Bandon Fishing Report

Local lakes:

Reports coming in from Empire Lakes in Coos Bay after last week’s trout stockings were nothing short of red hot! Josh from the Bite’s On Tackle shop in Empire told us the lake was hit pretty hard by local anglers, and plenty of nice rainbow trout were taken. Anglers were having success fishing floating Powerbait off the bottom or casting spinners. This week, Empire Lakes is scheduled to receive an additional 6,000 legal-size rainbows. Cathy from Lakeside Marina told us that anglers trolling Tenmile Lakes are still picking up some nice holdover rainbow trout. She also reminded me that Tenmile Lakes is scheduled to be stocked with legal-size rainbows this week. Largemouth bass fishing out at Tenmile has been slow, with water temperatures averaging about 50 degrees. Look for largemouth bass to start going into a pre-spawn mode soon. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is scheduled to stock Garrison Lake in Port Orford with 4,950 legal-size trout this week. With a healthy population of holdover rainbows, along with some nice cutthroat trout, look for angling pressure to pick up on Garrison Lake this spring.

Local rivers:

River conditions on the Chetco River in Brookings were low and clear last weekend. Anglers are still picking up a few nice steelhead, but we’re being told that about 50 percent of the fish are downers. Downers, or spawned-out fish, can be very aggressive and fun to catch as they make their way back to the ocean. Last Tuesday, John Anderson caught the first reported spring salmon of the year on the lower Rogue River. Since last Tuesday, Larry from the Rogue Outdoor Store told me anglers have been averaging two to four spring salmon per day. Most of the fish have been taken on anchovies near the Lobster Creek area. Winter steelhead fishing on the Elk River was decent last week. As the Elk River cleared, anglers switched over to fishing Sixes River and did well last weekend. Winter steelhead fishing on the Coquille and Coos river systems was slow last weekend. My brother, Rob, local guide Craig Paulson and I drifted the lower portion of the South Fork Coquille River on Monday. We had a lot of laughs and managed to pick up one steelhead.

Pacific Ocean, jetties and bays:

Larry Ellis of Brookings told me they had a good mixed bag of rockfish last Saturday fishing just a quarter-mile north of the first buoy out of the Port of Brookings. He called the area they were fishing Maclin Cove and said it’s a great place to fish when conditions are rough offshore. Bank anglers fishing near the Port of Port Orford reported catching some nice striped perch and sea trout over the weekend. Boaters fishing near The Cribbs inside of Coos Bay have been catching rockfish and sea trout. Other anglers are reporting catching some nice pinkfin surf perch near the railroad bridge inside Coos Bay, as well.

Area shellfish:

Crabbing in Bandon remains very slow due to plenty of fresh water still entering the bay. Boaters crabbing in Coos Bay are reporting having to work harder than in previous weeks to catch a limit of Dungeness crabs.

Kids Fish Free update:

We were very happy to give away plenty of rod-and-reel combinations to parents with children last week. Earl Rankin has now repaired and given away 50 rods and reels. Our supply of used fishing gear is running low, so anyone with donations is invited to stop by Port O’ Call or give us a call at 541-347-2875 and we can make arrangements to pick it up. Don’t forget that Tami at the North Bend Bi-Mart Store, 541-756-7526, is our drop-off point in the Coos Bay/North Bend area.

(Tony Roszkowski has owned and operated Port O’ Call — TonysCrabShack.com — on the Bandon waterfront since 1989. Many South Coast anglers rely on his fish and shellfish reports. Hear more from Tony on ‘Oregon Outdoors’ Thursdays on KWRO 630 AM.)