Oregon Fly Fishing Report – Small Stream Outfitters & Guides

It’s that time of year again. Time when anglers wait patiently for the rain to subside and the rivers to clear just enough so that they can try their luck for the mighty steelhead. Thus far, the Oregon winter, especially January was been colder than normal which kept a lot of the coastal and cascade range moisture falling as snow. These cold temperatures and even snow melt kept rivers surprisingly steady throughout the month of January. There were even a few bluebirds days late in January, where skies were sunny, water and air temperatures were cold and the rivers ran clean and low.

We at Small Stream Outfitters had fantastic fishing during that time, concentrating our efforts upriver of the crowds, targeting early native fish that made it in to the river systems on the big rains of late December and early January. We had our best success fishing extremely small patterns with light leaders in rivers that often had clarity of six feet or better.

Other anglers have had consistent success up and down the coast. Rivers like the Siletz, Nestuccca, Wilson and Nehalem have been kicking out quality fish. The fish seem to be running slightly larger than normal this year with several hatchery fish in the 15-18 lb class coming to the net.

Oregon coast streams currently remain fishable but a strong system is predicted for later today. If snow levels rise above the coast range we could see high water with the combined rain and snow melt. However, if the system arrives a little colder, rivers may remain fishable throughout the weekend. Either way, we’ll be watching carefully and be on the water chasing chrome whenever we can.

To book a Winter Steelhead trip, please call us at 503.515.3533.

Tight lines!
Jesse