Man the numbers over willamette falls is pretty bleak compared to previous years. Even had 1 salmon and 2 steelhead go back down. Not looking good for those of us that fish the santiams.
Man the numbers over willamette falls is pretty bleak compared to previous years. Even had 1 salmon and 2 steelhead go back down. Not looking good for those of us that fish the santiams.
What do you think is responsible for the low returns?
O. mykiss
I am not worried yet.The high flows, low vis, and cold temps are keeping them from moving. You can go back and look at historical data and see that they don’t start moving in good numbers until the water temps reach 55 degrees. I’m actually pretty optimistic about this years run, catch data shows that there are a lot of fish down low. The catches last week were the best since 2015.
O. mykiss
Early indicators show that the springer run in the Columbia is making a very strong showing also.
brandon4455
The water is high and fast and full of crap. Once the water drops and temp reaches 58 the counts are going to go up. I don’t have much to say for the summer steelhead but willing to bet the springer counts won’t be bad at all. They’re coming in above projections on the Columbia.
jamisonace
I've been watching with great anticipation as well. If the water will drop and warm we should see some great numbers over the falls. I got my first Santiam Fish on May 8th last year but there were already 10k fish over the falls at that point. Numbers and dates are not good data points though without understanding how the flows and water temperature impact fish passage.
P
pcstock
REOPENER from Tongue Point to Bonny! Starts tomorrow!
I've been watching with great anticipation as well. If the water will drop and warm we should see some great numbers over the falls. I got my first Santiam Fish on May 8th last year but there were already 10k fish over the falls at that point. Numbers and dates are not good data points though without understanding how the flows and water temperature impact fish passage.
Spotty but pretty good. I haven't fished much lately but got 3 fish today. Two chinook and a summer. Biggest nook was 26 lbs. (I'll post a report soon) Saw one other summer landed and a chinook broke off. Some good days and lots of skunks.