If there is fishing to be had in the Willamette during May, then guide Wayne Priddy of Priddy Good Fishing will be working the river. Priddy has spent 40 years fishing Portland area rivers, concentrating on the Willamette and Clackamas.

He likes to fish from Oregon City down to Milwaukee, the mouth of the Clackamas and the Garbage Hole.

Priddy said that the Clackamas springer run should not be as depressed as the Willamette run, so the mouth of the Clack could be a good place to fish this year.

While most local anglers like to hog-line in Oregon City, Priddy prefers to troll and back-troll with herring, prawns and spinners or K-11 Kwikfish.

Other good spots include the Willamette Falls, but Priddy warns that the area can be snaggy, treacherous and turbulent. It's not a good spot for novices. The Sellwood Bridge is a good place to troll, as is the area near St. Johns, the mouth of the Willamette, and in the Multnomah Channel. Good spots in the channel include Coon Island and near the channel's mouth.

For bank-fishermen, the place to be is at the Meldrum Bar in Gladstone. This is hands-down the best bank spot on the river, and plunking is the rule.

For guided trips, call Priddy Good Fishing at (503) 341-2895. For more information, call Fishermen's Marine in Oregon City at (503) 557-3313.

CLACKAMAS RIVER
The Clackamas River is a good fishery to target in late May, because the runs have been arriving later each year, according to Priddy.

The runs in the Clackamas should be strong enough to support the usual two-chinook limit for seven days a week. Even though the run will be stronger, the Clackamas River springer is a tough customer, and going with a good guide like Priddy may be the best bet for newcomers.

Some changes to the acclimation of the hatchery smolts have the fish returning not only to the hatchery near Estacada, but to Eagle Creek as well. The new regimen is an attempt to get the fish to hold better in the lower river. It has also resulted in the resumption of the once-popular bank fishery in Eagle Creek.

Guide Priddy likes to target the lowest three miles of the river, instead of the most popular drift from Barton to Carver. He will target moving fish by back-bouncing eggs or working jet divers with sand shrimp or eggs in 8 to 15 feet of water. Sometimes he throws bobbers and eggs in the back eddies. Plugs will also work, and either Wiggle Warts or Kwikfish will do. According to Priddy, getting springers in the Clackamas takes patience.

"You just have to put your time in," he said.

Bank-anglers can find good fishing at the High Rocks near the mouth, at Milo McIver Park and at the River Mill Dam. Spinners can take fish in the faster water, but bobbers and bait is the most effective method.

For reports and info, call Estacada Tackle at (503) 630-7424.