Wilson steelhead and salmon runs

[pajohnson1988]

Hi all,

I am new to Oregon but am an avid Minnesota fisherman. I have been out on the Wilson plenty of times with no luck. Any tips for fly fishing the Wilson river? I don't see many steelhead in there right now and am wondering when the prime runs are.

Any other advice is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[DrTheopolis]

This evening is rife with questions I know the answers to -- I should buy a lottery ticket.

I've fished the Wils once recently, my buddy goes all the time. First, you've really got to put some effort and patience into seeing steelhead -- they're not fond of being seen. Next, the Wilson summer run seems pretty dismal this year. There's always a few, but doesn't seem like much of a run this year, and the Wilson is a tough nut to crack for summers in a good year. Combine that with the river drying up quite early this year, and that's some tough fishing. Of all the streams I've fished for summers, the Wilson is the toughest. The first hour or two of daylight OFFers a much better chance. It's much touchier about light on the water than most streams.

And we went through this recently, and I'm sure it OFFended a few people, but I'll say it -- learning to steelhead fish with a flyrod is like learning to knit with two baseball bats.

 

[pajohnson1988]

Thanks for the advice. Do you have any suggestions on when to fish it? When are the prime runs for steelhead or salmon?

Are there other rivers near hillsboro that have good bank access and better steelhead numbers?

 

[DrTheopolis]

Summer runs should be peaking about now (or starting to wind down, but they don't go anywhere, they just lay low). Spring/summer Chinook on the small coast streams can be a tough gig. When the rivers rise sharply in fall (which we never know exactly when that will be), those coastal streams are like fishing in a barrel for Chinook. Before that, they'll be in tidewater, but there's not always a lot of bank access to tidewater.

I'm not saying there isn't fish that can be caught in the Wilson this time of year, because there are. It's just tough conditions. You might give the Clack or Sandy a shot.

 

[troutmasta]

Thanks for the advice. Do you have any suggestions on when to fish it? When are the prime runs for steelhead or salmon?

Are there other rivers near hillsboro that have good bank access and better steelhead numbers?

Wait till mid September if its rainy a lot. October if its dryer, look for the river to rise then fish it on the drop. Thats when the good fall fishing for Chinook salmon will start and the Wilson is a wonderfull place to get into them. Late November to December the wintersteel will begin to mix in and stay till March-ish, the salmon will start to die off at the end of December to the begining of January. Non of this is conrete just what Ive learned. Bobber and eggs for fall chinook on the lower river is Awesome, also if you find the right water they can be had in 'other' ways. Finally I dig a pink worm or a corky yarn for the winters. Good Luck.

As far as rivers near hillsboro, head to the clack. Its probably an hour and the summer steel are not hard to get.

 

[pajohnson1988]

Perfect, thanks for the info. I tried the Clack today, but didn't have any luck. I fly fished with streamers from about 7 AM to noon. I'm patiently waiting for September/October

 

[halibuthitman]

You can catch summers in the Wilson on the fly, we'll actually nymphing, the black stonefly, teeny nymph, beotch creek nymph and bead are bad arse producers. Mornings are high odds, and last light. Swimmers fill all the easy access holes any day of the week during the dog days of summer, eliminating most of the shallower upper and lower holes. The summers are in the middle section of the river tight to the bank in the big hard to fish frog water holes, jones creek and through that brutal cliff ridden section is where most of the chrome will hang up until the fall rains. They are hard to get, you need 6-8 lb fluoro tippet and fish that big stagnant green water you cannot see the bottom in.. Fish from the dump to the tail out and cover as much of a hole as you can... Fish Wilson summers like you would float fish for nooks in the same water but scaled way down in size.. As small as you can bare, size 4 hooks and a little bling with a bead will at least hook a few, even if you can't get them to the bank. Go fish the trask by the forks and downstream.... That's where all the Wilson's fish are anyway-

 

[hookbait]

I hooked into a nice Wilson Steelie on my daughter's ultra light trout rod yesterday. Best 5 seconds of fishing I've had all year.