COAST FORK WILLAMETTE RIVER: Chinook, summer steelhead, trout
Was stocked the week of May 19, with 800 hatchery rainbow trout. The river is open to fishing all year for trout, hatchery Chinook salmon, hatchery steelhead and wild steelhead over 24 inches.
Use of bait allowed April 22 Oct. 31 but beginning Nov. 1 anglers may only use lures and artificial flies. In addition to five hatchery trout, two wild trout may be kept daily. Last updated 4/21/25.
MIDDLE FORK WILLAMETTE RIVER: Trout, steelhead
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers refurbished the boat ramp on the south side of the Middle Fork Willamette just below Dexter Dam allowing drift boat and raft access. Walleye fishing below Dexter Dam should be decent March May.
A Columbia River Basin Endorsement is required for anglers targeting salmon and steelhead in the Middle Fork Willamette below Dexter Dam.
The Middle Fork Willamette above Lookout Point and Hills Creek reservoirs is open to fishing using lures and artificial flies. All wild trout must be released upstream of Lookout Point Reservoir. The Middle Fork Willamette River is not stocked with hatchery trout. Last updated 3/12/25.
WILLAMETTE RIVER: Catch-and-release sturgeon, steelhead, spring Chinook, small and largemouth bass
Poor river conditions last week and not much effort.
Preliminary estimates for the week of May 5th- May 11th:
Boats: 2,685 anglers Chinook 247 kept, 54 released - Steelhead 0 kept, 0 releasedBank: 207 anglers Chinook 0 kept, 0 released - Steelhead 0 kept , 0 released
See summaries for more details.
Spring ChinookSteelhead
River conditions and fish counts:
May 19, Willamette River Portland-Temperature/Visibility: 59F, Visibility: 8.5 ftLink to: Willamette Falls Counts Link to Willamette River Morrison Bridge Hydro DataLink to NOAA-Willamette River Forecast (Salem)
The Willamette often gets overlooked because it is so close. But this river offers convenience, good access and variety.
The river is ideal for small boats such as canoes and kayaks, but there are enough public access points for bank anglers as well. Consult Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for specific locations.
The upstream section between Albany and Harrisburg is open year-round for trout fishing, which can be very good when flows are cooperating. Look for deep slot pools and the tail-end of long riffles and the head of pools where the fish are likely stacked up in feeding lanes.
Smallmouth bass can be a lot of fun to catch and are plentiful between Salem and Corvallis during the spring and summer. Trout prefer the cooler temperatures upstream of Corvallis. From Salem downstream there are plenty of largemouth bass in the deeper, quieter sections. Trout can be kept in some sections, but not in others. Consult the regulation booklet for details. Last updated 5/28/25.
In this video, Simon ties an extremely effective jigged caddis pupa for fishing the Mothers Day or Grannom Caddis hatch. This hatch can be frustrating with lots of emerged adults on the water, and very few fish rising. This is because fish gorge themselves on ascending pupa. It is an easier meal, and it is safer as they do not have to surface to eat a dry or emerger. This particular pattern is great because it can be ran under an indicator, swung like a soft hackle, and ran under a dropper. It is the jack of all trades for caddis pupa patterns. Small patterns like this is really where Starling shines as a collar material. The new Fulling Mill Eco Warrior Dub sops up water and looks super buggy. We are finding every excuse to put it on all of our flies. The pattern is also extremely simple, which means that you can spend less time tying a few up and more time fishing them.
Hook- Ahrex FW555 Jig: Size 16
Bead- Hareline Anodized Chartreuse Slotted Tungsten Bead: 1/8 or 3.3mm
Thread- Semperfli Black Nanosilk: 50D
Body- Fulling Mill Eco Warrior Dub: Olive & Uni Medium Soft Wire: Olive
Collar- Hareline Peacock Herl & Hareline Starling
Resin: Solarez Bone Dry
UV Torch: Loon Plasma Light
Bobbin: Smhaen Tension Bobbin
Vise- Renzetti Master & Deluxe Streamer Base
The Grannom or Mothers Day Caddis is a long awaited hatch all over the country. This hatch of small salt and pepper colored Caddisflies marks the turn of seasons. The abundance of adults fluttering around and in stream side vegetation leaves anglers drooling and dreaming of days filled with dry fly eats. Unfortunately, this hatch often stumps anglers; some veterans even despise this hatch and avoid it at all costs.
Grannom Caddis are famous for producing blanket hatches which refer to massive hatches which leave the waters surface, eddies, anglers, and stream side vegetation covered in bugs. They are small sized 14-26 salt and pepper colored caddisflies. Generally, the hatch happens around Mothers Day give or take a few weeks. Hatches begin at lower elevations downriver which heat up earlier, and as things warm up each spring, you can follow the hatch upriver. A few weeks before Mothers Day is generally when we start seeing these bugs on the Lower Mckenzie & Willamette. The hatch generally overlaps for the second half of the March Brown hatch, as long as we get a few warm days in a row to wake the bugs up.
