PORTLAND, Ore — The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) is waving all fees for people in the state to fish, crab and clam Presidents' Day weekend 2022. The free event takes place Feb. 19-20.
It's a good weekend to invite a friend or family member to get outdoors and enjoy Oregon's wilderness.
They suggest tying to catch steelhead in coastal rivers and streams, as well as at basins in the Willamette Valley and southwest Oregon. Rain this past week may have fish a little more hungry than normal.
The agency also suggests looking for trout this weekend in warmer areas of the state. Officials say several hatcheries stocked up just in time for the weekend, and there will be holdover trout in larger waterbodies that were stocked heavily last summer.
According to ODFW, it's also a good time of the year to catch walleye. Officials suggest checking out the John Day Pool of the Columbia River.
You can also try crabbing and clamming. The agency says Oregon's native Dungeness crab is in good shape with hard shells full of meat.
ODFW suggests trying fly-fishing in central Oregon rivers like the Fall, Metolius and Deschutes. The agency suggests you look for hatches during the warmer part of the day.
For more information, check out the ODFW website by clicking here.
You can also learn about other free fishing weekends later this year.