Share your catch

Wilson River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Tillamook’s workhorse: the Wilson delivers winter steelhead and fall kings an hour from Portland, rain permitting: always rain permitting.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
130 cfs
Air / High
65 / 67 F
Wind
SSE 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 14301500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Wilson River sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. The river is running 130 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 67. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Brown troutGood

Terrestrials tight to the bank; streamers through the deeper runs on cloudy days.

SteelheadSlow

First fall runs after rain: fresh chrome in the lower pools on spawn bags and beads.

Tomorrow: Similar at 64 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Wilson River near Tillamook.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 14301500.

73103134130 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp65 F
High / Low67 / 53 F
WindSSE 9-13 mph
Pressure1012.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain21% cloud, 43%
Sunrise / Sunset06:41 / 19:47
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 67/53 F, wind 9 mph, rain 43%

Fair or better. Cloud and a rain chance can stretch the morning bite well past breakfast: keep moving baits tied on.

Species guide

The species that matter on Wilson River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Best: Oct-Apr

Lake-run rainbows that turn tributaries into winter fisheries. First fall runs after rain: fresh chrome in the lower pools on spawn bags and beads.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Terrestrials tight to the bank; streamers through the deeper runs on cloudy days.

When to come: the Wilson River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Steelhead
Smallmouth bass
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Wilson River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 62 F, wind to 15 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Smallmouth bass led the card at good. High of 62 F, wind to 16 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 63 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Oregon requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Oregon license plus Combined Angling Tag. Wild steelhead release; seasonal deadlines and gear rules per current ODFW coastal regs: check before each trip.

Access

Highway 6 corridor: Siskeyville, Jones Creek, Mills Bridge, Sollie Smith and tidewater accesses near Tillamook.

About this water

A 33-mile Tillamook Bay tributary through the Tillamook State Forest, Tillamook County, Oregon: winter steelhead and fall Chinook water.

Fishing Wilson River: the full guide

The Highway 6 river

The Wilson drains the replanted Tillamook State Forest along Highway 6, dropping through boulder canyons into the dairy flats and Tillamook Bay. It is the Portland area’s honest coastal river: big enough to float, small enough to read, with hatchery and wild winter steelhead from December into April, a strong fall Chinook return, sea-run cutthroat in late summer, and enough rain to reset the river twice a week all winter.

Winter steelhead rhythm

The fishery runs on the gauge: the Wilson blows out fast past 6-7 feet at Tillamook and fishes best dropping through 4.5 to 3 feet: chrome-green water. Early winter (December-January) skews hatchery around Mills Bridge and below; late winter (February-March) brings the big wild natives to the whole river. Drift-boaters run Siskeyville to Mills to Sollie Smith; bank anglers work the marked forest pull-offs upstream. Beads, jigs under floats, plugs in the slots: standard coastal toolkit.

Kings and cutthroat

Fall Chinook stack in the tidewater and lower pools from late September through November, best on bobber-and-eggs or back-trolled plugs after the first real rains: the fish are big, bright and briefly plentiful. Before the salmon, August-September sea-run cutthroat ride the tides into the lower river: small spinners and swung soft-hackles in the frog-water evenings, the coast’s most underrated fishery.

Rain-country logistics

Access is the Wilson’s gift: Highway 6 parallels everything, with signed Tillamook State Forest access points, boat slides at Siskeyville, Mills Bridge and Sollie Smith, and tidewater ramps near the bay. Between storms the window can be 36 hours: watch the forecast as hard as the gauge. Tillamook town covers supplies, cheese and dry clothes.

Common questions

When should I book a Wilson trip?

Mid-December for hatchery chrome, February-March for the large wild fish. Build flexibility around rain: the river decides the day.

Can I fish it without a boat?

Absolutely: the forest reaches off Highway 6 offer miles of legal bank water. A boat mainly wins in low, clear conditions.

What flow is fishable?

Roughly 3 to 4.5 feet on the Tillamook gauge, on the drop. Rising water or 6-plus feet means tie leaders and wait.

Is fishing good at Wilson River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Trask River6 miNestucca River13 miSiletz River52 miWillamette River56 miLewis River59 miCowlitz River64 mi
Share your catch