This weekend is biggest hunting weekend of the year with the opening of general (ALW) season deer. Here are five things you should do before you head out:
- Buy your tag or redeem your Sports Pac voucher before 11:59 p.m. Friday.
- Update the MyODFW.com app on your phone. Visit the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to download version 4.0.
- Double check the Hunter’s checklist to make sure you’re good to go.
- Make plans to get your harvested animal (think positive!) tested for CWD. Here are your options.
- Finally, buy your bear and cougar tag. Because you can multi-task!
Best bets for weekend fishing:
Trout, coho and Chinook headline this week’s best bets. With steelhead in a supporting role.
- With cooler temperatures, trout fishing continues to be good in lakes and reservoirs that were stocked earlier this year.
- Fall is a great time to head for the hills and enjoy fishing the high mountain lakes in the Wallowa and Cascade ranges, and Sky and Mountain Lakes wilderness areas. Trout are biting, mosquitoes are not.
- Fall Chinook and coho fishing continues to pick up in Nestucca, Tillamook and Nehalem bays.
- Sea-run cutthroat trout are in most North Coast rivers and fishing should be fair to good.
- Salmon catch rates have been picking up in the lower Umpqua.
- Thanks to a robust return, several areas above Willamette Falls opened to coho fishing on Oct. 1. See the zone report for details.
- There are lots of coho in the Clackamas and Sandy rivers. And lots of anglers on the river chasing them.
- Several locations above Willamette Falls open to coho fishing on Oct. 1.
- Now is the peak of steelhead season on the lower Deschutes River.
- October is the last month to enjoy fishing at Crane Prairie Reservoir, Odell Lake and Wickiup Reservoir before they close for the season on Oct. 31.
- Salmon fishing is starting to pick up on the lower Umatilla River.
These examples are for demonstration purposes only. Check the zone reports for more.
Take a class with ODFW
Registration is now open for these ODFW classes and workshops:
- Introduction to Hunting – Oct. 17 and Nov. 14 (pick one) in Tualatin.
- Shotgun Skills workshop – Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 (pick one) in Monmouth.
- Steelhead 101 and Broodstock Collection – Oct. 18-19 – Troy
Get more details, including how to register, on the Workshop and Events page.
Help protect Oregon’s wildlife: Turn in poachers
Poaching takes a serious toll on of Oregon’s wildlife. You can help by reporting poaching when you take to the field or hit the water this season. Find out more about poaching in Oregon, including ways you can report it.