Posted by Webmaster on Dec 18, 2010 in
Fishing With river levels on both the Elk and Sixes stabilizing this past week, Chinook fishing was excellent. Both bank and drift boat anglers reported catching many chrome bright fish, and last week a 13-year-old bank fisherman was able to land a 51-pound Chinook.
Successful steelhead fishing was reported on the South Fork Coquille River last week by a few local anglers. They caught three nice steelhead and the largest weighed around 14 pounds. I also had reports that winter steelhead were showing up in the Millicoma and South Coos rivers.
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Tags: Chinook, Elk River, fishing, sixes river
Posted by Webmaster on Oct 30, 2010 in
Fishing With last weekend’s rains, fishing on the Elk and Sixes rivers had picked up near the mouths of both rivers. Along with the rain were some very large ocean swells and strong winds, and this made for some difficult fishing.
The river levels rose, but on Monday they started to fall back and fishing became very difficult in both rivers. There were some deep holes that produced fish, but most of the river was too low to effectively use drift boats.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Elk River Hatchery recently released 300,000 smolts into the system. They warned anglers that they might accidently catch some of the released smolts, and they encourage all of us to gently release them back into the river.
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Tags: Arago, Chinook, coquille, Elk River, Sixes
Posted by Webmaster on Oct 2, 2010 in
General Siuslaw River: Fall Chinook angling is consistent, with fair to good catch rates. Anglers are catching fish from the lower bay through tide water. Cutthroat trout angling is fair.
Arizona Pond: Trout fishing is poor. Water levels have been reduced to control aquatic vegetation.
Chetco River: Chinook fishing continues to be hit and miss in the estuary. The Chetco River terminal ocean Chinook fishery runs through Oct. 12.
Coos River Basin: Good clam digging tides will return next week.
This past week has seen a great improvement in the number of Dungeness crabs harvested from the docks.
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Tags: angling, bass, Chinook, Clamming in Oregon, coho, Crabbing in Oregon, fishing, trout
Posted by Webmaster on Sep 25, 2010 in
Fishing Salmon fishing on all local rivers remains some of the best we’ve seen in years.
Folks who used to be happy with catching a single fish are now talking about limits. Leading the way in the number of fish caught is the Coos River. Salmon are being taken from the mouth of the river and up as far as Daniel’s Creek, with the best bites between the North Bend Bridge and Marshfield Channel.
Last week, fresh fish moved into the lower bay and trolling near the jetties produced limits
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Tags: Chinook, coho, Coos River, coquille river, salmon
Posted by Webmaster on Sep 16, 2010 in
Fishing Chinook fishing on the Coos River has been excellent this week. The best bite has been in the Marshfield Channel. Trolling cut-plug herring or sardines has produced the best.
Bank fishermen are also taking fish south of the Coos Bay Boardwalk and at the end of Ferry Road in North Bend. This fishery has really come at an opportune time, because today and tomorrow is the Coos Bay STEP Derby. Money supports local STEP hatcheries, and tickets can still be purchased at Englund Marine in Charleston, and are available at most docks on the lower Coos system.
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Tags: Chinook, Coos Bay, Coos River, fishing, Marshfield Channel, Oregon
Posted by Webmaster on Jul 29, 2010 in
General SALEM (AP) — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will close sport fishing for chinook on the Snake River just before midnight on Aug. 4.
Biologists from Idaho and Oregon cooperatively manage the fishery.
They recommended the closure because the harvest quota of 2,000 hatchery chinook has been met.
Tags: Chinook, closure, salmon, snake river
Posted by Webmaster on May 12, 2010 in
Fishing Springer Chinook fishing on the Rogue River has been excellent. The number of clipped fish in the lower river has been running about 3-to-1 clipped fish to non-clipped. An Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife proposal could allow the retention of non-clipped springers starting June 1.
Springer fishing on the Umpqua River has also been good. The number of clipped fish has been high, and the size of many fish has been 40-plus pounds. Water levels have stabilized, which should mean many fresh Chinook.
The Umpqua also is reporting some very good catches of shad. I haven’t had any reports of shad on the Coquille, but traditionally we fish shad between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Local lakes still are producing great trout fishing and the warmer weather has black bass biting more aggressively.
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Tags: Chinook, Rogue River, salmon, umpqua river
Posted by Webmaster on Apr 5, 2010 in
Fishing Last weekend there were reports of at least 50 spring Chinook salmon being taken on the lower Rogue River. These salmon are running between 20-30 pounds, and the best bait is anchovies. The area from Elephant Rock up river seems to be the most productive. I also had reports of springers being caught on the Umpqua River in the Sawyer Rapids area. The recent rains have both rivers on the rise and you’ll need to check their height. As they fall back into shape, springer fishing should really take off.
