Eric Apalategui Central Oregon is home to some of the state’s best trout fishing lakes and rivers, including the famous Deschutes River. There also are plenty of kokanee, bass and other game fish here.
Winter steelhead fishing on Oregon’s south-central coast is best in the Coos, Coquille and Umpqua river systems, which have plenty of hatchery fish.
These smaller streams on the south Oregon coast drop back into fishing shape more quickly than large rivers following heavy rainfalls.
The Rogue River is rightfully world famous for its salmon and steelhead, including winter-run steelies. The Chetco, Sixes and Elk also are great winter streams.
Portland, Oregon, is a good-sized metropolitan area, but at its edges are several rivers and creeks that host healthy runs of hard-fighting winter steelhead.