Oregon Fishing

Oregon offers some of the best cold water fishing on the continent. Fishing in Oregon consists of runs of Salmon, Steelhead and Sturgeon that offer near year-round fishing opportunities. Although I can’t fish every river in Oregon, the guided fishing and charters that I do offer are on some of the most well known systems in the west.

Tillamook County is one of the richest Salmon and Steelhead fishing areas anywhere. Tillamook Bay, the Nestucca, Wilson and Trask Rivers make up a list of opportunities that all exist within 20 minutes of each other.

Newport is one of the best halibut fishing locations on the Oregon Coast. Add in opportunities for salmon, lingcod, rockfish, bottom fish, albacore tuna, and crab throughout the year and you’ll see why Newport is a favorite location.

To the south, Winchester Bay is famous for two things. As the mouth of the world famous Umpqua River and of it’s shore, as a staging area for Sacremento River Salmon. The combination of the two makes for incredible Salmon fishing that happens to start earlier than the fall Salmon options that I fish to the north.

To the interior of the state of Oregon, the Willamette River is the vein that is fed by all sorts of Salmon and Steelhead producing rivers. Spring Chinook is what the Willamette is so famous for, but summer steelhead offer fishermen a good time as well. The Willamette is fed by the likes of the Santiam, McKenzie, Molalla and Clackamas Rivers.

Just to the east of the Willamette you’ll find the Sandy River which is one of the most beautiful rivers on the planet. Good numbers of Steelhead and Salmon make this a great option close to Portland.

Of course, the largest and most famous of all the rivers is the Columbia River, which hosts fishing nearly 200 miles of fishing for our operation. Astoria, Portland, Bonneville Dam, Hood River and Rufus all offer my customers and I with great fishing.

Check out the links below for more information on places to fish in the state of Oregon.

Astoria Fishing

Astoria is located where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. As such, it provides fishing opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else. Spring, Summer and Fall Chinook, Coho Salmon and Steelhead runs, in addition to some world-class Sturgeon fishing in the estuary.

Willamette River Fishing

One of the few rivers that runs from the South the Willamette River receives one of the great Spring Chinook Salmon Runs in the west.  And with rivers feeding it like the Clackamas, McKenzie and Santiams it’s easy to understand why.  Did I mention that we fish it right in the Portland area?  This is a great river!

Clackamas River Fishing

The Clackamas River boasts good runs of Winter Steelhead and Spring Chinook.  Draining off Mt. Hood and running into the Portland area, this is a Rose City favorite.

Newport Fishing

Halibut fishing takes center stage in the Spring, with May and June being prime months. There are combo trips for halibut, lingcod, and rockfish as well as near-shore bottom fishing opportunities for lingcod and rockfish. Later in the year albacore tuna and salmon become our targets. Fall fishing often includes dropping the crab pots. After all, Newport is known as the “Dungeness Crab Capital of the World.”

Winchester Bay Fishing

This fishery gets going early and is our first stop of the Fall Salmon fishing calendar. Coho, Chinook, great facilities and half the crowds of many of our North Coast fisheries. Catch limits are also good compared to some of the other fisheries that we enjoy.

Tillamook Bay Fishing

Five rivers makes for one of the most productive bodies of water in the state.  Spring Chinook, Fall Chinook and Winter Steelhead all make their way through the bay into one of the great rivers that feed it.

Wilson River Fishing

The Wilson River is one of the legendary rivers on the North Coast.  A huge run of fall salmon and an equally impressive run of winter Steelhead makes this one of my favorites.

Trask River Fishing

The Trask River is one of the five rivers that flows into Tillamook Bay.  It’s a prolific Fall Chinook producer and I regularly catch my largest fish of the year out of this system.  Big fish live here!

Nestucca River Fishing

Located 20 minutes to the south of Tillamook, the Nestucca doesn’t take a back seat to any of the other North Coast rivers.  Winter Steelhead and Fall Chinook Salmon are on the top of my list for fishing fun.

Oregon Fishing License Information

You can purchase your license in person at a variety of license retailers throughout Oregon. You can also purchase your fishing license online, but do be sure that you have the right license. If you’re fishing the Columbia Basin, you need a Columbia Basin Endorsement. Any river that connects to the Columbia River requires this. In addition to the Columbia River, the Willamette, Clackamas and Sandy Rivers all require such an endorsement. Of course there are more Oregon rivers that would be affected by this requirement as well. When booking a trip with me, I will make sure you’re aware of the licenses needed for your fishing trip.

For more information, or to book a trip, contact me.