Fishing Report – 9/15
It’s salmon season, and they seem to be everywhere. From Astoria and the Columbia River to the Oregon Coast and Southwest Washington, anglers are finding plenty of opportunities for Chinook and coho. Bottom fishing, walleye, and trout are also providing solid options as we move into fall.
Astoria Coho Fishing
In Astoria, the coho fishing has been pretty good, and with the limit now being three, you can put together a pretty impressive amount of fillets in short order.
Trolling 360 flashers with hard-spinning baits and small spinners has been killing it, but don’t count out fishing bait.
Triangle flashers with frozen or fresh herring, as well as anchovies, can often be the technique that makes the difference between a limit and half a limit.
Columbia River Chinook
As you move up the Columbia, the Chinook fishing has been stellar.
Trolling 360 flashers with hard-spinning baits such as Spin-N-Fish, Super Baits, Mini Super Baits, Stuffer Baits, cut plugs, and Kokanee cut plugs has been extremely productive.
3.5 spinners have also been working extremely well and are often nice to use because there’s no cleanup at the end of the day when it comes to bait, scent, or additives.
As the Chinook move upriver, they will be backfilled with coho. With the Columbia being a three-fish limit, it again gives anglers the opportunity to fill up some fish boxes.
Above Bonneville Dam
As you continue to move upriver, especially once you get above Bonneville Dam, you have fisheries such as Drano Lake, the White Salmon, and the mouth of the Klickitat.
In these fisheries, trolling 360 flashers is still a very popular technique. However, hover fishing eggs is another very successful way to catch Chinook and coho.
Bring along a few different scent options and you’ll be ready for whatever the fish want that day.
Oregon Coast Salmon Fishing
Along the Oregon Coast, we’ve had pro staff from Nehalem to Coos Bay, and everybody is reporting success.
Trolling in the ocean has been amazing, and fish are definitely making their way into the bays all up and down the coast.
This is usually where you’ll see the fleet divided between 360 flashers and spinners and triangle flashers with bait.
Both techniques have their place. If possible, bring both so you can stay versatile and match the hatch, so to speak.
Southwest Washington Coho
Coho fishing in Southwest Washington has been surprisingly good. It may have had something to do with the week of rain we had, as the A-run coho this year seem to be biting well.
Folks have been catching them using:
- Spinners
- Jigs
- Drift fishing
- Bobber fishing
- Bobber dogging eggs
Another great way to find aggressive biters is to free-float down the river and cast Wiggle Warts.
Not only is this an extremely fun way to catch fish, but it can also be a very successful technique. As we get more rain in the coming weeks, look for this fishery to really heat up.
Columbia Gorge Walleye
Walleye fishing in the Columbia Gorge, as usual, has taken a backseat to all of the other fisheries happening at the moment.
However, those in the know understand that the fish haven’t gone anywhere and are still biting just as well.
Trolling bottom walkers with worm harness rigs has continued to be the most effective technique.
Oregon Coast Bottom Fishing
Bottom fishing has also remained very good.
Pro Staff member Andy Martin has been down on the southern coast and has been absolutely crushing it. He’s been finding limits of rockfish for everyone nearly every day.
Along with a wide variety of rockfish, he’s also finding a very nice grade of Lingcod for his clients.
Productive tackle has included:
- Shrimp flies
- Farallon feathers
- Vertical jigs
- Twin-tail scampi
Fall Trout Fishing
ODFW has been slowly continuing its trout stocking efforts across the state.
As we’ve mentioned before, fall can be some of the best trout fishing of the year, especially for bigger trout.
These fish are trying to pack on the calories before a long, cold winter, making this an excellent time to get out and target them.