Idaho Fish Report

Trout fishing opened on May 22nd on the Umatilla River. Anglers have found success through Pendleton, as well as in the upper headwaters. As flow continue to drop and water temperatures increase look for fish to move upstream into the cooler water.

The spring Chinook fishery on the Umatilla River opened on April 16. The bag limit is 2 adult and 5 jack hatchery spring Chinook per day. There are an estimated 5,854 spring Chinook predicted to return to the Umatilla River this year, so the Umatilla River a great opportunity for anglers to harvest a spring Chinook.

Most spring Chinook start entering the Umatilla in early May, however with the cold temps and higher run off this year the fish are be delayed from normal run timing. The fishing picked up last week with lower flows and less turbid waters. Water water temperatures this week and last weekend has slowed the fishing down. 

There has been a lot of effort on the Umatilla in the past 2 weeks, with an average of one fish caught per angler per 12 hours fished. Anglers have been focusing their efforts primarily near the mouth, however there have been approximately 600 fish released above the dam so the fish should be moving upstream as well. , As of this update, there have been 1261 spring Chinook counted at TMFD for the season as of 5/30/23.