Fishing report 10-14
Fall Chinook fishing along the Oregon coast continues to be a bright spot the past few weeks. These fish are big and bright, and seem to be biting most things that anglers are trolling with. Cut plug Herring, fresh anchovies, small spinners, and a wide variety of hard spinning baits have all been working. It seems that a few more coho have showed up in the mix for anglers looking to cash in on the wild coho retention days. With rain on the forecast look for even more fish to flood into the bays. These fish have an internal time clock that is ticking away so they know they need to get up to their spawning grounds quickly. So once we get rain and the rivers come up, the bays will flood with fish and they will quickly make their way into the tributaries.
As far as coastal tributaries are concerned, the fishing has just barely gotten going. With the lack of rain and low water conditions, fish have chosen to hang in the bay longer than normal. With that being said, once we do get rain, the rivers will come up and look for the Chinook fishing to be stellar. We typically have had a good rain event by now, which normally would bring in early returning Chinook. But since we havenāt really had that yet, the fish are gonna come flying in. Back trolling large K15 or k16 kwikfidh, mag lips or killer fish is a very fun way to target these beasts. Back bouncing Salmon eggs is another top technique as well as bobber fishing eggs. Bring along several scent options or bait additives, like chunks of Herring or sardines or even throw in a can of tuna as these fish love scent and bait.
On the Columbia, there are still Coho piling into the lower river. Again with the lack of rain, fish are hanging out a bit longer than normal in the big riversz. So those in the know have capitalized on that and are finding plenty of coho to catch all throughout the lower Columbia. These fish will eat a wide variety of baits, including small spinners and hard spinning baits behind 360 flashers. Another fun option is to flatline plugs, like wiggle warts or Mag Lips close to shore and near the mouths of tributaries. This technique puts you and the fish in a direct connection with no other gear, which makes it a very fun fight.
Tributory fishing for coho has been tougher, as again weāve mentioned the lack of rain. These fish have gotten quite a bit stale, however, once that rain does show up look for the fishing to get really good. We will get the last surges of the A Run Coho, and the first surges of the B run Coho, which often times means lots of fish, aggressive biters, and quick limits. Spinners and spoons, casting plugs or twitching jigs as well as fishing bait will all work for coho that are on the bite.
Bottom fishing has continued to be a steady option for folks. Between the wide variety of bottom fish and lingcod thereās no shortage of fish to be caught. You never really know what youāre gonna hook when you drop down a set of shrimp flies at the bottom fish ground.
Crabbing has been amazing in the ocean and in the bays and getting better by the day. Look for crabbing to continue to get better as we get near November and December. Remember, the months that end in R are typically the best for Crabbing and we are smacked dab in the middle of that.