Welcome to the 2009
Spring Fishing Forecast

Snake River Zone

Yellow Perch -Wikipedia -

Brownlee Reservoir:  Fishing is usually good for bass, crappie, catfish, perch and trout. Good fishing is expected this year for crappie 6 to 10 inches. Channel catfish angling will be slow until the weather warms up in May. Fluctuating water levels are common in spring and can throw the bite off temporarily. Best fishing for crappie, bass and perch are around points and in coves. Richland and Halfway are good places to find tackle and advice.

Oxbow Reservoir:  Fair to good angling for bass, crappie, catfish, perch and trout.  Halfway and Oxbow are good places to get tackle and advice.

Hell’s Canyon Reservoir:  Fair to good angling for bass, crappie, catfish, perch and trout. Below the dam, in the Snake River is also good for smallmouth bass as the water warms. Catch-and-release for sturgeon can also be good below the dam in early spring.

Snake River upstream of Brownlee Reservoir:  Channel catfish angling should begin to improve in late April with peak catch rates occurring from mid-May to mid-June. Smallmouth bass fishing will pick up when water temperatures rise. Angling should be good later into the summer this year due to lower than expected flows. 

Snake River downstream of Hells Canyon Dam:  Spring trout angling for residual steelhead smolts up to 18 inches is generally productive in the 15 miles below Hells Canyon Dam. Action for smallmouth bass picks up in April, target the backwaters and eddies.