May Fishing in Portland, OR

[Phil6]

Hey everyone,

I might be doing a May hiking trip to Portland, was wondering if anyone has any experience with the area and/or the time of year there. Obviously river trout are the big ticket fish, but I know nothing about their spawn schedules or movements. Do people use spinning gear for them? Only Fly? Techniques? Im pretty clueless besides what I've seen in videos so any help would be appreciated

Thanks in advance

[RonG]

Hey everyone,

I might be doing a May hiking trip to Portland

That's a heck of a walk from here. Leave late March/early April to get there in time. Or at least a week early, if you meant "hitch hiking."

As for the fishing, George W. moved to that area, I think. Hopefully, he's still reading here and can help you with that.

[Woohoodude11]

I HATE to use the Googan guys as an example, but Rob Terkla (LunkersTV) and I believe Jon B have done trips there and Washington. That should give you a clue at least.

[matt_ski]

Read up in some book about it or look for a decent blog of someone who fishes there. Does not happen often to me, but when I am far away from home and want to fish I usually ask around in tackle shops. It's old fashioned, but works, and those people have plenty of information.
or this https://www.oregonfishingforum.com/

For what it's worth, John Day river in Oregon is known for great smallie fishing and beautiful scenery.

[Rambler]

For what it's worth, John Day river in Oregon is known for great smallie fishing and beautiful scenery.

Yes!! Big

As for gear fly is the obvious choice but spinning gear works too. Depending on the size of the water you can go medium or UL. The Umpqua around Steamboat (OR not CO) SE of Eugene is outstanding. Have fun!

[Phil6]

. Does not happen often to me, but when I am far away from home and want to fish I usually ask around in tackle shops

I was planning on calling a couple local shops out there before the trip, thanks for the smallie advice

I HATE to use the Googan guys as an example, but Rob Terkla (LunkersTV) and I believe Jon B have done trips there and Washington. That should give you a clue at least.

and I hate to admit it, but I've seen them

[mplant1]

I went to Portland OR last year and booked a half day trip with Marvin's Guide Service. He charges $115 per person which is very reasonable - my party only had two people and that was fine with him. In May he will put you on Sturgeon and possibly try for spring salmon in river. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. When we went out we caught about 40 sturgeon with a handful of them over 6' long. It was insane. I went home with super sore arms and it totally worth it.

https://www.fastactionfishing.com/

[Phil6]

I went to Portland OR last year and booked a half day trip with Marvin's Guide Service. He charges $115 per person which is very reasonable - my party only had two people and that was fine with him. In May he will put you on Sturgeon and possibly try for spring salmon in river. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. When we went out we caught about 40 sturgeon with a handful of them over 6' long. It was insane. I went home with super sore arms and it totally worth it.

https://www.fastactionfishing.com/

woah... thank you for this. Very very cool

[Skifish1]

1) Ocean fishing w/guide for various species
2) Columbia fishing w/guide (probably only worth it you chase sturgeon w/guide)
3) Mountain streams and lakes, most everything is stocked or natural reproduction

I've done number 1 and number 3 out there in different areas of state if you are hiking and don't go the guide route I'd suggest just doing a little research to make sure creeks, rivers, lakes you may hit have trout I carry a medium or ML spinning rod that breaks down and fits in a backpack. I don't think I've ever run into a waterway that doesn't have fish. Some of the roads in valleys whether cascades or coastal mountains follow windy rivers so there are plenty of opportunities to just pull over and check out spots. Especially on the public national forest lands.

[Scipio24]

I was in Astoria, OR a number of years ago (8 or 9??) and took a guided fishing boat on the Columbia river to fish for sturgeon. Was a blast and we were reeling them in left and right. Ended up keeping one around 4.5 feet, I think. I'll see if I can find a picture...