Fishing report 10-23
Fall Chinook fishing along the Oregon coast has still been going strong in the bays and the rivers are desperately waiting for some rain. Once the rain starts falling, and I mean a lot of it starts to fall, then rivers will rise and flood with Chinook and Coho. These coastal tributary fisheries live and die by the rain. So pray for rain, just not to much. Backtrolling kwikfish, Mag Lips, Killerfish and Flatfish will all be great ways to cover water and effectively target the most aggressive fish as you head down river. Backbouncing eggs can be super productive as well as bobber fishing eggs and shrimp. These coastal fish are bait eaters so don’t be afraid to bring along several bait options and at the very least, several scent options. Target slow moving seems, especially those that border on deep water. Fall Chinook will congregate in these areas and give you ample opportunity to get a bait in front of them.
Tributary B-Run Coho are starting to show up and typically, November is a stellar month to target them. Again, water will dictate where in the rivers the fish will
Be and to some extent, what they will choose to eat. Twitching jigs, spinners, spoons and eggs will all work very well. Casting plugs is a common technique that will defiantly get the most aggressive fish in the river to bite. In slow, walking speed water try a bobber and jig or bead. It is a technique that is not as commonly used but can be super effective.
Summer Steelhead are actually all over the northwest, however they just typically take a back seat to all of the other Salmon fisheries that are going on. The Deschutes, John Day and klickitat are rivers up the Columbia River gorge that will have plenty of Steelhead to keep anglers busy. Bear the Portland Metro area, you have rivers like the Sandy, Clackamas, upper Wilson, Kalama and Lewis that all have fishable populations of summer Steelhead. These fish are usually around in good numbers through the first few weeks of November at which point the fish definitely seem to disperse throughout the river and are not as easy to catch.
Rrazor Clamming was good during the last opener and all signs point to it being good again. WDFW has set another tentative set of digs starting November 1st and going through the 5th of November.
Bottom fishing remains a great angling option. At the moment the ocean has not been super cooperative and has made crossing the bar impossible on many occasions. But when conditions allow and the anglers are allowed to go over the bar they have been met with plentiful Lingcod, Seabass and a variety of other bottomfish species. Farallon Feathers, curly tail grubs, shrimp flies and vertical jigs have all been working well for anglers.
Trout fishing is still a happening thing around the Northwest and will continue to be a good option as long as the weather stays as warm as it’s been. Fishing bait under a bobber or off of the bottom is one of the best options. Trout cruising shorelines in the fall have a very hard time passing up a free meal of Powerbait, Nightcrawlers or Salmon eggs. Store bought salad shrimp is actually another very good bait to use and is often overlooked.
