The Sandy and Clackamas Rivers are river systems of the greater Portland area, but don’t let the urban destination fool you…both rivers boast some of Oregon’s more famous winter Steelhead runs.
The Sandy River
The Sandy is Oregon’s first wild and scenic river. Despite its close proximity to the Portland metropolitan area, the Sandy River remains an almost untouched jewel, with scenery that makes you feel like you have escaped to remote BC. Just a short drive out of Portland, the Sandy provides easy access to premium winter and spring steelhead fishing.
The Sandy River Winter Steelhead average 8 to 12 pounds but larger fish are commonly hooked. Fishing into the late spring on can also be fun and productive as the Winter Steelhead merge with early Summer Steelhead and spring Chinook Salmon. Most years we fish the Sandy from December through May.
The Clackamas River
The Clackamas River is another great urban river just a short drive from the Portland area. The ‘Clack’ is a lower gradient stream with a lot of classic cobble runs. The river boasts good runs of both Winter Steelhead and Summer Steelhead, and suits a swung fly very well. Anglers may also find spring Chinook Salmon here. The Clackamas fishes well from November through June.
