River levels best for fishing are at or below 3,000 cfs, and the river is currently running at around 1,830 cfs at the gauge in Mehama. These flows should be the norm throughout the summer months. ‌

With the arrival of the first summer steelhead and Spring chinook of the season the fishing is beginning to heat up. Summer steelhead have started to enter the river and over 500 have already made it passed the Stayton area. So far, they have counted 9,900 adults passing above Willamette Falls as of June 7.‌

Spring chinook numbers increased dramatically over the last couple of weeks with hundreds being added to the count daily. Over 10,000 have been counted at Willamette Falls so far. These fish will likely pour into the North Santiam throughout June and early July. ‌

Now that we are passed April 22 the bait restrictions on the river have been lifted and bait is again allowed. For the next week or two the lower river will have more fish until the bulk of the run arrives and pushes more fish into the upper sections.