Willamette Valley/Metro - Chinook counts are starting to climb at Bonneville Dam and anglers near the mouths of the Kalama, Cowlitz and Sandy Rivers are entering peak season right now. Wobblers fished deep will take the majority of the fish. The river section from Warrior Rock to Bachelor Island will close for chinook retention from September 5th ??? 30th.

Gorge anglers are having more luck with steelhead than salmon and it may continue that way until October when water temperatures cool and migration slows where anglers can fish on more localized stocks of chinook.

Willamette Falls water temperature has dropped to 70 degrees. Coho have started to cross the Falls in single digits. Sturgeon fishing is still in the doldrums for shorter-than-legal fish. Smallmouth bass fishing is improving on the Willamette, both upper and lower, and will only get better as water temperatures drop into September.

Summer steelhead continue to trickle into the Clackamas River, providing anglers with occasional first-light hookups. The Sandy still isn't worth the trip.

Steelheading is slow in the warm water of the North Santiam. The water of the South Santiam remains extremely low, which is making for tough fishing conditions.

Waters scheduled for trout planting include Faraday Lake, Harriet Lake, North Fork Reservoir, Roslyn Lake, Small Fry Lake, Trillium Lake, West Salish Pond, the McKenzie River above Leaburg Lake and Salmon Creek.

Northwest ??? Buoy 10 anglers are finding fair numbers of chinook but coho are beginning to make a stronger showing in recent days. The best fishing remains close to high slack when cooler ocean temperatures are more likely to trigger a fish's feeding instinct. Herring and fresh jigged anchovies are responsible for the majority of strikes. John Partin of Bend took a 26-pound upriver bright on Tuesday fishing a plug-cut herring in 14 feet of water on lower Desdemona Sands.

Fishery managers met on Wednesday to access the Buoy 10 catch of chinook. What action?

Although ocean salmon fishing out of the Columbia closed last Saturday, the South of Falcon fishery remains open at least through Labor Day. Effort has dropped off and wild fish are making up a larger percentage of the catch. As of Sunday, the fishery had exhausted 81% of its quota.

Albacore anglers are having a harder time finding concentrated schools of fish but most northern Oregon ports remain good options into mid-September. The weekend weather forecast may make for some productive fishing.

Nehalem Bay anglers continue to struggle but many regional anglers are getting excited for the annual fall return of large chinook due back to these estuaries in the coming weeks. The Nestucca, Nehalem and Tillamook Bays are top picks in coming weeks with some of the largest fish returning the earliest.

Southwest ??? Mild tides and mid-morning lows may help boaters launching to cross the bar early in the morning this weekend but afternoon winds should motivate anglers to get back to port as soon as possible.

Surf conditions are predicted to be mild this week, building once again into the weekend, but wind forecasts look problematic for offshore anglers.

Given the fine offshore catch rates for coho, count on end-of-day September 4th to be the final day for ocean salmon fishing south of Cape Falcon to the California border.

Tidewater on the Siuslaw produced a couple of chinook over the past weekend but it's still early. Anglers who crossed into the ocean caught decent numbers of coho but only 25% were fin-clipped keepers.

Chinook catches have been slow inside Winchester Bay for most anglers but knowledgeable locals have been hitting fish averaging in the mid-twenties trolling the Umpqua River tidewater.

A few Chinook have been hitting trolled, plug-cut herring inside lower Coos Bay. Some hot pinkfin action has been reported off the ocean beaches near Coos Bay, but rewarding surfperch fishing is not limited to this stretch. Anywhere the beach drops off or features a low spot should hold fish.

Anglers are experiencing slow fishing in the Rogue River estuary with water temperatures above 70 degrees at times. The good news is that coho are entering the bay in good numbers now. When the temperature of the Rogue River begins to drop - either seasonally or with a decent rain - the fish will be on the move and on the bite. This is historically the time of year that steelhead and half-pounder action heats up in the lower Rogue near Agness. Bank anglers do well here.

Bottom fishing for rockfish remains excellent out of Brookings. Some very large ling cod are also showing in catches with several going well over the 20-pound mark.

Section 5 of the Rogue River, Clearwater #2, Hemlock Lake and Lomolo Reservoir are scheduled to be planted with hatchery trout.

Eastern ??? Numbers of steelhead on the lower Deschutes are increasing daily, and with the water temperature dropping recently, results should improve as well. For fly anglers targeting trout, the caddis hatch is winding down to be replaced by mayflies. Carry an assortment to match the hatches.

Deschutes River 5, Devils Lake, East Lake, Fall River, Lake of the Woods, Pinehollow Reservoir, Rouge River, Sprague Gravel Pit, Spring Creek, Taylor Lake, Three Creeks Lake and Walton Lake are scheduled to be planted this week.

Pro guide Mac Huff (1-800-940-3688) reports that steelhead will soon be entering the Grande Ronde.