Fishing Report 11-19
With our fall Chinook and Coho fisheries winding down, many Northwest Anglers are starting to prepare for the upcoming Winter Steelhead season, which traditionally begins on Thanksgiving weekend. It’s a dedicated lot who venture out early to try and catch their first chrome trophy of the season when there aren’t a ton of fish around yet, but it can be done. Pictured here is Trevor from our Oregon City store with an early Winter Steelhead that he caught on November 16th, 2018, from a Southwest Washington river. Good luck!
Fishing report 11-19
It’s that time of year when there still might be some nice quality Chinook available in most coastal rivers, however, the big pushes of fish have already come in. These fish are caught a number of ways, with backtrolling Kwikfish, backbouncing eggs or bobberfishing eggs being the most popular choices. November is typically a month with a lot of rain so these fisheries are usually best when we get a day or two of consecutive dry weather. Be sure to check regulations for the water you intend to fish.
B-Run Coho are here and these fish can be big! They have spent more time in the ocean than the earlier returning Coho, so they were able to get some more time to bulk up. These fish typically are good biters, with fish taking many different techniques. Twitching jigs, spinners, spoons, eggs, plugs and beads are all great options when choosing your technique.
Winter Steelhead are right around the corner! Thanksgiving weekend is the traditional start of Winter Steelhead season. Bobber and jig, bobber and pink worm, beads, shrimp or hardware are all great Steelhead baits. Target the lower reaches of rivers and cover some water to search for those early returning fish.
Catch and release Sturgeon fishing has been good and is a great option for folks that are looking to enjoy some time on the water. Bring some good food, warm drinks and a Mr. Buddy heater and you are ready for a fun day. Squid, sand shrimp, herring and smelt are great bait choices.
Bottom fishing has been good for anglers that are looking to fill their freezers with some delicious flaky white meat. The ocean can be unpredictable and unstable this time of year, but those that are able to find a good weather window are likely to find success. Large curly tail grubs and vertical jigs are great choices as well as shrimp flies.
Crabbing has been good and folks will continue to find success even if the weather isn’t ideal.
Razor Clamming at Long Beach is still closed, but fisheries managers are hoping that domoic acid levels will reduce and they can open up the beach in December.
Trout fishing is something that is often over-looked this time of year but can be a very good fishery. Around Thanksgiving, ODFW will stock a variety of local lakes with legal and trophy-size Trout. With water temps being cool, these Trout are typically really good biters. Trolling wedding rings tipped with worms or small Mag Lips and Flatfish is a great way to target these fish. Bank anglers will find success casting spinners along the shorelines as well as fishing bait off the bottom or under a bobber.
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.
