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 the Oregon Winter Steelhead Experience is all about!

To book a Winter Steelhead trip call us at 503.515.3533
or contact us for free guided fishing information!

RIVERS TO CHOOSE FROM: Siletz River, Nestucca River, North Fork Nehalem, Oregon Coast Creeks and the Sandy River
SEASON: Winter, Early Spring