Clackamas River Summer Steelhead Report
It’s now September and the steelhead in the Clackamas have been trickling in since May. These fish are getting wary and hanging in the deep, cool pools of the river. Floatilla’s of rafters and inner tubers have assaulted these poor fish all summer and now that school is back in session they finally get a respite. With a bit of fall rains this fishery could have a new spark. As the river starts to cool into fall, fishing typically heats up again. Remember these summer fish are here until mid-winter when they finally spawn.
The Clackamas is at it’s summer low flow and has been consistently around 10.8′ at the gauge in Estacada. Water temps have started to dip and are now around 61 degrees at Estacada.
Some spring Chinook are still around- remember they actually spawn about now. Expect most of these guys to be very dark and holding in deep pools. Steelhead this time of year are typically spread through the entire lower river.
