Fishing Report 09-17-2021
Fisherman's Marine & Outdoor Thad Tyler caught this beautiful bright Chinook with Scott from Brad's Killer Fishing using Brad's Super Bait in color pattern Rotten Banana!
Fishing Report - September 17th, 2021
Chinook fishing on the Columbia reopened on September 11th and the fishing has been pretty good! Anglers are finding success all throughout the Columbia, from Warrior Rock up to right below Bonneville Dam. There are anglers catching them all sorts of ways; anchor fishing on the outgoing tide with wobblers, anchor fishing Maglips and Kwikfish up near Bonneville Dam or trolling 360 Flashers with spinners, Superbaits or Spinfish behind them. These fish are still entering the Columbia and are spread out through the system now. Pick your favorite spot to fish and go get them!
Coho fishing in Astoria is still going strong and with everyone’s attention on Chinook upriver, the estuary Coho have very little pressure right now. Fisherman’s Pro, Chris Vertopoulos, has been focusing his efforts on Astoria Coho lately and finding great success. He reports that new pods of fish are pushing in the river on every tide set. Sometimes they stay in and shoot upriver, and sometimes they pull back out with the tide. Regardless of where the fish head to, the bites have been fast and furious ending in doubles and triples at times. Make sure to bring Anchovies with you as well as spinners, Superbaits or Spinfish. Coho love to eat all of these and at times they key in more on one then the other. So, having options makes you much more versatile.
Bottom fishing remains an option for anglers. Fish tacos are always a fan favorite around any dinner table or friendly get together while Lingcod makes some of the best tacos there are! We have had reports spanning from outside the mouth of the Columbia to all the way down out of Coos bay of good bottomfish bites and less crowded waters. Again, Fall Chinook get most of the glory this time of year so the pressure on the bottom fish is typically not as great right now. Which is a great thing if you are headed for the bottom fish grounds. Large curly tail grubs always work, while most all types of bottom fish will willing take a Shrimp Fly setup and at times, you will find schools of bottom fish up near the surface feeding. This is when you can catch them on topwater Bass lures. It doesn’t get much more fun and interactive then that.
We had one day of a catch and keep Sturgeon fishery this last Saturday and while most folks decided to chase salmon, the few anglers that tried for Sturgeon did find success. Not all anglers caught keepers as the slot limit is narrow, at only 44”-50”. However nearly all anglers found some biting fish whether keeper size, shakers or oversize. Squid, Herring, Anchovies and Sand Shrimp all proved effective. We have one more keeper day coming up Saturday September 17th, make sure you have your gear tied up, leaders preassembled and your bait on ice as there are plenty of Sturgeon to go target.
Clamming at Long Beach is set to resume this Friday for a 6-day opener. Razor Clams haven’t been harvested by sport anglers for nearly a year, so success will likely be measured in how fast you get your limit, not in the number of clams you find. WDFW also just raised the limit to 20 per person. Which means more clam strips for the frier or more clam chowder in the crock pot. These tides are either early morning or late at night. So, make sure you have your lanterns, head lamps, flashlights and rain gear ready to roll.
Crab are getting fuller by the week and more plentiful as well. Look for large, keeper Dungeness Crab to be filling your pots on your next crabbing trip to one of the many bays along the Oregon Coast.
Tillamook Bay and Nehalem Bay have both been getting better and anglers are also shooting out into the ocean to target Chinook and Coho. In the ocean, we had a non-marked select Coho fishery for September 10th, 11th and 12th and we got reports that the fishing was quite good! Pro guide, David Johnson, sent us some great success photos from those few days saying the fishing was really productive! The non select Coho fishery will start back up in the Central Oregon Coast on Friday the 17th for 7 days a week through September 30th. Trolling a triangle or 360 Flasher with Anchovies, Herring, spinners or Brad’s Superbaits behind them is what the vast majority of anglers are doing. Staggering your trolling depths to locate where the fish are at on that given day is a good strategy to help you identify where the fish are concentrated and get all your rods fishing well.
We have cooler weather in the forecast, and this means that cooling water temps will soon follow. Trout that have been waiting out the warm weather and warm water are ready to welcome the cooler temps. ODFW is still stocking lakes and one notable lake is North Fork Reservoir in Clackamas that was stocked this week with over 2,300 legal Trout. Before your next Trout trip, make sure you check ODFW’s stocking schedule for update to info on recent Trout stocking. Casting spinners, bubble and fly or Kastmasters are great ways to catch these freshly stocked fish. Of course, bait is always a go-to for many anglers and works year-round. Worms, Powerbait, Salmon eggs and even salad shrimp are all Trout favorites.
Always be sure to check local regulations at ODFW and WDFW before heading out. Find reports and two most widely used baits, information on the Fisherman's Community page.
