Nestucca River

The Nestucca runs out of the Coast Range near Fairdale, past Blaine and Beaver, to the ocean at Pacific City, and it has steelhead almost all year. Hatchery summer steelhead are planted at Three Rivers, Farmer Creek and First Bridge and are best in May and June, though they stray up to the deadline. Winter steelhead come in from December, and spring and fall Chinook run through it, the fall fish in big numbers in October and November.

The classic drift is Farmer Creek to Three Rivers to Cloverdale, easy Class II water. Boats also put in at First Bridge near Beaver. Above First Bridge the river is smaller, followed by Nestucca River Road, and fished from the bank. Below First Bridge bait is allowed; the upper river is open to spring Chinook but not fall Chinook.

Read the flows at the Beaver gauge. The drift floats at roughly 600 to 1,400 CFS; anglers watch for about 4 to 5.5 feet on the same gauge. Past about 3,000 CFS it is high and colored. It drops and clears in a day or two after rain.