Recreation Report

Includes updates to fishing

Best bets for weekend fishing

Steelhead, trout and bottomfish are good bets.

• With rain in the weekend forecast, coastal steelhead anglers might turn to plunking in rivers like the Chetco, Illinois and Rogue.
• Winter steelhead are making an appearance in the Lower Columbia River. There should be some opportunity to catch steelhead on the beaches this time of year.
• There are still steelhead around in the Grande Ronde, Imnaha, Umatilla and Wallowa. Be ready to hit the water as weather and water conditions permit.
• Several waterbodies throughout the Willamette Valley have already been stocked with trout – some for the second time this season.
• When ocean conditions are good, rockfish fishing off the coast has been very good and lingcod fishing has been excellent with many anglers bringing in limits.

These examples are for demonstration purposes only. Refer to the zone reports for more details and possibilities.

Hunter education in time for spring bear and turkey seasons

If your young hunter wants to hunt for spring bear or turkey this year, make sure completing hunter education is on their to-do list. Hunter education is required for hunters younger than 18 to hunt in Oregon. Classes can be in person or online (additional field day required). Ways to complete hunter education.

Find big game statistics

Find all the numbers you'll need – big game populations, harvest and point summary reports – to plan your tag application strategy.