Columbia Gorge Fishing Report September 29th

21.56 in 29th, Boat Plans, columbia, deschutes, fishing, gorge, report, september, special

Fishing Report

Andrews first fish on his new Burkheimer 7134

#Fishtember

Fishing is most likely fabulous wherever you happen to be, I mean it is Fishtember…

Chinook Salmon are really thick everywhere right now and crowds reflect that.  Most of the rivers are full of people as well as fish, but putting a few miles on your wading boots will get you into some good water with relative solitude.  The bite has been good, but catching them on a fly rod is still a frustrating proposition.  It’s not that it cant be done, but the bite is so inconsistent that targeting them is not something that everyone wants to put that much effort into. 

Rob fishing at Harris (the rock wall)

Summer Steelhead are in the rivers in good numbers now.  The Chinook are pushing them around and fishing can be tough some days, but overall, fishing has been great.  Dry line fishing is the prime technique on the Deschutes, while fishermen on the Klickitattend to fish more with sink tips.  The clarity on the Deschutes is great.   

The Hood Riveris still awfully low and colored up.  Very little to no pressure lately and not much in terms of action from the few locals that hit it up.  Remember, targeting Chinook Salmon is not allowed on the Hood this time of year.  Wait for some steady rains to bring the level up and some cold weather to clear it up and it might fish well later this fall. 

Lost Lake, Trillium Lake and Timothy Lake have all been fishing really well.  Trout are up in the water column and eating dries when hatches are prevalent.  The big trout are always eating an olive woolly bugger. 

                                                                                          

Smallmouth Bass fishing has been good.  Fish are really active and eating a variety of lures, flies and baits.  Finding good numbers of fish without a boat is tough.  Make friends with people that own bass boats.    

Rob swinging Fall Canyon on the Deschutes

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.  

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Sam Sickles Steelhead Outfitters Open Dates

09.25 in 7th, Boat Plans, columbia, dates, fishing, gorge, open, outfitters, report, sam, september, sickles, steelhead

Steelhead Outfitters - Open dates for October and November

Guide Service: Steelhead Outfitters

Guide Name: Sam, Marni Sickles

Guided Rivers: Deschutes, Sandy, Clackamas

• October 19th, 20th, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 28th

www.steelheadoutfitters.com

PO Box 115 

Hood River, OR 97031 

samsickles@gmail.com 

(541) 400-0855

Book your day(s) quick while they last.

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report September 14th

13.09 in 14th, Boat Plans, columbia, dates, fishing, gorge, open, outfitters, report, sam, september, sickles, steelhead

Ryan and Jeremys trek to the Deschutes

Fishing Report

While trout fishing has been fabulous and will continue to be for the next month or two, the focus is primarily on summer steelhead in our area.  Fishing for these sea-run beauties is about as good as it gets right now.  There are epic days and tough days, but in general, fishing is on and it’s hot! 

Chinook Salmon have really moved into the local rivers and definitely are pushing steelhead around.  Some runs will be loaded with salmon and vacant of steelhead, while others that tend to not hold salmon will load up with steelies.  There are other pieces of water that will hold both salmon and steelhead, but generally in different areas of the run.  You just have to put in some time to figure out what is holding in the water you’re in.  Either way, there are a lot of fish in all of our rivers.  The Klickitatand the Deschutes are the two best options for steelhead, while Drano Lakeand the Klickitat are the best choices for salmon fishing. 

"the bearded guy"

Clarity on the Deschutes is great.  Dry line fishing is going as well as can be expected.  The cloudy, cool weather should provide some consistency and really get the fish active. 

Lost Lake has still been fishing really well.  Reports of large fish being taken lately have signaled the start of fall.  Trillium Lake traditionally is planted with large trout in September as well, and with the hordes of people descending on the rivers, it is a great place to hang out for a weekend.  

Laurence Lakeis still fishing really well too.  Remember, targeting bull trout in Laurence Lake is prohibited.No reasonable fisherman would be able to argue that an 8wt and a six inch rainbow trout pattern are appropriate gear for catching the 12 inch average rainbow trout that reside in the lake. 

                                                                                          

Smallmouth Bass fishing is really starting to turn on again.  Give it a couple of weeks and the top-water bite should be killer on the Columbia. Fish are starting to feel the water cooling and the sense of urgency to fatten up before winter is making them particularly dumb right now. 

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.  

GET READY FOR FALL STEELHEAD

Book a trip with Sam Sickles of Steelhead Outfitters

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report Deschutes Special

01.52 in 14th, Boat Plans, columbia, deschutes, fishing, gorge, report, september, special

From the Deschutes with Sam Sickles (Steelhead Outfitters)

...but the Webmaster is. (Lyndsey Duddles - All Smiles)

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report October 6th

18.35 in 29th, 6th, Boat Plans, columbia, fishing, gorge, october, report, september

Its that time of year again... cool mornings followed by late burn offs as the days get shorter and warmer temps become fewer and fewer. 

Fishing Report

Fishing continues to be stellar across the region as we leave Fishtember and enter into Fishtober. 

