Fly Fishing in and around Portland Oregon
Very few places offer the diversity in Fly Fishing as the region surrounding Portland does. Within 2 hours of drive time from the city, we have opportunities to catch a wide variety of fish species, 365 days a year. Here’s the break down of what to expect when visiting Portland
Fly Fishing from January – February
Steelhead Fishing:
We start the year winter Steelheading all the local rivers, as well as all the coastal streams. The rivers start getting a good number of hatchery Steelhead by the 2nd week of January, with a few wild fish mixed in.
By February we are well into the bulk of the run with wild Steelhead numbers increasing every day. Every Valley river as well as the Coastal Streams will have fishable numbers of winter Steelhead in these 2 months and the fishing can be very good.
River conditions will change almost daily, so be flexible. January seems to have more stable conditions, with a few less fish, February has more fish around, but has our most volatile weather patterns, and historically has the most river blowouts.
Fly Fishing from March-April
Steelhead Fishing:
As we get into March, the numbers of Steelhead will start to decline, but the size will increase. We start catching more wild fish and brood stock hatchery fish as a whole. Our average size goes way up, to around 11/12lbs and we start seeing some real big fish in the 18/20lb class range.
There are certain rivers more prone to the big fish, but again, these are the same rivers more prone to blow outs, as most of them are not dammed, off the coast range. The Valley rivers do have some of the big wild fish as well, so don’t be too bummed if you can’t swing the 2 hours to the coast, they just don’t get as many.
We start seeing some Spring Chinook in March as well, and by April the rivers that get them, will have good numbers. While we do catch them from time to time fishing for Steelhead, that is not the norm.
Spring Chinook are best fished with a single hand rod and a heavy, 24′ sink tip, stripping comets and bunny leeches in the deep pools.
Trout Fishing:
The Trout rivers start to really come alive in March, when the rivers start warming up a bit. Early in the month expect to see some good Baetis hatches, little winter stones, and Skwala Stones. The sub surface game will really pick up at the Salmonfly and Golden Stone Nymph’s will start getting active. Midges are also a must have in both larva and adult stages.
The March Brown Mayflies will also start coming off. This is a very tough hatch to plan for. They are entirely weather dependent.
On the McKenzie the are true to the their name, usually hatching sometime in mid March.
On the Deschutes we usually don’t see them until mid April. If you’re lucky enough to catch it right, you will have the time of your life. The fish go into a feeding frenzy and you can easily have the best 2 hours of dry fly fishing of your life.
By late April, we will see the first adult Salmonflies and Golden Stones flying on the Deschutes, but the fish usually aren’t keyed in on them quite yet. Make sure to have nymphs.
Fly Fishing from May – June
Steelhead Fishing:
We usually start seeing the first wave of summer run Steelhead in early May. Typically near the first of the month we get a decent push of the nicest steelhead of the season. These early summer run are unbelievably aggressive, bite flies well, and are so chrome, they are near transparent.
These are the fish that break reels, rods, and bend out hooks. These are also the hardest fish of the season to put hands on. Multiple jumps and runs into the backing, makes them hard to land, but after the chaos, you’re left in a state of disbelief.
How a 10lb fish could make a 7 weight two hander feel more like a fiberglass snoopy rod is pretty unreal, and after the chaos, even if they do break you off, we’re left there, standing in the river only able to say…wow….
After the first wave, the rivers slow down for a month or so until mid June. There will still be a few around, but not in the same numbers. Usually around the 10th of May we head east looking for Rainbows.
Trout Fishing:
This is the time for trout fishing. In early May the Deschutes comes alive with the most anticipated “event” of the year. The Salmonfly and Golden Stone hatch.
May and June are truly magical months to fish the Deschutes. Starting the last few days of April, and into early June, the Deschutes Salmonfly hatch is legendary. These are huge bugs. Up to 3″ long, they are a big meal for hungry rainbows, and just coming off spawn, they are ready to eat.
For the dry fly fisherman it doesn’t get much better than this. Fishing big flies into tight structure, watching the fish smash your bug, and even watching them refuse your fly is something that will be burned into your mind for a very long time.
Having a ton of different patterns is the name of the game here. When we guide the river, we will have every size shape and color in our boxes, and will switch flies all day. Sometimes after only 1 cast. If we get a refusal, we switch, before even making another cast.
Casting the same fly over and over will just put him down. We have a fish that wants to eat, he just doesn’t want to eat that particular fly. Switching up gives the fish time to rest and gives them something new to consider. It’s not uncommon to switch 4 or 5 times before we find a fly that looks good enough to eat.
