The North Santiam is a very diverse and rich system with a variety of fishing options. Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout (resident), Summer and Winter Steelhead, Spring Chinook Salmon and Fall Coho Salmon are present in the system at various times of year making the North Santiam a year round fishery.

The North Santiam River is a tributary of the Santiam River approximately 90 miles long. It drains ...

an area of the Cascade Range on the eastern side of the Willamette Valley east of Salem. It rises in the high Cascades in eastern Linn county, northwest of Three Fingered Jack in the Willamette National Forest. It flows north through the mountains past Marion Forks, receiving the drainage from the western slope of Mt. Jefferson. Near Mt. Jefferson it turns sharply west, descending through a canyon past Idanha, Detroit and fills Detroit and Big Cliff Reservoirs.

Just downstream of Big Cliff is the uppermost put in for drift boat and raft navigation near the Minto Fish Trap. It is also the end of the journey for anadromous fish species - Chinook, Steelhead and Coho.

For the next 12 miles if flows through a forested canyon past the towns of Gates, Mill City, Lyons and Mehama. It emerges through the foothills into the Willamette Valley near Stayton, then flows southwest through farmlands where it joins the South Santiam River near the town and Jefferson.

January through April marks the return of Wild Winter Run Steelhead, followed by Hatchery raised Spring Chinook and Summer Steelhead from May - August. Wild Coho Salmon are found in the system from October - November. Native Rainbows and Cutthroat, along with Cutthroat-Rainbow Hybrids (Cuttbows) are found in the river year round.

There's never a bad time to fish the North Santiam!