Willamette steel?

[plumbertom]

With the water as low as it has been, do you think we'll have any Steel head in the Willamette up river this year.
I'm hoping they'll make it to Eugene where I can fish them.

 

[TTFishon]

I could be wrong but I think they might be there now. I caught one a couple of years ago this time of year a little north of Beltline.

 

[hobster]

They are here but the numbers are WAAAAY down. Leaburg has had a little over 200 so far this year and last year there were over 1000 at this time. I know thats the Mac but it gives you an indication of how many have made it up here. It's tough steelhead fishing around here right now thats for sure.

 

[pinstriper]

They're going over the Willamette Falls at not quite a hundred a day. No reason why you can't catch one, but they're not very thick in the water yet.

 

[plumbertom]

The count I show at the falls up until the last posting was only two days of counts that are anywhere near that high. The posting before that show numbers in the single digits.
So those wouldn't be this far upriver for at least a week.
Also I've been told that they plant the smolts here in Eugene so the steelhead tend not to upriver from the planting area.
Not sure about how true that might be. But I've not heard of them being hauled out in numbers at Dexter dam the way the Chinook are.

 

[sbtm]

I have been watching the counts. Are these late summer fish? Or are they early winter fish? I just moved to Oregon, so steelhead are pretty new to me.

 

[hobster]

No winters yet. The summers can be caught all the way into october or november or even later from what i've seen.

 

[amnis]

I would not imagine winters coming through in large amounts yet... ^^ Though summers can be found in the Sandy and the Clack if you have patience to work for them. Have fun Catching.