Clackamas River fishing guide

Public access & launches

Extensive public bank access along the Clackamas River, computed from public land ownership and hydrography.

• RAAB
  Boat launch
• Elmer Feldheimer Boat Landing
  Boat launch
• Dahl Beach
  Boat launch
• Boat ramp
  Boat launch
• Fish Creek Wooden Boat Slide
  Boat launch
• KINGFISHER
  Boat launch
• Clackamette Park Boat Ramp
  Boat launch
• Upper McIver Boat Ramp
  Boat launch
• Lower McIver Boat Ramp
  Boat launch
• Faraday LakeODFW
  Fishing access
• North Fork Reservoir - Promotory ParkODFW
  Fishing access
• Promontory Park Paddle LaunchPortland General Electric
  Boat access

Regulations

• Willamette Zone

  5 hatchery trout per day, no minimum length. Open all year for hatchery salmon and hatchery steelhead. Combined daily limit of 3 hatchery salmon or hatchery steelhead per day. Use of bait allowed. No angling from a floating device between River Mill Dam and the ODFW markers approx. 100 ft above the Clackamas Hatchery water intake. Mainstem and tributaries (except Oak Grove Fork) above Faraday Diversion (Cazadero) Dam, excluding North Fork Reservoir and Faraday Lake Harvest of bull trout prohibited. No angling from a floating device or from the west shore for the length of the Three Lynx Powerhouse (111 ft). Closed all year for salmon and steelhead. Oak Grove Fork and tributaries between markers at upper end of Harriet Lake and Timothy Lake Dam 2 trout per day, 8 inch minimum length. No limit on size or number of brook or brown trout.

• BassWillamette Zone

  Season

  Lakes: Open all year. Streams: Open during trout, salmon or steelhead seasons, except mainstem Willamette River and sloughs and tidewater areas of Columbia River tributaries downstream from Bonneville Dam are open all year.

  Bag

  Lakes: 5 per day, 3 daily limits in possession unless noted under Exceptions . Streams: No limit.

  Gear

  Angling restricted to artificial flies and lures in streams

  No more than 3 over 15 inches in length in lakes. No minimum length in streams. Angling restricted to artificial flies and lures in streams. See Exceptions where use of bait is allowed.

• Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Other Sunfish, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Striped Bass, Sucker, Northern Pikeminnow, Whitefish, Carp, ChWillamette Zone

  Bag

  No limit, unless noted under Exceptions .

  Gear

  Angling restricted to artificial flies and lures in streams

  No minimum length. Angling restricted to artificial flies and lures in streams. See Exceptions where use of bait is allowed. Closed to take and possession of Oregon Chub.

As of 2026-08-28.Guidance, not legal advice — always confirm current rules with the state.Official Oregon regulations

What’s in it

Recorded in/near this water. Occurrence-based unless a higher-confidence source is shown — see it per-species in the app.

More Oregon fishing

Oregon field notes

Portland, OR

Forest Park Is 5,200 Acres and the Gorge Is 40 Minutes. Here's How to Use Both.

One of the largest urban forest reserves in the United States sits inside the city limits, with a 30-mile trail running its length. Forty minutes east, a river gorge cuts through the Cascades with more waterfalls per mile than anywhere else in the country. Most people use one and ignore the other.

Portland, OR

Urban Fishing in Portland: Salmon in the Willamette, Smallmouth Under the Bridges, and Sturgeon Past the Skyline

Portland is one of the only major cities in America where you can catch salmon and steelhead inside city limits. The Willamette River runs through downtown holding spring Chinook, smallmouth bass, sturgeon, and walleye. The Columbia River forms the northern border. No boat needed for most of it.

Portland, OR

Birding Portland: The Island Where Half the Units Close in October

Portland has a 5,200-acre forest inside the city, one of the largest protected wetlands in any American city, and an agricultural island twenty minutes north where several of the best units close on October 1 and do not reopen until spring. Knowing which is which is the whole trick.

Bridal Veil, OR

The Multnomah-Wahkeena Loop After the Fire: What Grew Back and What Didn't

Five miles, six waterfalls, and 1,600 feet of climbing on the most famous stretch of the Columbia River Gorge, through forest that burned in 2017 and is still visibly recovering. It is the best short hike in Oregon and it now requires a timed permit in season, which almost nobody realizes until they arrive.

Government Camp, OR

The Timberline Trail: 41 Miles Around Mount Hood, and the River Crossing That Stops People

A loop entirely around an 11,000-foot volcano, 41.5 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing, and a free permit you pick up at the trailhead. The permit is the easy part. The hard part is a glacial river with no bridge that has turned back more parties than the elevation ever has.

Bend, OR

South Sister Without a Rope: Oregon's Easiest Big Summit Is Still a Long Day

A 10,363-foot volcano you can walk up, 26 miles from Bend, with a trail the whole way and no technical climbing. That accessibility is exactly why it catches people out: 12.6 miles and nearly 5,000 feet of gain on volcanic cinder is a mountaineering day wearing hiking clothes.

Clackamas River fishing — FAQ