The Clack is subject to wildly varied river flows, from 33,000 to 800 cfs. That can make fishing difficult at best. Eagle Creek tends to drop and clear faster than the main stem, which makes Eagle a good option when the river is out of sorts.

For updates on flows, call the PG&E Fish Line at (503) 464-7474. Historically the river has fished best at flows between 13 and 10 feet. At the bottom end of that range, jet-boat operators may find they are making unwelcome contact with gravel bars. At lower-water levels, most experienced Clack fishers concentrate on the lower river below Eagle Creek.

Spending time on the lower river works out for both boat and bank anglers. On the lower river there are seven boat launches, beginning with Clackamette Park on Clackamette Drive in Oregon City. This makes a great base camp if you plan to fish for a few days. The ramp can handle both drift-boats and powerboats, plus there are 39 RV spaces available on a first-come, first-served basis. Check out oregoncityparks.org/parks.

Three miles upstream is the Riverside launch, which provides a short float, but is used mainly by spring chinook fishers.

The next launch is the Carver ramp located on the south shore upstream from the Carver Bridge. Carver gets the most use of any ramp on the river -- and there are good reasons for that: It accesses the most productive jet-boat water, has the longest runs on the river and has the fewest houses.

On a heavily used urban river where side-drifting has become the fishing technique of choice among jet-boaters, fewer houses means fewer boater-homeowner interactions.

Carver provides myriad options for jet-boaters who can run upstream to Barton Park, drift back down to take out at Carver, run down to Riverside or go the full 8 miles to Clackamette Park. The run between Carver and Clackamette contains Class II rapids.

Continuing on upstream, the next boat access spot is Barton Park on the river's north shore, favored by drift-boaters. The 5.5-mile Class II water from Barton to Carver gets the most use as the downstream drifters run into the upstream jet-boaters at a time when the river changes character.

The steelhead-holding runs and riffles are more compact, concentrating both the fish as well as the fishers into smaller areas. Courtesy is always at a premium here.

Barton Park -- operated by Clackamas County Parks, whose Web site is at www.co.clackamas.or.us/dtd/parks -- also offers camping. But it's closed from Nov. 1 until May 1, making it more useful as a base camp for summer steelheaders.

Above Barton, the river bends south. The next launch, Feldheimer, is on the west bank. Nothing more than a gravel access too shallow for jet boats, Feldheimer is capable of handling drift boats. The river has again changed complexion slightly, with its runs and holding areas becoming shallower and still more compact. Steelhead seem to transition through this area quickly, so it's difficult to count on fish being consistently in the logical holding areas.

Historically, the best run is the long glide beginning upstream, then running in front of -- and downstream of -- the launch. For those wanting water-borne access to the mouth of Eagle Creek for a chance at all those hatchery fish heading for home, this is the launch.

The last two access spots are both in McIver Park. The lower launch is only a short distance above Feldheimer, but does offer a gorgeous run immediately in front of the launch for non-power boats only.