Fishing on the Sandy for winter steelhead is picking back up with the recent warm weather. Water temperatures are rising and the warmer weather is melting some snow off the mountain which is bringing the river level up some. Fish are beginning to move upstream and seem to be somewhat aggressive as the bite has picked up throughout the entire river.

Fishing pressure has been heavier at the hatchery over the past week with quite a few hatchery winter steelhead being brought out each day. Also the first few summer steelhead of the season have been caught on the Sandy this past week. And a handful of hatchery fish have made their way up the creek and into the trap over the past few days finally after weeks of no new movement.

So far this year, the Sandy Hatchery staff has  removed 32 winter steelhead from their trap and “recycled” them back downstream at Lewis and Clark State Park. These fish were marked with a hole-punch in their right gill plate before release, for identification as fish of Sandy Hatchery origin.

Those anglers who are finding success are using predominantly bobber and jig, colored beads or spinners. Anglers can also find bank access to the Sandy River in several areas from Troutdale up to Brightwood. Lewis and Clark Park, Dabney Park, and Dodge Park all offer good spots for bank fishing.

USGS hydrological data for March 19 shows Sandy flows at 1,860 cfs, with a gauge reading of 9.47 feet and the water temperature on the Little Sandy at Bull Run warming but still chilly at 40° F.