OREGON STEELHEAD FISHING

Summer Steelhead - In July and August we are chasing steelhead around. These sea-running rainbows are fun to catch. They are very acrobatic and will certainly give you a good fight. There are 2 runs of summer steelhead we get up the Columbia River. They run head to tail of each other so it is hard to tell when one run ends and one starts but the first run of steelhead that are coming up the Columbia River are called the “A” run and are heading to the tributaries by the thousands. These steelhead will average around 6-10 pounds. The second run of steelhead are heading to the Snake River and these are a bit bigger fish. They will average over 10 pounds with some over 20 pounds.

Steelhead in Oregon and Washington, no matter winter or summer, are incredibly exciting to catch, especially on light tackle. I work several area rivers so there is always some hot fishing action but December and January are the best times for steelhead. These fish average from 6-10 lbs. but can often go as high as 15 lbs. or more.

Here in Oregon we have two main runs of steelhead: winter and summer. In November, the rivers start filling up with these acrobatic sea run rainbow trout and are they a blast to catch. Most of the winter Oregon steelhead fishing is done out of a drift boat. Doing float trips down a river is just beautiful. Steelhead fishing while floating down a river allows you to just relax and enjoy so much more than running up and down in a power boat. Winter steelhead comes right after the Oregon salmon fishing on most rivers, so while steelhead fishing, you will occasionally find your rod bent a bit harder with a salmon on the end.

The summer steelhead run in Oregon, like our fall salmon fishing, offer two different runs of steelhead on the Columbia River. The first run of steelhead are heading up all the tributaries and another run right after heading to Idaho. We call them the “A” run and “B” run of steelhead. The “A” run are the smaller of the two, but these steelhead come in bigger numbers. The “B” run are larger fish but in fewer numbers. However, whenenever you start talking steelhead, an excitement fills the air. These fish are great fun to catch and when you add some terrific river scenery, you simply have a great day. How can you miss? Let's go fishin'!