Winter steelhead still were being caught just below Powers on the Coquille River.
The Coos River system reported some steelhead around the upriver acclimation sites, and these fisheries still have bright fish, but are really slowing down.
Trout fishing at Empire Lakes has been red hot. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is planning to release another 6,000 legal-sized trout into the lakes this week. This brings the total trout released to 18,000, and an additional 400 trophy trout were released this year.
Fishing near the block wall on the north lake using power bait just off the bottom was producing limits in less than 30 minutes for many anglers. If you’re not catching any of them, you may need to change your tactics. One old angler told me in jest that if you drive by slowly with your car window down, you should be able to catch your limit.
Trout fishing also was excellent at Garrison Lake in Port Orford and Bradley Lake in Bandon.
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Tags: Chinook, coquille river, empire lakes, Rogue River, salmon, trout
Posted by Webmaster on Mar 9, 2010 in
Fishing The Rogue River should have the best opportunities to catch a nice steelhead, as last week the reports were good from bank fishermen. Fishing near Huntley Bar and Canfield Riffle using a brown trout pattern Spin Glow produced the best bites.
The outstanding news is at least three spring Chinook were taken in the Rogue. Guide Rick Howard of Bandon landed two nice steelhead and a very good springer. Let’s hope this is a start to a very good spring Chinook season.
As the Elk and Sixes rivers fell back into shape, both produced some good, bright winter steelhead.
Reports from the South Fork of the Coos River were not as good, as the steelhead fishing has slowed and the numbers of spawned-out fish has increased.
The Coquille River is falling back into shape after the recent rains, and fish were being picked up on the North Fork. Fishermen also reported a larger number of spawned-out fish that they released. Fishing on Tenmile and Elk creeks has slowed as well.
The Chetco River in Brookings is also falling back into shape, and the lower river from Icebox downstream to the Social Security Bar produced the best bite.
As I reported in last week’s article, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is now stocking legal-sized trout in most of our local lakes gearing up for spring break. Fishermen at Empire Lakes were very pleased with their catches last week, and Empire Lakes offers great family-friendly fishing.
The ODFW reported that their sampling of Garrison Lake in Port Orford showed good numbers of cutthroat trout and rainbow trout in the lake. As water temperatures start to rise, these trout should be on the bite.
Crabbing reports from the Charleston area show that many boaters still are getting limits of Dungeness crabs and the quality has been excellent. Crabbing in Bandon has slowed because of high, fresh water. A word of caution — recently, a large snag has lodged itself at Weber’s Pier and crabbers have been getting their crab rings hung up on it.
The Bay Area Sportsman’s Association will be holding its 23rd Annual Sportsman’s Banquet at the Bay Area Boys and Girls Club tonight at 5:30 p.m. The money raised from this event is used to support the Boys and Girls Club, local athletic teams and many of our STEP programs. They still have a few tickets available and you can contact Mike Helfrich at 541-297-0654 for more information.
The San Francisco Pier 39 sea lions that showed up in great numbers at the Sea Lion Caves in Oregon last fall have started to disappear. The sea lion mystery began four months ago when volunteers counted more than 1,700 of them at Pier 39 and by Thanksgiving, fewer than two dozen remained. We can only hope their trip south is a non-stop one and they won’t stop to feast on our springers.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Department has implemented a trip plan form for all their outdoorsmen. The form is to be filled out and left with a responsible person prior to an outdoor excursion. The trip plan form includes the purpose of the trip, the general area, landmarks, the starting time of your trip and the time you’re expected to return. In the event that you don’t return from your trip as stated on the form, it will be given to law enforcement and search and rescue organizers. This trip plan form is available on the Douglas County Sheriff’s Web site and can be used by anyone. I highly suggest using the form to all outdoorsmen as your life may depend on it.
Good luck fishing and hunting.
Tags: Chinook, elk, fishing, gold beach, Rogue River, salmon, Sixes
Posted by Webmaster on Nov 9, 2009 in
General The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is extending the current angling closure on the Chetco River upstream of Highway 101 until further notice. The season was expected to reopen today, but will remain closed to protect spawning fall Chinook.
Parks and Rec asks for state bikeway nominations
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department currently is taking nominations for bike routes for consideration as State Scenic Bikeways.
Such designated bikeways would follow roads and bicycle paths that connect riders with outstanding scenic, historic and natural settings. The OPRD will be accepting nominations through Jan. 31, 2010, and annually from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31 thereafter.
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Tags: Chetco, Chinook, closures, ODFW, salmon
