Recreation Report

Highlights from this week’s Recreation Report:

Best bets for weekend fishing

Trout, bass and warmwater, rockfish and ocean salmon are good bets for your weekend fishing.

• Anglers should find sea-run cutthroat in the upper tidewater and lower sections of the Nestucca, Nehalem, Trask and Wilson rivers.
• Fly-fishing and casting lures on the Chewaucan upstream of Paisley should be great this weekend. Water temperatures are warming up and so should the bite.
• The Blitzen River and Fish Lake (Steens Mountain) are great places to beat the summer heat with a little fishing.
• Recent sampling in Krumbo Reservoir showed lots of big (14-inches or more) rainbow trout.
• The Jubilee Lake was stocked last week and should produce good catches of rainbow trout, a trail around the lake provides great access.
• This is great time to target bass in the upper Willamette, upper Owyhee, Columbia, mainstem and South Umpqua and Coquille rivers.
• Striped bass fishing continues to be very good on the Coquille River.
• Walleye fishing has been good in the John Day Pool of the Columbia River.
• Fishing for rockfish inside the Coos Bay has been good near the submerged rock piles. Best fishing is usually near slacktide. 
• Ocean salmon fishing has been good with Coho dominated the catch, but good numbers of Chinook were also being caught from Garibaldi to Newport this past week.

Clatsop beaches close to razor clamming July 15

The popular razor clamming beaches in Clatsop County (from Tillamook Head in Seaside to the mouth of the Columbia River) will be closed to clamming July 15 through Sept. 30 for the annual conservation closure.

“First Time” Hunt tags give kids a second chance to draw

If your young hunter applied for a big game tag and was unsuccessful, they may be eligible to apply for a Youth “First Time” Hunt tag. Under this program, young hunters can apply for tags in the buck deer, antlerless deer and antlerless elk hunt series.

Learn more and download application form

4 1/2 ways to take a rod with you this weekend

Hiking or camping plans getting in the way of fishing this weekend? Going to be busy kayaking or going to the beach? No need to choose between fishing and other fun – just take a rod with you.

Ways to take a rod with you

Sign up for shotgun skills and pheasant hunting workshops

These workshops fill quickly, so register soon!

During the pheasant hunting workshops you’ll participate in an actual hunt with the help of a volunteer and their trained hunting dog. This is a great introduction to upland bird hunting. All participants must complete a required shotgun skills class before attending a hunting workshop.

Learn more and register

Header photo by Kathy Munsel