ODFW Recreation Report


by OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Staff
3-31-2022
Website

Mandatory reporting for 2022 hunts

If you purchased a tag for a late-season 2022 hunt, you must report your hunt by April 15. Even if you were unsuccessful or didn’t hunt. Ways to report.

Get ready for spring turkey

The spring turkey hunting season opens April 15. To help plan for the upcoming season, ODFW offers a variety of turkey hunting information. And that’s not counting these 10 tips for taking toms.

Watch for whales

Gray whales will be visible from the Oregon coast during their annual northern migration – usually lasting from the end of March into June. Learn more about good places to spot them.

Best bets for weekend fishing

  • All north and mid-coast stocking locations have been stocked this year. Fish are hungry and available. Time to go fishing.
  • Steelhead are still being caught daily in the Nestucca and Wilson rivers.
  • The Middle and Upper Rogue are seeing regular steelhead action. Fresh winter and down runners have been caught. There are also half-pounders available.  
  • Lost Creek Lake has been fishing well for trout. The addition of 15,000 legal trout this week should result in easy limits.  
  • Anglers report pretty good striped bass fishing in the Coquille Basin, Smith River and mainstem Umpqua. 
  • Anglers are catching bottomfish off the Coos Bay jetties.
  • Redtail surfperch fishing has been very good on southern Oregon beaches like Horsefall and Bullards.
  • The Hood River is seeing a great return of winter steelhead this season.
  • Fishing for holdover rainbow trout in Krumbo Reservoir has been good.
  • Trout fishing on the lower Owyhee has been good recently with some anglers averaging five trout per hour.  
  • Anglers have been successful fishing the Powder River arm of Brownlee Reservoir for bass, trout and perch.




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OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Reports
for Thursday, March 24th, 2022
Ana Reservoir: The reservoir is currently filling up
Chewaucan River: Fishing will start picking up as the water warms this spring
Phillips Reservoir: The ice is beginning to melt, and there now is a substantial amount of open water
Pilcher Reservoir: The reservoir is mostly covered by slush
Thief Valley Reservoir: Thief Valley Reservoir is now ice-free
Thompson Valley Reservoir: Access is available and the water is very low
Unity Reservoir: The ice has begun to melt at Unity Reservoir
Wolf Creek Reservoir: There is still ice over much of Wolf Creek Reservoir
Brownlee Reservoir: Anglers in the Powder River arm have recently had good catches
Imnaha River: Mid-March through mid-April often is one of the best periods for steelhead
Umatilla River: The flows in the Umatilla have come up in the last week
Detroit Reservoir: Water level is about 75 feet above the bottom of Mongold boat ramp
EE Wilson Angling Pond: Will be stocked this week
Green Peter Reservoir: This reservoir is slowly filling again
Santiam River ( North Fork) : Next run of spring Chinook and summer steelhead won’t arrive until late April/early May
Santiam River (South Fork): Trout harvest is now closed until May 22
Alsea River: Winter steelhead fishing is starting to slow down on the Alsea
Kilchis River: The Kilchis River is a little on the low side
Necanicum River: The Necanicum will be low and clear this week but should still be fishable
Nehalem River: The Nehalem is a little on the high side but is still green and is on the drop
Nestucca River: The Nestucca is in good shape and still dropping
Siuslaw River: Winter steelhead fishing is starting to slow down for the season on the Siulsaw
Trask River: The Trask is in prime condition and dropping
Wilson River: The Wilson is in decent shape and dropping
Ben Irving Reservoir: Ben Irving remains cloudy for a long time after rains
Chetco River: As the flows drop, anglers will have a good shot at some steelhead
Diamond Lake: People are still ice-fishing at Diamond
Elk River: Later season steelhead fishing can be excellent on the Elk
Emigrant Reservoir: Water temperatures are increasing and warmwater fishing should be picking up
Galesville Reservoir: The boat ramp is just usable and anglers are taking advantage of it
Hyatt Lake: Open water is available but the reservoir still extremely low
Illinois River: There are still some good-looking winter steelhead to be caught
Pistol River: With clear water conditions anglers will want to use small baits and light line
Rogue River- Lower: Fishing conditions are low and clear
Rogue River - Middle: Anglers are catching steelhead regularly from Grants Pass to Robertson Bridge
Rogue River- Upper: Winter fish are being caught on a more regular basis in the upper Rogue
Winchuck River: Current conditions are low and clear