The degree to which anglers are excited varies with how the hatch behaves in each respective region. In areas where food is sparse, and the Grannom hatch makes up the bulk of insects hatching it can be good. In areas where the hatch isnt absurd and a moderate amount of bugs come off, this can help increase dry fly eats on the surface. The issue with the hatch, when it is a large blanket one, is fish gorge themselves subsurface on emerging pupa. Just like us after a big Thanksgiving meal, the fish are in a caddis induced food coma. This leaves anglers stumped, wondering why fish arent eating their dry when they see hundreds of naturals on the water. If fish are feeding on the surface in an abundance of bugs, they likely are being selective taking crippled, stillborn emergers, and spent caddis.
Luckily there are several solutions to this, it just requires being a little more strategic with your approach and presentation. To master the Grannom Caddis hatch, you must understand the lifecycle of these insects and view it through a trouts feeding behavior. Some events that you will have to pay attention to follow: pupa emergence, cripples/emergers, ovipositing females/ egg laying events, and lastly spent bugs which hit the water after these large egg laying events.
Starting subsurface caddis pupa are the bulk of what fish are eating. Caddis flies pupate and transform in cases prior to emerging. These pupa are especially helpless when ascending to the waters surface. Tactics to fish pupa involve dead drifting a pupa nymph under an indicator. Swinging caddis pupa wet flies or soft hackles is also especially productive once the hatch really turns on. At the end of your indicator drift, let your line pull taut and it will swing your nymphs up, imitating an emerging insect. To swing without an indicator rigging up with a heavier nymph trailed with a light soft hackle works great. Make a quartered cast upstream, throw some upstream mends in to let your flies sink, and let your line pull tight. As your flies swing towards your bank fish will often hit your flies hard. Some caddis pupa flies follow: BeadHead Ascending Caddis, Sweetmeat Caddis, Boroffs Knuckle Breaker Caddis, Hogans FA Caddis, Silveys Primetime Pupa, and Nicks Fat Caddass. Often fish gorge themselves on pupa so much that they do not eat much from the surface. This is the safest feeding option for trout; coming to the surface, or hanging in the upper water column sipping dries makes them more vulnerable to predation. This means fishing pupa is often the key to a successful day fishing a Grannom hatch.
Actively emerging insects that are breaking through the surface film also make a good choice. Fully emerged adults can flutter off if a fish is rising to eat them. Emergers that are still stuck in their pupal shuck, have injured themselves, or gotten too wet in their emergence make easy meals that trout can depend on. Rising to a vulnerable insect is a better use of their precious energy than an adult. The flies that you want to use for this are called emergers and often sit lower in the surface film than an adult. As a result the flies are harder to see, so I like to fish them tagged off the back of a more buoyant adult dry fly. Tagged 18-24 inches behind a buoyant dry, I will fish the following: X2 Caddis, Sparkle Pupa Caddis, X-Caddis Tan, Masons Soft Hackle Biot Swimmer, Dallys Tailwater Soft Hackle, or a Peacock Soft Hackle. Some of these are soft hackles and they work great for mimicking a failed emergence. Often insects get flushed below the surface and these do a great job of mimicking that. Keep an eye on your more buoyant dry fly and watch for it to drop under like an indicator.
Dry flies are last because of the life cycle, but also because theyre the most tricky to time. You can see fish have two other options that are safer and easier to take than a caddis fly adult with fully dried wings. This means you must be smart with how you fish adult Grannom patterns to entice an eat. Occasionally the rogue young trout will rise to one, but to entice larger fish to feed on the surface, we must look at the final life cycle of these insects.
Grannoms emerge and rest on the waters surface allowing their wings to dry before fluttering to stream side vegetation. Often they will skitter across the surface as they test out their new wings. Most aquatic insects can only emerge on more calm water, and fish know this. So they position themselves in the tailout of a pool sipping bugs whose wings did not dry fast enough. This is a great place to skitter a caddis across the back of the pool, mimicking a caddis rushing to get off the surface before they hit a rapid. Slack water is also important for ovipositing females. Females will dot the waters surface depositing eggs, and trout notice this. You can tease trout up in slack water by mimicking this behavior.
The most important part of their life cycle for us is unfortunately the end of theirs. After spending some time in stream side vegetation, Grannoms will form large groups and migrate upstream for a large mating event. You will see a large swarm start to move upstream past you and it can take minutes for the whole swarm to pass. These bugs are looking for suitable water to lay eggs, and you should follow them. Like mayflies, they will mate and die. Trout now have the ability to feed on dead insects, that will not get away from them. They have been waiting for this moment, and that is why theyve been ignoring your flies. Dead insects will be on the waters surface and underwater, and you will need a pattern that mimics a spent insect. This is where Jonny Kings Splitsville Caddis shines. It has wings which lay on the waters surface suggesting a spent bug. It is my favorite caddis pattern for times like this. Other good options to fish during a spent caddis event follow: Egg Layer Caddis Fly, Olsens Front End Loader Caddis, Crostons Mass Attack, Hackle Stacker Caddis, or an E/C Caddis.
This hatch can be finicky, at least here in the Willamette Valley. That does not mean you cant have an awesome day out there. Often it lets people down because of the sheer amount of naturals on the water, and the lack of dry fly fishing. If you know what to do, and youre patient you can have a great day fishing pupal wet flies, emergers, and adults in the same day. The hatch still has plenty of life left in it, it will move upstream as things warm up. Swing by the shop, were happy to help get you geared up. If youre online click the links to shop and give us a ring if you have questions (541) 342-7005.
-Simon
