now. The river will take a couple weeks with no rain to even have a chance of turning green,” Kelly added.

Lake Sonoma Steelhead Festival draws record crowd
by CDFW, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

A record crowd of over 7,500 enjoyed the Lake Sonoma Steelhead Festival earlier this month at Lake Sonoma Visitor Center and Warm Springs-Don Clausen Fish Hatchery east of Healdsburg in the Russian River watershed. The event celebrated the return of steelhead to the hatchery operated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and featured displays, booths and activities put...
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Green water and sunshine on the horizon
Kenny Priest
by Kenny Priest, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
Smith River

There’s hope on the horizon for North Coast steelhead anglers. Even though you’ll see off and on rain through the weekend and into Monday, an extended period of sunshine and warmth is expected to arrive early next week. The dry weather will hopefully stick around long enough to give us a shot at some of the other coastal rivers that...
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Fishing is limited
by Gary Heffley, FEBRUARY 21, 2017
Shasta Lake

Last year, everyone was rubbing the magic lamp wishing for a rainy, snow-laden winter. Well, the genie answered that wish, and then some. We now have an overabundance of water that has lakes filled to the brim, causing serious and dangerous infrastructure issues with levees, dams and spillways, as well as blown out and flooded rivers and creeks. Few are thinking they'll...
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