Fishing report, Feb. 14

It’s free to fish, crab or clam in Oregon on Saturday and Sunday.

During these two days, no fishing licenses or tags (including a Combined Angling Tag or Columbia River Basin Endorsement) are required to fish, crab or clam anywhere in Oregon for both residents and non-residents. Although no licenses or tags are required, all other fishing regulations apply including closures, bag limits and size restrictions.

White sturgeon retention is closed from Buoy 10 at the mouth of the Columbia upstream to Bonneville Dam. The Dalles Pool remains an option for catch-and-release fishing.

Bonneville and John Day pools are open to the retention of white sturgeon until quotas are reached under permanent regulations.

The Columbia River from Buoy 10 upstream to the I-5 Bridge is open for hatchery Chinook salmon (coho remains closed); and hatchery steelhead is open from Buoy 10 upstream to the Oregon-Washington border under permanent regulations.

Steelheading in the Columbia and local tributaries is still slow.

Trout are still biting well in local lakes, with most anglers taking home limits.

Salmon/Steelhead

Grays River — Six bank anglers had no catch.

Elochoman River — Eight bank anglers had no catch. One boat/two rods had no catch.

Abernathy Creek — One bank angler had no catch.

Germany Creek — Four bank anglers released one steelhead.

Cowlitz River — I-5 Bridge downstream: 37 bank rods released one steelhead. Above the I-5 Bridge: 10 bank rods kept one steelhead. Nine boats/26 rods kept 14 steelhead and released one steelhead.

East Fork Lewis River — 14 bank anglers released one steelhead. One boat/two rods had no catch.

Salmon Creek — 21 bank anglers had no catch.

Sturgeon

Bonneville Pool — Six bank anglers released two sublegal sturgeon.

John Day Pool — One boat/one rod had no catch.

Recent trout plants

Battle Ground Lake — 2,500 rainbows at 2.1 per pound were planted on Feb 4.

Klineline Pond — 2,500 rainbows at 2.1 per pound were planted on Feb. 4.

Kress Lake — Six adult steelhead planted on Feb. 1 and 4.

Sacajawea Lake — 4,469 rainbows at 2.9 per pound planted on Feb 5.

Oregon free-fishing weekend opportunities

Steelhead — Cole Stevens of Fishermen’s Marine in Oregon City reports that plunkers fishing the Meldrum Bar in the Willamette River are catching some winter steelhead. The fish are moving through in schools, and when one rod goes off a few more will, too.

A few steelhead are available in the Clackamas River, with the best action coming below the River Mill Dam. Stevens reports that while the numbers are not good, the quality of the steelhead has been better than in recent years.

Steelheading in Eagle Creek, a tributary of the Clackamas, has been poor. (Estacada Tackle)

Anglers are also catching some steelhead in the Sandy River. However, Brandon Glass of Team Hook-Up Guide Service reports that the lower river fishing is very slow. Bank anglers in the upper Sandy are getting a few fish. There are a lot of big, three-salt steelhead showing up in the catch.

Spring Chinook — Stevens has heard of two confirmed catches of spring chinook salmon on the Willamette River, with one landed near Sellwood and the other caught higher up in the river. It is still early, but there are opportunities for springers this weekend.

Trout — Trout anglers are doing well in Hagg Lake in Washington County. While bait fishing has been slow in the cold water, plugs and other lures are drawing some bites. (Fishermen’s Marine)

Clams — While razor clamming is closed on the Clatsop beaches, bay clams are open in Oregon. North coast opportunities for bay clams include the Necanicum River estuary and Tillamook Bay.

Crabs– Crabbing is open along the entire Oregon coast. Tillamook Bay has good crabbing from both boat and bank.