The Oregon Coast fished great this Fall with good numbers of Chinook and good numbers 15 plus pound coho like this chubby wild hen.

December 14, 2011
Early Winter Fishing Report
Oregon Coast Winter steelhead season kicked off in typical fashion with a huge late November rain followed by a week of great fishing on dropping river conditions. However, since that rain event we’ve gone cold and dry with no moisture to speak of in three weeks. It’s a rare to have a conversation discussing the lack of rain on the Oregon Coast in December, yet here we are, staring at unseasonably low water levels. There are still Winter steelhead to be caught, but most of those are in the lower sections of bigger coastal systems. Fish are waiting patiently for the next freshet and fishing is certain to catch fire after the next good rain. Read more...

We are currently fishing the Nestucca, North Fork Nehalem, Sandy and Clackamas, plus some smaller Coastal Creeks. Give us a call at 503.515.3533 or Email us to book a Winter Steelhead fishing trip.

Oregon Smoked Salmon Recipe
Check out the newest recipe in the mouth-watering section of our blog. Great recipes for Northwest fish inside.

Oregon River Guides is a sport fishing guide service for Steelhead, Salmon and Trout. Guiding anglers since 1997, we focus on the Oregon Coast, Willamette Valley and Portland area streams including the Siletz, Nestucca, Sandy and Clackamas. Our knowledgeable and friendly guides can help put you some amazing fish, like summer and winter steelhead, spring chinook and huge coastal chinook!

From beginning to expert anglers alike, we have the perfect fishing trip to match your needs, desires, skill level and geographic location. We provide all rods, reels, bait and terminal tackle so you don't have to think about it. We also serve great streamside sack lunches and love to create tremendous shore lunches upon angler request. Visit our rates and bookings page for more information!

We have spents decades fishing local waters and fine tuning our knowledge base in order to put you on the best fisheries when they are fishing their best. We cover a broad area from the base of the Cascades to the Southern Willamette Valley and a large chunk of the Oregon Coast. Famous coastal streams like the Siletz and Nestucca, and other smaller creeks prodvide incredible fishing opportunities including coastal chinook, sea-run cutthroats and steelhead. If time and travel is short and find yourself in the Portland area, the Clackamas and Sandy are excellent steelhead rivers and also fish well for coho in the fall. For those anglers in Eugene area or fisherman looking for the blue ribbon trout experience, the world famous McKenzie is a spectacular three season trout fishery. Whatever the time of year, there are always great angling opportunites on the rivers we guide. Let us help show you the Oregon Angling Experience!

Featured Winter Species - Winter Steelhead; Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus:

Winter Steelhead are perhaps the most sought after game fish in the Pacific Northwest. Their size, strength and willingness to bite excites anglers everywhere. Fishermen will brave absolutely nasty fishing conditions in hopes of tying in to one of these great fish. Winter in Oregon is marked by cool temperatures, rain, wind, hail and occasional snowfall. The weather matters not to hearty steelheaders and often times the worst weather days provide the best fishing action.

Winter Steelhead are found up and down the Oregon Coast and throughout the Willamette Valley. Nearly every viable watershed has at least a few steelhead. The bigger systems like the Sandy River, Siletz River and Nestucca have more predictable catch rates and run timing, while some of the smaller watersheds can be hit or miss each day. The fish can literally be there one day and be gone the next. Unlike Summer Steelhead, Winter Steelhead move quickly through river systems on high flows and cool water temperatures, spawning quickly and then returning to the ocean. Post-Spawn steelhead, called Kelts, are sometimes caught during their outward migration and can show little signs of stress, with still bright silver color and heavy bodies. Different to other Salmon species which spawn only once and then die, steehead can spawn multiple times. Fish over 20 pounds have spawned 3 or 4 times. Each cycle to the ocean and return is called a salt and steelhead can be refered to as one-salt, two-salt fish, etc. One and two salt steelhead are common, while three and four salt are rare trophies.

The Winter Steelhead season kicks off around Thanksgiving with the earlier hatchery run entering the rivers first. These fish are generally smaller and more plentiful than their native brothers. Hatchery runs peak in December/January and taper off quickly in February. Most Winter hatchery fish are gone by March. Native steelhead begin to enter rivers in January and peak in Feb/March depending on your location. Good Winter steelhead fishing can be found late into April on rivers like the Sandy and Nestucca.

At Oregon River Guides we love Winter steelhead and never miss a chance to chase them! We use a variety of techniques for these including float/bobber fishing, fly fishing, pulling plugs and occasionally drift fishing. We specialize in smaller streams and upper reaches of more popular watersheds to avoid the crowds, get in to some awesome fishing action and show our guests a great time. Weather does play a factor duing the Winter and we do sometimes have to reschedule trips due to high water. We won't take you fishing on days you don't have a good chance to catch the big one.

Give us a call and find out just what Oregon fishing is all about! Call 503-515-3533 or email us.

Coastal Winter Steelhead
Nestucca, N.F. Nehalem
and Coastal Creeks
Now - April 15, 2012

Mt. Hood Winter Steelhead
Sandy and Clackamas Rivers
Now - April 15, 2012

Call 503-515-3533 or email us to inquire about booking a guided fishing trip!

JUST RELEASED! Episode two of the Headwater Chronicles in now on-line!

This episode "Bobber Fishing for Oregon Winter Steelhead" showcases a typical day of bobber fishing with Oregon River Guides. Watch this fun, fast paced film to see just how effective bobber fishing in low, clear water can be. Once you watch it, we know you'll want to book a trip with us for the FUN factor alone!