OREGON CITY, Ore. –The Willamette River was as smooth as a lake. The riverfront homes were reflected in the mirror-like surface of the river, showcasing the quirky as well as the luxury abodes that line the river’s banks. As the sun climbed into the sky the kayaks and paddle boards began to appear.
Fishing the Willamette is always an interesting proposition, and the urban setting can be exciting to fish. However, it’s always more fun if you are catching fish, and this has been a difficult year.
“Up and down.” That is how guide Bill Monroe Jr. of Bill Monroe Outdoors describes this year’s fishery.
For example, he had 10 bites two days before we fished, and had caught one salmon the day before. However, we never got a sniff in six hours. We only saw two fish hooked all day, even though there were plenty of boats out fishing.
That has been the reality of fishing the Willamette River this spring. One day you can catch a fish or two, and other days the springers are a no-show.
Tough conditions in the river have added to the issues.
The river filled with brown, dirty water after hard rains inundated the upper Willamette River Valley in late April. After those rains let up the heavy sediment load moving downstream contributed to the river warming extraordinarily fast. Sediments catch and collect the suns heat.
As we started to fish the water temperature was a lukewarm 63 degrees Fahrenheit. Salmon do not bite well in water that warm.
Given all of these negatives, it is little surprise there was no red-hot bite.
“In the early season the herring bite was OK,” said Monroe. “Then the dynamic changed once (the river) hit 50 degrees.”
The change in temps brought a good bite for anglers fishing salmon eggs, but it did not last too long. According to Monroe, the temps quickly ramped up too high for egg fishing.
“It’s a Pro-trolls and spinner bite now,” said Monroe. “This is what the bite will be from here on for springers and summer Chinook. You’re going to see hardware and pro-trolls.”
Monroe said that the salmon were also bolting right through the river, instead of pulling in and holding. Fish on the move are harder to catch.
A look at Willamette Falls counts bears this out — 9,792 spring Chinook adults had passed over the falls as of May 10. By the same date in 2018, 6,679 adults had passed over, and in 2017, only 3,168 had crossed the dam by the 10th.
As we fished, reports coming in from other sections of the river were also poor.
Buzz Ramsey of Yakima Bait was fishing the Willamette near the Sellwod Bridge with Bill Monroe Sr. of the Oregonian Newspaper, and John Shmilenko, often known as “The Sultan of Sellwood.” They were also struggling.
“It was poor,” said Ramsey, “worse than it had been and fishing had not been red hot before.”
He reported only hearing about one fish hooked in the lower river.
Even with the occasional poor days, both Monroe Jr. and Ramsey still think there will be some decent fishing on the Willamette through June.
“I think there is still opportunity for spring Chinook in the Willamette,” said Ramsey. “That just wasn’t the day to be there.”
Ramsey also thinks the fish are moving through the lower river too quickly for the fishermen to intercept them in good numbers.
One sign of that was the fact that the fishermen that were jigging for the salmon did not do well, either. Jigging with Fish Field Jigs, which are a lead spoon, is a method catching on in the Willamette, but the method works best when the fish are holding. It’s tough to get this technique to work when the fish are on the move.
A good method to target moving salmon is to anchor and fish with stationary baits. However, the anchor fishermen had a poor day, too.
The fish have been entering the Willamette in schools, and if you are fishing when that school moves through there are good chances to succeed. However, during the in-between days the river can seem almost empty.
What does all this mean for the rest of the season?
“It will be interesting to see how the rest of this year plays out,” said Monroe Jr. “Looking at the numbers over the falls, I think there is going to be more fish coming through.”
He is also encouraged by the weather forecast, which calls for more than a week of rain and showers. These are conditions that usually improve a salmon bite.
“It’s just showers, but that is enough to change things,” said Monroe.
Is this the worst springer season Monroe has seen?
“Yes, without question,” he said. “A collapse like this…it’s kind of a bad deal.”
The signs are out there that ocean conditions and other factors that affect the runs are improving. However, until the Chinook runs turn around, it may be hard times for Willamette River fishermen.
But there are some salmon lurking out there, so you can sit at home and mope, or get out on the water and give it a try.
You’ve got nothing to lose.
Guided trips: Bill Monroe Outdoors, 503-702-4028
