Freestone · Glacial · Oregon

Sandy River

The Sandy is Portland's home steelhead river — close enough to fish before work, glacial off the flanks of Mount Hood, and free-flowing again since Marmot Dam came out in 2007.

Species

About as good as it gets

Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.

75% confidence in this read
Water temperature for steelhead
Ideal
9°C est.ideal 4–13°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for steelhead
  • Temperature10028% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time5013% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity4612% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
8.9°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
19°C
Wind
SW 19 km/h
Gentle breeze
Pressure
1020 hPa
Rain · 24h
0.0 mm
No rain
Rain · ahead
1.0 mm
No meaningful rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

How to fish it · for steelhead
When
Winter steelhead Dec–Apr on the drop; summer fish through summer into autumn.
Where
The Sandy is Portland's home steelhead river — close enough to fish before work, glacial off the flanks of Mount Hood, and free-flowing again since Marmot Dam…
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Through the year
0–3 scale · June highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Retain hatchery steelhead, release wild (ESA-listed Lower Columbia DPS)
  • Run-, reach- and season-specific rules — verify ODFW Northwest Zone.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

The Sandy is Portland's home steelhead river — close enough to fish before work, glacial off the flanks of Mount Hood, and free-flowing again since Marmot Dam came out in 2007. It carries both winter and summer steelhead in a hatchery-and-wild mix, with salmon through the season, and it's where a lot of city anglers serve their swung-fly apprenticeship. Being glacier-fed it has a temperament: it bumps up fast on rain and can run milky-gray in summer when the high snow melts, so the read here is always the hydrograph plus the color — the prize is the falling water as it clears back to a fishable green. Keep the hatchery-versus-wild distinction clear, because the wild fish are ESA-listed and belong back in the water, and check the rules, which shift by run and reach. For a river inside a metro area it fishes with surprising wildness.

  • Glacial
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December
Other water nearby · 1