Best Winter Steelhead Rivers on Mid Oregon Coast
Lincoln and Lane Counties Offer Great Fishing for Sea Going Rainbows
Aug 16, 2009
Lincoln City, Newport and Florence may be classic Oregon beach towns better known for sand castles, clam chowder and dune buggies, but the nearby rivers pump out great catches of hatchery winter steelhead, often rivaling better known (and sometimes more crowded) rivers on the north coast, on the south coast or in the Portland area.
So bring the buggy in the summer, but in the winter the hot ticket just might be your steelhead rod.
How and When to Catch Central Coast Steelies
Fishing guide Jon Payne of o2fish starts targeting coastal winter steelhead in mid-coast rivers with the second high water following Thanksgiving, when the first good shot of fish often arrives.
Payne likes traditional drift fishing but cautions that these rivers are full of snags. Working Luhr-Jensen Hot Shot plugs from a drift boat or casting floats with either bait such as shrimp (in murky water) or jigs (in clearer water) are easier on the tackle budget and catch lots of fish, he said. For jigs, Payne prefers a Candy Dropper (Over the Edge Tackle) with two eyes – one for the mainline but a second where a dropper line can be rigged with a second offering such as bait.
Listed north to south, the central coast’s top producers of hatchery steelhead – those with a clipped adipose fin that can be harvested for the table – are the following three rivers.
Siletz River Anglers Catch Big Steelhead Near Lincoln City
Lincoln City has kite flying, a massive outlet mall, a big casino – and close proximity to the Siletz River, where each winter the big deal are the big steelhead. In the best years, Siletz anglers harvest more than 2,000 winter steelhead, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife catch records.
The Siletz River’s hatchery program uses wild steelhead as the brood stock, producing fish that can be harvested but run later than other runs of hatchery steelhead. Look for the first fish to arrive around Thanksgiving but wait for January through March for the peak fishing.
If angling for hatchery steelhead (with adipose fins clipped) to take home, concentrate efforts at Moonshine Park, where steelhead are released as smolts. There also is weekend access to the bank along the private Siletz Gorge Road upstream.
Alsea River Has Good Access for Good Numbers of Hatchery Steelies
In the winter of 2003-04, the mainstem and north forks of the Alsea system produced a whopping 4,663 steelhead for anglers to take home, according to the ODFW. That’s better than even famed winter steelhead rivers such as the Umpqua and Rogue in Southwest Oregon did that season. Most years the Alsea system catch isn’t so high but often rates a very respectable 2,000 fish.
Access to the Alsea includes a very good “deadline” area at the hatchery in addition to an impressive number of public parks on the riverside. During high water, focus your attention at the hatchery on the north fork, a smaller stream that recovers quickly after storms.
Payne says drift boaters do well floating from Mill Creek to Campbell or Campbell to Salmonberry launches. “You can always catch fish there” and there aren’t many hazards, he said.
The Alsea typically gets rolling in December and holds fish into March, but Payne says it peaks about mid-January, when he starts concentrating on the Siuslaw.
Siuslaw River is a Great Salmon Spot But No Slouch for Steelhead
The Siuslaw may not have quite the reputation as a steelhead river as it deserves, owing to the fact that when people from outside the area talk about the Siuslaw, it’s often because it is one of the state’s premier chinook salmon fisheries. Nevertheless, anglers from the central coast and Eugene areas well know that the Siuslaw and its tributaries (mainly Lake Creek) manage to churn out 1,000 or more hatchery steelhead in decent years.
On the main Siuslaw, the most popular (and often crowded) area is near the campground area at Whitaker Creek, where ODFW releases most of this river system’s smolts and where both bank and boat anglers will find good access. From there, boaters float to the Wildcat launch, while others float from Wildcat to Linslaw, Payne said.
On Lake Creek, smolt releases are now near Green Creek near the community of Deadwood. There is good bank access there, and bank anglers should focus on the lower four miles of Lake Creek if they are after hatchery fish.
The Siuslaw’s steelhead run is best from late January through the first half of March.
Additional Resources for Winter Steelhead Fishing
- Fishing in Oregon: The Complete Oregon Fishing Guide (Flying Pencil Publications, Scappoose, Oregon), by Madelynne Diness Sheehan
- The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife website
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