Montana Fish Report

Spring Chinook fishing should start winding down in the next couple weeks, but the run seems to be going late and there are still fish coming in (and getting caught) both in the estuary and in the river.

The Little Nestucca also gets a release of hatchery spring Chinook, and they are in the river and anglers have been catching some fish especially at Stella Falls.

Summer steelhead continue to return to the Nestucca River and are throughout the fishery (up to Elk Creek). Fishing seems to have picked up with some fish being caught consistently. Light float fishing set ups with terminal baits like beads, jigs or small natural baits, as well as casting spoons or spinners can be effective. Early morning and late evening will be the best times to fish, although if there's good cloud cover or a little rain fish may stay on the bite more of the day.

Trout season opened in the Nestucca basin on May 22nd. There are resident cutthroat throughout the fishery and sea-run cutthroat should be starting to move into the river this month. Many areas have bait restrictions in place so check the regulations for those and open areas before heading out.