Reports of decent steelhead fishing surfaced up and down the coast in early January. As the early rains of 2013 diminished and gave way to a short cold snap, the bite layed down a tad. Recent rains over the last few days should now provide a welcome jump start and packs of new fish should be pushing through soon.

Cool temperatures continue to delay the main arrival of our Springers. Fish are trickling in however, everyday now.

We have entered the final stretch for winter steelhead fishing on most of our coastal streams. A few select rivers offer prolonged opportunity for some continued steelhead fishing beyond the general March 31st cutoff. Numerous rivers and sections of some rivers remain open to steelhead fishing year-round. The Rogue, the Umpqua, and the Siletz fall into this category. The Whitaker Run on the Siuslaw remains open through April 15, while the South Fork of the Coquille stays open through April 30. Winter steelhead fishing on the Siuslaw however, has slowed considerably.

The Umpqua has been a consistent producer of quality steelhead through this Winter Steelhead Season. We hope this foreshadows a strong run of summer fish to follow.

In addition to a bang-up run of Spring Chinook for the McKenzie & Willamette Rivers, fish managers are also forecasting a strong showing of summer steelhead for 2010 to arrive in the coming months.

After a long holiday away and many moons of silence I am happy to report that the Main Stem and both Forks of the Umpqua are all kicking out some awesome fish.