Nehalem River intel

C

coastalcutty

Steelhead
I know the gauge heights where the river is at a good level for winter steelheading. However, how can I tell if the clarity/turbidity is in shape before heading out? The USGS doesn't provide this.
This river is a large drainage and clears very slowly, I understand that.. any help appreciated.
 
There really isn't that info posted. You just have to "go and find out." As you already stated, this river takes a loooooooooong time to clear up. If you know the typical gauge heights for good flows, that's usually what most go by to determine potential turbidity.
 
Evan B said:
There really isn't that info posted. You just have to "go and find out." As you already stated, this river takes a loooooooooong time to clear up. If you know the typical gauge heights for good flows, that's usually what most go by to determine potential turbidity.
Click to expand...
Do you have a sense of how long following a blowout to wait, even if the gauge levels are right? Cause gauge levels can be where they need to be, but the river still looks like chocolate milk. I just don't happen to drive by it very often.
 
coastalcutty said:
Do you have a sense of how long following a blowout to wait, even if the gauge levels are right? Cause gauge levels can be where they need to be, but the river still looks like chocolate milk. I just don't happen to drive by it very often.
Click to expand...
My best guesstimate would be next week sometime probably. It just came up, even though not as high as the last time, but it'll still take time to clear.
 
Evan B said:
My best guesstimate would be next week sometime probably. It just came up, even though not as high as the last time, but it'll still take time to clear.
Click to expand...
Right, thanks. It'll just take some trial and error and having a back up river I'm willing to drive to.
I saw the bump over the last couple days, was not planning to go out there this weekend due to that.
 
Not sure about the winter qualities of the Nehalem but it is usually very productive late July through mid or to late September in my experiences.
 
Many, if not most, rivers have a "so many days without rain" in order to clear to your desired fishing condition. I think you need to learn that for this river. Trial and error and talking to other fishermen is the usual path to figuring it out.
 
the more minor tributaries on the OR coast also hold fish and tend not to blow out as badly, a lot can be learned by just doing some exploring
 
it was mud yesterday still if that helps.

to Evan's point though, it can take a VERY long time to clear. There have been some years where it's really only been "fishable" for a handful of days during the season.
 
i fished it a LOT in the 80's 90"s and had 2 reallllly good days
but that may be just me, and weekends, back then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top