McKenzie River Fishing Report for March 16, 2023

McKenzie River and Willamette River fishing report for March 10, 2022

McKenzie River and Willamette River Fishing Report for February 9, 2023. We report on fishing and river conditions, fly selection, and recommended tactics.

Like most dog owners who fish, I enjoy bringing my dog on the river with me from time to time. Usually, she comes on family trips—floats where fishing and fishing well play second fiddle to other aspirations, like beating summer heat, sharing a river picnic, or witnessing some of the outlandish shenanigans of a summer Saturday flotillas.

The gap between the end of fall trout fishing and the startup of winter steelheading is the nearest thing we have to a closed season in the Willamette Valley. While trout fishing never officially ends here, there is a stretch of time—usually between mid-November to post-Christmas—where trout get lock jaw, and the anadromous rainbows haven’t quite started their runs in earnest. Fishermen who tune their lives by seasons, flow, rain, and runs find themselves in a holding pattern during these doldrums. We’re waiting for winter storms to bump river levels so steelhead can move even as we debate the merits of trout fishing in the cold