Watch Salmon Make Their Way Up The River At Oregon's Winchester Fish Ladder
By Catherine Armstrong|Published September 12, 2019
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Catherine Armstrong
Author
Writer, editor and researcher with a passion for exploring new places. Catherine loves local bookstores, independent films, and spending time with her family, including Gus the golden retriever, who is a very good boy.
If you love to fish in Oregon’s rivers and lakes, then you undoubtedly know the pain that comes from a fishing trip where you don’t see a single fish. On those days, you might be convinced that the fish are just gone! A trip to the Winchester Fish Ladder might make you feel better, as you get an up-close look at fish making their way upstream.
The North Umpqua River is 106 miles long. It makes its way down from the Cascades, meandering through forests and picking up little tributaries along the way before merging with the South Umpqua to empty into the Pacific Ocean.
The North Umpqua is known as one of the best fly-fishing rivers in the state, and a 33-mile stretch of it is reserved specially for fly-fishing.
The Winchester dam was built in 1890, and it's evolved over the years to include a hydroelectric plant, which was later dismantled. Because the dam blocked migrating fish from traveling upstream, a fish ladder was built here, and was updated in 1945.
Along with the new fish ladder, in 1945 the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife began counting the fish that passed through the maze of the ladder on their way upstream in an effort to better manage the fish population.
A public viewing window was installed in 1964, and more improvements were made in the 1980s. While the fish were once counted by Fish and Wildlife employees, the count is now made using video equipment.
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From your vantage point in the parking lot, you'll be able to see the ladder, which looks like a maze fish must swim through. To see fish close-up, walk down to the stairs to the viewing area.
A large window is installed below the water line so that you can get a good look at the fish swimming past. There's a sign right next to the window that shows you the different types of fish that use this ladder, so you can identify them.
Many species of fish swim upstream along the Winchester Fish Ladder, including chinook and coho salmon, both winter and summer steelhead, some cutthroat trout, pacific lamprey, largescale suckers, and more.
The North Umpqua and its tributaries are an angler's dream! Check out how many great fishing spots there are within just an hour of Roseburg. Grab your pole and get out there!
You can visit the Winchester Dam Fish Count page on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website to see past fish counts. Have you ever stopped at this viewing point to see the fish swimming upstream? We’d love to hear about your trip!
