UPDATE: Major Flooding in NW Oregon & SW Washington

Sometimes a guy just can't win. I had my doubts that the Nehalem would be fishable early next week, but I couldn't imagine the entire steelhead season being flooded away. There is no road or railway open between Portland and Seattle, and the coast is toast.

A fellow kayak guide and my good friend Jeff Wong told me at lunch today he saw a dead cow float down the river, and a salmon swam up highway 56 on the way to my normal launch on the Nehalem.

Here is a photo from our local Portland news channel, KATU. This normally docile stretch of the Nehalem river, 1.5 miles below the launch I use, has now covered the entire valley in 10 ft of water.



It remains pretty slow around here, and I am starting to get twitchy. I guess a little more time spent in the basement plotting, planning, organizing, and refurbishing gear never hurt anything.

Hopefully the rivers will recede back down to fishable levels in the next few weeks, and the devastation won't be as severe as they say. I'm keeping my finger crossed.

-Jason