Summer steelhead fishing on the Umatilla River is now closed and will reopen Sept. 1.

The spring Chinook season is open from the Hwy 730 bridge to Three Mile Falls Dam until Jun 10, and from TMFD to the Umatilla Indian Reservation Boundary until Jun 30. There is a predicated run of approximately 3,000 spring Chinook returning to the Umatilla River. A total of 3,482 spring Chinook have been counted at TMFD so far this run year, with 392 over the past week. Fishing has been slow up to date due to high water this year.

The flows in the Umatilla came up me up significantly in the past week from all the rain over the weekend, but flows should start to drop and this is when anglers should really concentrate their efforts as the increase in flows tends to move fish into the system. Anglers should start to find success as the clarity of the river improves and the river starts to drop.

The Umatilla River is considered from the Hwy 730 bridge and upstream, the section below that is considered the Columbia River and is currently closed. Most anglers use egg set up with a slinky weigh bounced off the bottom or a some have found success with spinners with water temperatures being relatively cold. Fish are being caught throughout the system, however due to clarity the fishing has been better near Pendleton.      

Trout fishing on the Umatilla River, and its tributaries, is currently open and will remain open until Oct. 31. Trout fishing can be good in the upper headwaters of the Umatilla, bull trout are not to be targeted and if caught released unharmed. Bass and other warmwater species remain open all year