The best steelhead fishing of the season may take place from now until the end of March. The main stem Columbia River from Rocky Reach Dam all the up to Bridgeport remains open. The same is true for the Okanogan, Methow and Similkameen rivers. I fished the Columbia at Pateros a couple of weeks ago and my buddy Shane Magnuson and we hooked five and each landed a fish in just two hours of fishing. This past weekend we floated the Okanogan and three of us hooked twelve and landed our limits. The action was something else. I haven’t fished the Methow, but the reports I am getting are glowing. Now’s the time to get out and give steelhead fishing a go from now until the end of the season, that apparently will run clear through the end of March. There are a number of trout fisheries open right now, and there will be a whole bunch of other lakes added to the list of “now open to fishing” on the first of April. I am even hearing of some good bass and other spiny ray fishing at some of the shallow lakes in the region. For now, though, steelhead fishing is the hottest thing going in the region.