Chinook Salmon are still thick throughout the region, but brighter fish will soon become outnumbered by colored up pre-spawn fish.  This clears out a bit of room for steelhead in the runs as the salmon move towards shallower spawning areas.  We are still a few weeks away from the bulk of spawning activity, but the salmon are getting ready.  We have nearly surpassed the record runs of the past few years.  1.24 million total Chinook for the year is an all time record and 865,000 Fall Chinook is a close second to the epic run of 953,000 in 2013 with a few weeks to go!  These are numbers going through Bonneville Dam, so the run was much bigger as commercial fishermen and lower Columbia tributaries account for a good number of fish too.  While we lost a significant number of our early season spring and summer salmon due to hot and low rivers, the fall numbers are hopefully making up for it and will produce strong runs in the next few years. 

This also marks the time of year that Chinook start to “bed up” on their spawning gravel, otherwise known as redds.  Please respect the incredibly long and difficult journey that these fish have made and avoid walking through spawning areas or fishing at spawning salmon.  They have made it this far, so let’s allow them to spawn and die in peace so that we can have more salmon in a couple of years.  If you see dark colored salmon in shallow water, they are likely trying to spawn.  A spawning Chinook does not put up much of a fight and you are taking away the last reserves of energy that it has left for its final act.  If you see someone fishing at spawning salmon, please respectfully say something and suggest that they move on to better water.  We don’t need any confrontation, just education.  Thank you so much and fish on!

Coho Salmon are soon to follow the Chinook and are expected to also produce large numbers here in the Gorge, although they are way behind last year’s numbers so far...  The “ocean abundance” (total run) last year was predicted at 950,000 and this year s predicted to be down 20% at 777,000.  http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/mar0215a/  Coho are typically more dependent on rains to get moving, so I expect that the lateness of the run is due to the lack of rain than anything, but we shall wait and see…

Coho are a bit more fun on the fly and are a little easier to catch.  While most of the fish stay below Bonneville, we do get great opportunities here, mostly on the lower Klickitat.  Give it two weeks and the numbers should start to jump up to good, catchable numbers. 

Summer Steelhead are in the rivers in good numbers now.  Dry line fishing is the prime technique on the Deschutes, while guys on the Klickitat tend to fish more with sink tips and bigger flies.  The clarity on the Deschutes is still great.  The reports are varied, but overall, people are reporting good fishing throughout the region.

The Hood Riveris still awfully low and colored up.  There are a few die-hards that fish the run at the mouth when the Columbia is low enough to provide good flow down there, but there has been little to report in the way of catching steelhead.  (The Columbia has been too high and that run is under water and not moving much lately).  What they have told me is that a number of anglers are intentionally snagging the Chinook that are waiting to spawn in the lowest 200 yards of the river when there is any current.  Targeting Chinook in the Hood Riveris prohibited after June 15.

Lost Lake, Trillium Lake and Timothy Lake are still fishing really well.  Trout are up in the water column and eating dries when hatches are prevalent.  The big trout are always eating an olive woolly bugger.  October is one of the best months to get out on the lakes.  Several of them close at the end of the month, so get it in while you can. 

                                                                                          

Smallmouth Bass fishing has been good.  Fish are really active and eating a variety of lures, flies and baits.  Finding good numbers of fish without a boat is tough.  Advice for the month: make friends with people that own bass boats.    

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.  

#columbiagorgefishingreport

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report September 7th

15.41 in 7th, and, Boat Plans, chile, cinco, columbia, coyhaique, del, estancia, fishing, gorge, lodge, report, rios, september, zorro

A great evening on the Klickitat

Fishing Report

For this week’s fishing report, we have a guest contributor.  Sam Sickles of www.steelheadoutfitters.com gave us an update on Saturday. 

The Klickitat is really starting to turn on too.  Chinook are now piling into the river and the meat crowd should be showing up in full force rather quickly.  The steelheading is really becoming more consistent every day and we are shaping up to have a great fall. 

Hailey had a great evening fishing on the Klickitat on Saturday, swinging flies on a dry line with her new Sage ONE and Lamson Litespeed.  She swung up a dozen trout, including a couple of really nice ones.  What a way to break in that new rod and reel. 

For the Deschutes, see the screenshot…  Clarity has dramatically improved from the White and dry line fishing is happening.  See you out there.

Drano Lakehas been great for steelhead and fair for Chinook.  Fishing should dramatically pick up for salmon this week as numbers are skyrocketing.  Traditionally, we peak out around this week for Fall Chinook numbers through Bonneville, and with falling river temps, the bite should really turn on quickly. 

We have heard very few reports on the trout fishing lately, but I would bet that it is improving nearly everywhere.  The lower river temps should really get bugs hatching and the fish biting.  I would love to be able to head over to the Metolius this month, as the fishing is at its best there in September and October.  Mahogany Dun Mayflies should be hatching on rivers, and trout love them.  Caddis hatches in the evening are also bringing trout up to the surface. 

Lost Lake has still been fishing really well.  It has been one of the bright spots to holdup this summer during the heat.  Laurence Lakehas been great too.  The level in either lake never got too low and fishing has been really good.  Remember, targeting bull trout in Laurence Lake is prohibited. No reasonable fisherman would be able to argue that an 8wt and a six inch rainbow trout pattern are appropriate gear for catching the 12 inch average rainbow trout that reside in the lake. 

                                          

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.  

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Read more