Clackamas River Report

Winter hatchery broodstock numbers are winding down with a mix of wild fish still spread through the system.  River levels have been at a spring low of 12'5" recently.  Water temperatures have been rising and are consistently 44-48 degrees.  Insect activity is picking up and hatches of new insects appear most days with a salmonfly or two in the recent mix.  Smolt are outmigrating in big numbers.  Osprey have showed up and are working them over hard.  Barbless hooks are best for this time of year!  

Summer steelhead are a bit slow in arriving this year.  Hopefully strong numbers show up soon.  Reports of a few Chinook entering the Clackamas have been rumored.  

Algae is starting to grow on the rocks so bring your spikes for wading!

For more info on fishing the Clackamas River visit:  www.watertimeoutfitters.com 

Clackamas River 2013 Update - Wild Run Steelhead Struggle

The run of wild winter/spring Steelhead returning to the upper Clackamas basin is struggling to recover despite the sanctuary of the entire upper Clackamas River basin above NF dam.  The total fish returning above NF dam as counted by PGE (Portland General Electric) who manages the fish trap facility at NF dam was only 868 steelhead for the 2013 run.  A poor return by most comparisons.  Last year, 2012 the run was a meager 1,249 fish. 

Wild steelhead have many different life histories and spawn in different sections of the Clackamas basin.  Perhaps more fish spawned lower in the river drainage this year and were not counted.  The upper Clackamas basin continues to struggle with meager fish returns as management and conservation groups squabble about studies and what they mean.  Meanwhile, wild fish numbers stagger along with 2,000 or less fish most years in the upper basin.

Snow in my chili, Oregon's Deschutes River Steelhead in November

 

High desert in central Oregon is great during the summer and fall but when winter weather hits you had better be ready for the cold.  It is mid-november and Water Time Outfitters has great clients like Jeff, Penni and Eric who are ready to brave the cold and mine for steelhead in the cool waters of the Deschutes River.  Steelhead in the Deschutes river are of a genetic strain that stays in freshwater a long time; their final destination is to spawn in late winter or early spring.  That means long after the prime time crowd has left the river, steelhead by the thousands swim silently in the cold waters of thebig river northbound from the Cascade mountain crested town of Bend. 

 

Our first days lunch was hot chili that warmed us up inside out just as snow flakes began to fall.  Snow fell softly and then moved on as the weather changed quickly.  We wondered how the night might go with precipitation in the air.  Arriving in camp with the glow of lanterns lit in the sturdy canvas tents and the crackle of a warm fire we quickly forgot we were in the wilds of the canyon in winter weather.  Heaters warmed each tent and Marty our camp preparer delivered hot chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven.  That night we clinked our glasses in a toast to the weather and the steelhead gods which were so generous our first day. 

Each day we worked our way down the river about 10 miles.  The runs and riffles of favored steelhead water were everywhere.  What we didn't see were other anglers.  The scenery and setting were amazing.  We even saw 2 bull elk along the river.  Golden eagles soared high above distant ridges and mallard ducks were around each soft bend in the river. 

Layering with good thermal base layers like a thin merino wool then a medium thermal with good fleece and a warm hat coupled with waders that didn't leak and all were warm and toasty even when the mercury dipped into the 30's and 40's.  Not bad by B.C. standards but still a big change from a warm and comfortable office. 

By the last day all had experienced the thrill of fighting and landing steelhead on the fly rod.  Wild and hatchery fish were caught.  Some were lost but most were landed.  A few good pics happened along the way as well. The photos along with the text from this trip. 

Even with a few snowflakes the chili was still great!

Clackamas River Steelhead & Salmon to See Big Changes

Casadero Dam on the Clackamas River- Summer 2012

The Clackamas River is fish bearing stream about to see big changes. It is near the city of Portland, Oregon and flows through communities like, Oregon City, Gladstone, Estacada, Barton and Carver among others. Spring and fall Chinook salmon, coho, winter-spring and summer Steelhead run in it's waters. Flowing off the cool slopes of the Mt. Hood the Clackamas River is a complex system with a number of power generation projects interupting it's flow. PGE operates with-in the Clackamas basin and is up for relicensing it's current project. For relicensing PGE has been tasked with some major changes to the way business is done.

Warm water temperatures are death to salmon & steelhead juveniles as well as resident trout. The Clackamas river has been exceeding the maximum temperature requirements during summer months. PGE's solutions to lowering the water temperatures are big moves that in theory will improve the health of the river system.

North Fork Dam on the Clackamas River



First, adding spawning size gravel to the system below River Mill Dam is supposed to help the water run faster and cooler. Thousands of yards of gravel are expected to be added to the river. More water will be below the riverbed surface and under and around rocks gaurding it from the sun. This also mitigates for lack of spawning size gravel moving through the river system from upriver tributarys. The dams stop this movement of important sized gravel and over the years this is having a cumulative effect. Less spawning gravel for wild fish.

Fish Trap below Casadero Dam on the Clackamas River- Spring Chinook in the water



Second, Faraday lake on the Clackamas river system is a diverted portion of the river split apart at Casadero Dam. This water historically sat in the lake and then is run through power generation exiting back into the main river channel. This is also beleived to be a culprit of warmer water temperatures in the lower river during the summer months. The current plan calls for eliminating the lake and channelizing the water to the power generation facility.

Third, new fish trap facilities are planned to be state of the art and reduce fish handling. A new facility is being built near North Fork reservior. This new facility is promised to be much better than the old facility below Casadero Dam.

Fourth, new juvenile collection traps will be placed at the top of Rivermill and North Fork dams. Funneling fish into the newly updated bypass tube that takes downstream migrating fish from above NF all the way to below Rivermill dam.

Suffice it to say there are a lot of things going on with the Clackamas river system this year (2012). We'll see how these new changes impact our wild and hatchery steelhead runs.