Oregon Fishing Guide
/ Meet Tom - your Oregon fishing guide / Latest Report / Useful Links - What to Bring / Fishing Lessons / Fly Fishing / Drift boat Lessons
email - fishin-musician@centurytel.net phone - 541-895-2708
|
Check out these pictures from my trip on August 11 ... first time on film (or should I say secure digital card?)
From the majestic Cascades to the roaring Pacific, Western Oregon provides unlimited opportunities for the sport angler. World renown for its abundant salmon, steelhead, and trout, Oregon also provides large and smallmouth bass, shad, sturgeon, walleye, striped bass, bluegill, and catfish. The famous fishing waters near my home in the Willamette Valley (Eugene-Springfield, Oregon) are the Mckenzie, the Willamette, and the Umpqua Rivers. The many lakes and reservoirs in my area will keep you busy with the bass and panfish. An angler can also target the Pacific Ocean for a variety of salt water fish. The salt water bays also hold clams and crabs. There are fish to be caught at any time of the year
The methods used to pursue the quarry are almost as diverse as the varieties of fish. The most popular ways to angle for our fish is by spin fishing, baitcasting, and fly fishing. By hiring an Oregon fishing guide on your first fishing trip you will be able to save many hours of research on a Western Oregon river. With proper guidance and instruction you will shorten your learning curve and you will be catching fish sooner than going it alone.
The Oregon fishing guides generally use the Mckenzie River Driftboats as the method of transportation while drifting and fishing downriver.
The Mckenzie River in the Fall Riding the waves on the lower Umpqua
Information about my locale ...
I live in a small town named Creswell and I am 5 miles south of Eugene and Springfield Oregon. The best known resource in Eugene would be the University of Oregon. This area of the state is the south Willamette Valley and I think it is the best place on earth to live and work. The Pacific Ocean is near and the snow capped Cascades can be seen to the East. The Mckenzie, Middle Fork of the Willamette, and the Willamette Rivers are our main source for water. These are also the rivers many Oregon fishing guides use for their fishing clients.
Here are the fish in Oregon I guide people to catch:
Many anglers hope to catch a Salmon or Steelhead when visiting Oregon...and rightfully so. Oregon is famous for these fish. Fishermen should know that when these anadromous fish enter our freshwater rivers to spawn they do not feed. With the exception of the Summer Steelhead which will eat occasionally, it can be very difficult to entice a Salmon or Winter Steelhead to strike. I believe the biggest factor in catching these fish is the size of the run in a given year. With more fish in the river the odds get better that a fish might bite. I guide for Salmon and Steelhead with conventional gear and guide for trout with our fly fishing outfits. If an angler is truly skilled I will guide him for Summer Steelhead with fly fishing gear.
We have two runs of Chinook Salmon...one in the Spring and the other in the Fall. In the Eugene - Springfield area of the Willamette Valley I guide for the Spring run in May and continue fishing for them into the first week of July. I fish the Mckenzie and the Middle Fork of the Willamette River for Spring Chinook. You will note that the Willamette Valley is part of the Columbia River drainage and our Spring and Summer fish are coming all the way from the mouth of the Columbia River. For the Fall run of Chinook we have to visit a different drainage since these fish spawn closer to the sea. My drive to the Umpqua, Siuslaw, Smith, or the Alsea River is from an hour to two hours. I guide for the Fall run of Chinook from September into October. There is a later run of Chinook on our southern coastal river such as the Elk, Sixes, and the Chetco. I have caught Fall Chinook into Christmas on the Elk. After the peak of the Fall Chinook run our Silver Salmon enter our coastal rivers. I fish the Umpqua near Elkton for them in October and November.
The Summer Steelhead arrives in the Willamette Valley in late April and they can be caught into November. Again I guide the Mckenzie and the Middle Fork of the Willamette for these fish. During the dog days of summer these fish are very difficult to catch in our valley. I can usually catch them in the morning if I drive to a different drainage ... up to the North Umpqua near Glide.
Our last run of anadormous fish is the Winter Steelhead. They follow the Silver Salmon in our coastal rivers and I guide for them beginning in late November and continue into March on our coastal rivers.
Oregon trout fishing also gets attention and a day on the river with fly rod or spinning gear can bring good results. I believe that trout fishing is "fun" fishing and Salmon and Steelhead fishing is "serious." The trout in the Willamette drainage are the native coastal Cutthroat and the Rainbow.
Although the Mckenzie, Middle Fork of the Willamette, and the Willamette are the biggest draw for trout there are smaller tributaries off these rivers that offer very good trout fishing. You can get away from the crowds on smaller streams when you are wader fishing. Fly fishing is the best way to fish for trout but conventional fishing can be arranged.
When the water in the lower Umpqua warms up (late May or June) the Smallmouth Bass begin to bite. This is another "fun" fishery and many Bass can be caught in a day. I guide for them into September around the town of Elkton, Oregon. We catch them up to 4 pounds. There are thousands of small fish and they are hard to keep off the hook. I believe the state regulations should be changed to take out more small fish from the river.
I guide the Shad run from mid-May into July on the Umpqua near Elkton. Another "fun" fishery and many fish can be caught if the run is strong. They average 1 to 2 pounds. In this fishery there is no limit to how many you can keep. I believe this is a mistake and any run of fish can be harmed if too many are taken and killed.
Drift boats are the method of transportation on our fast flowing rivers in Western Oregon. These boats are also referred to as "Mckenzie River Driftboats" since they were developed on our Mckenzie and the Rogue Rivers. I also give drift boat lessons and more information is available on the "driftboat lessons" page of this web site.
For flyfishermen ... here is a link to buy quality fishing flies at a great price. Click on the banner below:
If you build websites here is a low cost hosting company I use. Go to this website and click on "personal hosting." Hit "order now." Then choose "special plan 2." Just $18.00 a year!
/ Meet Tom - your Oregon fishing guide / Latest Report / Useful Links - What to Bring / Fishing Lessons / Fly Fishing / Driftboat Lessons /
Update October 1, 2008