Another big bug to be on the lookout for in June is the Green Drake. If you happen to come into a Drake hatch, change flies immediately. When the drakes are out, the fish will be in tunnel vision and wont eat anything else until the hatch is over.
Some of the best Green Drake hatches are just a little further east, near Sisters on the Metolius River. The “Met” can be a very challenging river for even the most accomplished fly anglers.
It’s a spring creek that looks like a freestone, but still fishes like a spring creek. In short, fish spring creek tactics. 14′ leaders, and low floating flies, even though they are hard to see, and may sink on you. You’ll be rewarded for all your extra effort with more hook ups.
Fly Fishing from July – August
Trout Fishing:
As we move into the dog days of summer, trout fishing starts slowing down to mornings and evenings. The Deschutes now becomes a caddis show, fishing spent caddis in the early morning and emerging caddis in the evening.
If we catch the odd cloudy or cool day there can be a great PMD hatch to watch out for as well.
Early to Mid July can offer some good all day fishing for Yellow Sallys if the air temps stay in the 80’s. Once the canyon hits 90+ degrees everyday, the fishes metabolism slows down as the river heats up, making the evenings the best time to head out for a dry fly session.
A great way to spend a couple days on the river is to fish early, hire one of the great white water rafting companies to show you a close up view of the many class 3 and 4 rapids during the heat, and hit it again for the evening caddis hatch.
Steelhead Fishing:
July marks the historic kick off for Willamette Valley Summer Run Steelhead. Usually sometime in the first week we see some big pushes of fish entering the local rivers.
It’s not common to see pods of 5-10 scattered through the river on a days float. The rivers start fishing very consistently, become easy to wade, and many of the spots that were tough to hit from the bank earlier in the season are easy to get access to.
We still fish sink tip lines in the valley river in the summer, but they become much lighter and easier to cast. The flies are typically smaller and lighter too.
Moving into Mid August the east side streams will start their summer run kick off. An August Deschutes or Klickitat steelhead will put your gear to the test.
They are hot and very angry when they get stuck. We have seen them cartwheel 100 yards into your backing, spending more time out of the water than in, on one single run.
Fly Fishing from September – October
Trout Fishing:
Once we start getting cooler night temps, sometime in mid September, the trout fishing once again becomes something to look forward to. The Short Winged Stones and Fall Caddis are hatching, along with Crane Flies and blizzards of Speckled Wing Caddis.
As we move into October Blue Winged Olives and Midges will become something to look for as well.
Most of the Anglers you will come across will be looking for Steelhead, leaving the best trout water and all of the smaller creeks untouched.
Steelhead Fishing:
If I had to pick one 30 day section to go after Steelhead in the Pacific Northwest it would be September 15th – October 15th.
All the rivers that have a Summer Return, have fish. The rivers are much cooler and the fishing can be nothing short of legendary.
The sun is low in the sky making all day fair game to swing flies. This is also the best time to find Steelhead on the skated dry fly.
Once the October Caddis start bouncing on the surface, they seem to become much more focused on waking dries.
Coho Salmon Fising:
Sometime between early and Mid October, Coho Salmon start showing up in a few of the valley rivers.
Once we get some of the heavy fall rains, and the rivers come up and get a little off color, it can go off the hook.
Timing for this run is hard at best. Conditions have to be right to get into them with regularity. If you happen to catch a good day, you’ll be ruined.
Stripping big leach streamers for chrome salmon is a ton of fun, and on a decent day, it’s easy to hook anywhere between 10 and 20 in a single half day session.
Fly Fishing from November – December
Trout Fishing:
Most of the area streams close for trout after October 31st. We can still fish most of the rivers on the east side of the Cascade Range as well as parts of the McKenzie.
Trout fishing can remain very good throughout most of November as long as we get nature to play along. Mahogany Dun Mayflies, BWO’s, and Fall Caddis will bring fish to the surface, but make sure to be armed with a nymphing set up.
Steelhead Fishing:
November can be a tricky month to Steelhead fish. Normally we will still see some decent numbers of fish around, but once we set into a winter pattern and we get some of the big fall storms, they take the high water opportunity to head upriver and look for spawning gravel.
About the 15th of the month we’ll take a break form Steelheading and either fish for Salmon or tie our brains out getting ready for Winter Steelhead, which will start entering the rivers in early December.
Usually around the 10th you can find a few early Winter Run around the coast and valley rivers.
Salmon Fishing:
Coho will still be hot and heavy through November, in fact, some years we catch chromers into Christmas.
This all depends on river levels though. If the rivers are high and muddy, the fish will just bomb through without stopping and we’ll never get a shot at them.
If we get a decent water year, you can keep fishing and move right from Silvers to Winter Steelhead without skipping a beat.