Among those fishermen will be Jack and Brandon Glass, the father and son guiding team known as Team Hook-Up, the most authoritative guides on the Sandy River. The Glasses will follow the fish up the Sandy as they migrate.

"May is the best month for springers on the lower river," said Jack Glass. "By June, the action moves farther up, but the last two seasons the run has been a little late."

According to Glass, the holes in the lower river were filled with rock and rubble from a storm in November 2006. Holes that used to be 20 feet deep or more are now rarely much deeper than 10 feet. The lack of deep holes means the springers have been shooting through the lower river and not holding much until they hit the reach near Oxbow Park, where the river drops faster and the holes are free of debris.

If that pattern holds again this year, anglers should drift the reach from the Oxbow launch to Dabney Park instead of sledding below Dabney. Powerboats are not allowed above Dabney Park. Also, the launch at Dabney is sanded in and most anglers are drifting down to Lewis and Clark Park near Troutdale to take out.

Glass targets the springers with a variety of methods, including pulling plugs or drifting bait. But the team prefers to run divers and bait in the narrow holes of the Sandy.

"A green Brad's Diver with 5 feet of leader and a Mustad hook tipped with sand shrimp is the most popular way of fishing the Sandy," said Glass.

However, this year, Glass is going to borrow a trick from Skagit River anglers and try side-drifting for springers.

"You can cover a lot of water by side-drifting, and it might work well on chinook that are on the move," he said.

Bank-anglers have plenty of options for fishing the Sandy River.

According to Rick Allen of the Reel Tackle Shop in Sandy, bank-anglers do well from Oxbow Park up to the deadline at the mouth of the Salmon River.

"Most guys use bobbers and eggs," said Allen. "But spinners and drifted Corkies take a lot of fish, too."

For guided trips on the Sandy, call Team Hook-Up Guide Service at (503) 666-5370. For lower river reports, call Jack's Snack and Tackle at (503) 665-2275. For upper river reports, call the Reel Tackle Shop in Sandy at (503) 668-5791.

WILLAMETTE RIVER
The Willamette River is one of the most popular spring chinook fisheries in Oregon, and it is smack dab right in the heart of downtown Portland, where people in high-rise office buildings can watch salmon fishermen troll in the popular Sellwood Bridge Hole just below them. Unfortunately, this is the run that is the most depressed, even though predictions had 37,000 spring chinooks entering the river. The season will definitely be cut back, and there could be a possible full closure if runs track below expectations.