SEPTEMBER
Fall Chinook: Umpqua River, OR
When late summer showers bring water temperatures down, head to the Umpqua River to hook up with fresh Chinook salmon. Keep moving until you find fish, then focus on slower water with deep pools and structure. These fish average 15 to 18 pounds, but many 40-pounders also hit.

Boaters troll large wobbling spoons, Wiggle Warts or KwikFish, or drift bobbers and eggs. From the bank, drift bait or cast No. 4 Blue Fox spinners and slow-crank them through deep, green water.

You'll find lower river bank access at Jimmy Creek, Scott Creek, Paradise Creek the Elkton Bridge, Osprey Boat Ramp, Tyee Bridge. Upstream, try Sawyer Rapids, Yellow Creek and the Umpqua Boat Ramp.

For guides, call Lyle Andrews (541-679-8191), or Gary's Guide Service (541-672-2460).

Other Choices
Troll Wiggle Warts or cast spinners for coho on the Cowlitz River. Hungry trout, solitude and mountain scenery beckon this month in high Cascades lakes.

OCTOBER
Steelhead: Grande Ronde, WA
For some of October's best steelhead action, spend a few days on the Grande Ronde River in Washington.

When you go, bring your fly rod. These are active fish that will come to the surface to take a fly. Use the cast-swing-step routine or drift nymphs under a strike indicator. On the swing, fish Red-butt Skunks, Woolly Buggers and Muddler Minnows. When nymphing, try the Steelhead Pheasant Tail, Green Rock Worm or October Caddis. To fish on the surface, try skating Bomber patterns.

Grande Ronde steelhead will take a spinner, as well. Use No. 2-4 brass, copper and black-bladed spinners with green or red accents. Only adipose fin-clipped steelhead may be retained.

For a guided trip, call Tim Johnson, of FishHawk Guides (888-548-8896).

Other Choices
For big, well-fed river rainbows, fish crayfish patterns and orange spinners on Oregon's Klamath River. In Washington, cast pink and green spinners for Kalama River cohos.

NOVEMBER
Steelhead: Deschutes River, OR
The Deschutes in November is the place to catch steelhead on a fly. Plenty of fish, long runs and lots of water make the lower Deschutes a prime destination for anglers. Steelhead are spread throughout the lower river from the mouth up to Warm Springs. Deschutes fish average 5 to 10 pounds but the opportunity to hook larger steelhead is good.

Fly-fishing is best in evenings and mornings. Use an Articulated Leech in black, purple or blue. Wade in no farther than knee-deep. Cast quartering downstream, throw an upstream mend and let the fly swing. At the end of the drift, let the fly linger.

For guides, call River Bend Guide Service, 541-553-1051, Rimrock Outfitters, 866-504-4617, or Central Oregon Outdoors, 541-504-0372

Other Choices
Drive east to pull plugs or side-drift bait for Snake River steelhead near Clarkston, Wash. Or head to Washington's Skagit River to cast spoons or flies to chum salmon.

DECEMBER
Rainbow Trout: Fall River, OR
In December, put on your cold weather gear and head to central Oregon's Fall River. It emerges full-flowing from a spring in a grove of lodgepole pine, southwest of Sunriver, and empties into the Deschutes just 8 miles downstream. The water flows clear and cold through calm, quiet bends bordered by tall grass and willows. Submerged logs and channels in the ridged river bottom give cover to trout, while shallow weedbeds in the calm water upstream provide insect habitat.

Midday is the best time to fish. Some of the biggest rainbows and browns are caught on midge patterns and tiny blue-winged olive mayflies, the river's main winter hatches.

The Fall River is open year-round above the falls. Access to the river is good in the area near the hatchery, and upstream on national forest land. For information or to book a guided trip, call Cascade Guides and Outfitters at 541-593-2358.

Other Choices
Head to southern Oregon to fish the late salmon run on the Elk and Sixes rivers. Or look to Washington's Snoqualmie River for winter steelhead headed for the Tokul Creek hatchery.

(Editor's Note: To order a signed copy of Gary Lewis' new book, Freshwater Fishing Oregon and Washington, send $22.95 (includes S&H) to Gary Lewis Outdoors, PO Box 1364, Bend, OR 97709.)