Oregon Fly Fishing Report – Small Stream Outfitters & Guides

As we approach the end of September and get closer to the peak of the local salmon runs, a few things are becoming clear. There are a lot of coho (silvers) this year. A lot. Every stream (including the Siletz and Nestucca) on the coast is seeing increased numbers of coho from years past and the Sandy has been its’ usual stellar self. I wonder why that it? Could it be that there was no commercial fishing off the Oregon coast this year? Funny how that works.

Angling pressure for these coastal coho has remained light, due mostly to the fact that it is a catch and release fishery. For fly fishing guides that live on catch and release, this is great news. We love to strip flies for these silver bullets in tidewater. It’s tremendous sport. For those that like to take a couple fish home the limit on the Sandy river has been increased to 3 hatchery fish and will remain that way in future seasons. We haven’t had trouble garnering limits and on many days have released lots of fish just to continue enjoying the amazing action. Photos of these beautiful fish can be viewed at this Coho (Silver) Salmon Gallery

The chinook run on the Oregon Coast run got a nice shot of chromers early in September, but the action has slowed throughout the month with low and warm water. There are certain to be additional shots of fish throughout October and November, but overall expectations are for a fair season with average to slightly below average numbers. We’re seeing increased numbers of jack chinook which should translate to better returns in 2009 and 2010.

Coastal Sea-run cutthroat fishing continues to be good, although in certain areas the smaller cutthroat have been pushed to different holding areas by the chinook and coho. Good numbers of fish can still be found and on cloudy days the fishing has been excellent.

To book a fly fishing trip for Chinook, Coho or Sea-run cutthroat call 503.515.3533 or Email Us

We entered this Chinook season with great apprehension. As everyone knows last year’s coastal Fall chinook run was a bust. It could even be described as dreadful. The talk around the fly tying vise was for improved ocean conditions for the fish this year and increased numbers of Fall Chinook. But talk is just that… talk. Until we saw for our own eyes decent numbers of fish we were not about to sell a fishery that fell fall short of expectations last year. The talk is over!

We started see big pods of fish in tidewater on September 8 and numbers of fish appear to be increasing every day. We landed two stunningly chrome, small bucks yesterday and saw lots more big bodied chinook. We breathed a hugh sigh of relief this week and are now excited to chase King Salmon chrome for the rest of the season.

Blue back (harvest trout, sea-run cutthroat) fishing continues to be excellent. Fish are ranging from 10-17″ with lots of fish in the 14-15″ range. These are great trout on light fly rods and together with a chance at a chrome chinook you just can’t go wrong.

Give us a call at 503.515.3533 to get in on the action!

Adventure scouting trips are all about trying a new river, or a new stretch of water, or perhaps an familiar stretch of water at a new time of year. The latter was the case yesterday as two us set out to find the Portland Metro area rivers coho (silver salmon) scouts. Those chrome bright early fish that can sneak in unnoticed under light angling pressure, often for a couple weeks before the word is out.

We went fully expecting to catch nothing and to enjoy a nice float down the river. Still an enjoyable day on the water with the sun shining, shirt sleeves and 80 degree afternoons. There are worse ways to spend a day. The water was low, so we took the white water raft, some extra rope and a handful of fly rods. The raft was a good choice as we both agreed the driftboat would have gotten us into some serious trouble.

We got an unusually late start, perhaps around 8, but the sun was still low and off the water in most of the river canyon. Four deer crossed the river in front of us as we shoved off. Always a good omen. We fished two nice looking holes in the first half mile of the drift and came up empty. Not surprising. The next run we came to was long and wide with a nice choppy riffle at the head and smooth steelhead looking tailout. We pulled the boat over, hopped out and made a couple casts. Seconds later my angling partner’s rod surged and dove as a chrome silver came up tail walking. Fish On!!! Eventually the hook pulled out after several minutes, but the fish left us excited for the day’s prospects. We were not to be disappointed. We hooked four more fish in that hole alone including a Fall chinook and a couple chrome coho jacks.

Once the sun hit the water, the action slowed. However, we did manage to hook one more pig chinook late in the day that swam off with a hook in his mouth. 20-25lb fish are hard to land on 8lb. On a day we expected nothing, we were more than pleasantly surprised. It’s game on for these buggers and it’s only September 6. What is it going to be like in two or three weeks?

To take a crack at these hatchery and wild salmon give us a call at 503.515.3533 or Email Us.

Tight lines and good fishing,
Small Stream Outfitters Guide Staff