With most of our coastal rivers closing to winter steelhead fishing on March 31, folks in the Willamette Valley are just beginning to think about the moving back to fishing the local valley rivers in the coming months for newly-arriving summer steelhead and also spring chinook.  The Willamette Middle Fork, the McKenzie and the  North and South Santiam rivers will all produce spring and summer action for steelhead, salmon and trout.  Due to current run projections, there are some regulation changes to be aware of.  Even these changes are subject to review and revision, so try to keep current before and throughout the season.  Several hundred summer steelhead have already passed over the Falls at Oregon City, bound for the valley fisheries.  A chosen few anglers have reportedly hooked or landed several recently-arrived summer fish.  The upriver migration rate of the returning salmon and steelhead is largely controlled by flow rates and river temperature.  Later in the season when temperatures climb, fish will move in greater numbers and at faster return rates.  We expect good river levels this season due to a solid snowpack in the Cascade Mountains which feed our valley rivers.  High river levels and consequent cool river temperatures can sometimes slow migration and, in affect, extend our summer fishing season.  It appears there may be some new policy changes affecting the management of seals and sealions which historically intercept, kill and eat many of the returning adult fish in the lower Columbia and lower Willamette rivers.