Fishing In Oregon

Forest Service land purchases heighten area's appeal

By Steven Lane

The Columbian

Landon Meek, 4, and his grandfather, Roger Proctor, from Camas, wave to a passing freight train as they fish from a boat dock at Drano Lake. Several years ago the Forest Service and Skamania County invested $1.4 million in enlarging the boat ramp at the popular fishing site near the mouth of the Little White Salmon River.

Visitors to the Columbia River Gorge have the U.S. Forest Service to thank for the dazzling variety of recreation options available within a couple of hours’ drive from the Portland-Vancouver metro area.

A former historic homestead dotted with apple trees and once overrun with blackberries east of Washougal is now St. Cloud day use area, an oasis of quiet where visitors can picnic and walk along the Washington shore of the Columbia River.

Hikers flock to Catherine Creek east of Bingen, a former cattle ranch, to photograph spring wildflowers and climb through open stands of Oregon white oak and ponderosa pine.

Cyclists and hikers travel two paved segments of Oregon’s old Historic Columbia River Highway, now a popular state trail that connects Hood River with Mosier and Cascade Locks with Bonneville Dam.

And a new, safer Cape Horn Trail, complete with tunnels under Highway 14, will greet hikers when it’s completed this fall.

Over the past 25 years, the Forest Service has polished the gem that is the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

Working with members of Congress from the Northwest and with public and private partners, the agency’s National Scenic Area office has invested $67 million in acquiring more than 41,000 acres of private land from willing sellers in the Gorge — 29,249 acres in Washington and 11,775 acres in Oregon. It’s restored hundreds of acres, including numerous rock and gravel pits and an unsightly trash dump near the mouth of the Klickitat River, now the Klickitat Balfour day use site.

The Forest Service has enhanced rare oak woodlands on both sides of the river through selective logging of Douglas fir. It’s in the process of restoring the Sandy River Delta near Troutdale, Ore., formerly owned by Reynolds Aluminum Co. and heavily grazed by cattle for years. It’s removed an airstrip from the Rowena Plateau on the Oregon side. And it’s built miles of trails, including a 13.5-mile section of a former rail bed, now the Klickitat Trail, which connects the communities of Lyle and Klickitat along the Klickitat River.

Grant's Getaways: Summer Fishing | Travel Oregon Blog

Oregon fishing guide Bob Rees (Bob Rees Fishing) said he often feels like a modern day version of the Lewis and Clark Expedition when he leads his angling crews across the broad shouldered Columbia River. He loves to explore the river for new places to catch salmon and steelhead; especially in the lower river – just upstream from Astoria – a stretch of water that’s marked by islands, sloughs and backwater channels.

The Columbia River summer steelhead is fabulous with a forecast run size of nearly 400,000 fish and the run doesn’t begin until early July. Bank anglers have done really well this summer fishing season too.

In fact, if you’re interested in taking some time out from the hurry and hustle-bustle of daily life, find a stretch of sand at places like Dibblee Beach on the Columbia River near Rainier, Oregon.

It is an exciting summer to try Columbia River fishing that’s for sure, but it’s not the only game in town. There’s a surprising summer salmon return that’s bringing mile-wide smiles to anglers who venture across Tillamook Bay.

For more information on Summer Steelhead fishing, visit: http://www.traveloregon.com/Seasonal-Offerings/Summer-Steelhead-Fishing.