Hatchery fish run from 8 pounds to more than 12 pounds on the Clackamas River in February. Then March brings a whole new run of big natives. Photo by Photo by Richard T. Grost.

Want to nail a big, fat winter steelhead, but don't have a ton of time? You are in luck if you live anywhere near Portland, Ore., because the Clackamas River is at your doorstep.

Got a jet sled that needs some winter exercise, just to make sure the motor runs right? The lower river is your game. Got a drift-boat and you need to get some workweek kinks out of your neck and shoulders? The river is open to you as well.

No boat? No problem! The river has plenty of access for boatless anglers.

Yes, the Clackamas -- known to its fans as "the Clack" -- heads on Olallie Butte in the Cascade Mountains, then drops 6,000 feet in 80 miles to join the Willamette River near Gladstone. In 1988, its upper 47 miles from Big Springs to Big Cliff were designated a National Wild and Scenic River because of their outstanding recreation, wildlife, historic, vegetation and fish resources.

This wilderness river runs through a canyon, its deep walls covered with dense forest, bearing protruding basalt crags. Above Estacada, the river is slowed by two water-supply dams that create fishing opportunities for resident trout, then flows past numerous state and county parks and boat launches to its Willamette River confluence. Just below Estacada, you'll find River Mill Dam with its newly updated fish ladder.

Between Gladstone and Estacada, you can get to the river from roads off Oregon Route 224. Above Estacada, O.R. 224 -- also known as the Clackamas Highway -- passes along the northeast side of North Fork Reservoir, then follows every twist and turn of the river for miles. Through much map-reading, made more difficult by rubbernecking at the spectacular scenery, it's possible to end up at Olallie Lake, near the river's source.

GOOD AND WET
The arrival of the notoriously wet late-November Oregon weather heralds the winter steelhead into the Clackamas. Each new Pacific storm brings rain and flushes new fish into the system until January flips into February. Hatchery fish run 8 to 12 pounds, with a few larger bucks.

But don't stop fishing just yet. Another run of native winter fish shows in March and extends the winter-run season. Bigger than the hatchery fish, these late-run fish sometimes reach the tackle-busting high teens. Steelhead fanatics can fish from the mouth up to Highway 211 bridge. This section of the river is open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead the entire year.

Fishing regulations, particularly those designed to ensure the survival of anadromous fish runs, often change at a moment's notice. Check the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Web site at dfw.state.or.us for any last-minute changes.

DARNED DAMS
The three dams have seriously impacted wild steelhead, coho and spring chinook runs, but efforts are being made to protect and restore those runs and provide additional fishing opportunities on the lower river. Portland Gas & Electric, operator of the three dams, instituted a fish- recycling program at their North Fork Reservoir where they trap and separate wild fish from hatchery fish.

Hatchery fish are trucked 18 miles downstream and returned to the river, but not before they get their tails clipped. That ensures the recycled fish don't get counted a second time if they survive the upriver gauntlet again. The wild fish continue their migration to upper-river spawning beds without competition from --or mixing with -- hatchery fish.

Focus your fishing efforts on the lower river from River Mill Dam just below Estacada to the mouth. Pay particular attention to the Eagle Creek tributary, home of the Eagle Creek National Fish Hatchery, which produces the bulk of hatchery smolts released below River Mill Dam.