February Fishing Preview for the Pacific Northwest

The month of January had some pretty rough conditions between the weeklong freeze and high water, but hopefully all that is behind us, and we’ll have a good February to look forward to! First off, steelhead fishing in the Portland area has begun, with fish being picked up in both the Sandy and Clackamas Rivers. For those willing to make the drive west, the Wilson River has had a push of fish come through as well. The fishing will only get better from here! Late February is the start of the prime season for winter steelhead, and it seems like we’re right on track. The Sandy River traditionally gets its run a bit earlier than the Clackamas—last year the Clackamas didn’t start getting numbers of fish until mid to late March, but the Sandy should start seeing real numbers of fish moving in as you read this. Remember, it’s always a good idea to check the river levels before you head out, in an ideal world, it’s best to be on the river as it’s dropping. Since that’s not always possible, the next best thing is to make notes of what the river looks like at a given height. Traditionally, steelhead move with the rising river levels and stay put during the drop, so it’s a good idea to try to figure out travel lanes where you can intercept fish during rising water.

On to the lakes! Trout stocking for 2024 is underway in much of the Portland area. While fishing for stocked trout isn’t always the most exciting type of fishing out there, it’s a great, low-effort way to shake the dust off after a long winter. Hagg Lake in Washington County is a great place to fish during February, it’s very easy to get your kayak on and off the water and is heavily stocked by ODFW. It’s very easy to experiment with different techniques at Hagg Lake, since there’s usually a good number of fish around. This time of year, the trout will likely be pretty close to shore, so casting things like kastmasters from a kayak is a great way to find fish. Trolling can also be extremely productive during this time of year, it’s very easy to troll too deep for fish during February so keep things shallow and you’ll find more fish! If you really felt like it, February is the first month where you can expect to catch bass in any kind of numbers. The bass will likely be in deep water near hard bottoms or hanging around structure. It’s not particularly easy to catch bass this time of year, but it can be done and will only get better from here!