Recreation Report

Includes updates to fishing, crabbing and clamming

Free Fishing Weekend, June 1-2‌

On FFW you won't need a license, tag, validation or endorsement to experience some of the best fishing of the year. Take a friend fishing at a recently stocked pond, or make it a family affair at a Free Fishing Weekend event.‌

Let young wildlife stay wild‌

This is the time of year outdoor enthusiasts start finding seemingly abandoned or orphaned wildlife babies. But young animals are rarely orphaned, so leave them where you find them. Chances are good mom is nearby, just waiting for you to leave before she returns to her baby. Here's what to do if you find young animals alone in the wild.‌

Best bets for weekend fishing‌

With a long weekend coming up for many people, and some of the best fishing of the year underway, we hope fishing is on your holiday agenda. If it isn't, here's our effort to convince you that it should be:‌

• There are spring Chinook being caught…, well, all over the place. Here's a partial list: Tillamook and Nestucca bays, and the Rogue, Sandy, Clackamas, Willamette, North and South Santiam, Hood and Snake rivers.
• Oh yeah, and extra days have been added to the Chinook fishery in the lower Columbia. Find more details here.
• Summer steelhead fishing has been good in the Lower McKenzie, Middle Fork Willamette, and the North and South Fork Santiam, with inklings of fish in the Nestucca, Wilson, Sandy and Clackamas.
• Many western Oregon streams and rivers have now reopened for cutthroat trout fishing. If you've never fished these small streams, they can be a hoot. Learn more about why you should give them a try.
• Anglers are targeting shad in the Coquille, Umpqua and Columbia
• Trout fishing has been very good at Hyatt, Howard Prairie and Fish Lake.
• Kokanee are biting at Lake Billy Chinook, Odell, Paulina and Wickiup.
• The salmonfly hatch on the lower Deschutes River is in full swing! Some anglers wait all year for this. Hit the river and find out why.
• Trophy-size trout will be going into Heart Lake, Holbrook Reservoir and Lofton Reservoir this week.
• Bass fishing has started to pick up in all three Hells Canyon reservoirs.
• When ocean conditions permit, anglers have been landing some salmon and halibut.
• Finally, thousands of Oregon's most popular game fish, trout, will continue to be stocked this week in locations throughout the state.

These examples are for demonstration purposes only. Check the zone reports for details and more options.‌

Fishing for cash‌

The Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery Program pays anglers for each northern pikeminnow they catch in the Columbia River. Each pikeminnow caught helps a few more juvenile salmon and steelhead make their way to sea. Read more about the program. ‌