Posted by Webmaster on Nov 9, 2009 in
General The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is extending the current angling closure on the Chetco River upstream of Highway 101 until further notice. The season was expected to reopen today, but will remain closed to protect spawning fall Chinook.
Parks and Rec asks for state bikeway nominations
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department currently is taking nominations for bike routes for consideration as State Scenic Bikeways.
Such designated bikeways would follow roads and bicycle paths that connect riders with outstanding scenic, historic and natural settings. The OPRD will be accepting nominations through Jan. 31, 2010, and annually from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31 thereafter.
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Tags: Chetco, Chinook, closures, ODFW, salmon
Posted by Webmaster on Oct 16, 2009 in
Fishing 
John Martin, left, Chad Brunick, center, and Sean Metzger, all of Klamath Falls, boat a fall chinook salmon in Chetco on Sunday. AP Photo
BROOKINGS (AP) — Despite having only a sliver of the Chetco River open to angling this month, John Martin of Klamath Falls does not lament the loss of upstream fishing access.
He drops his anchovy into the estuary between the jetties, then motors his small aluminum boat, already loaded with two friends and three adult Chinook. The fish are all around 30 pounds.
They’re trolling, though, through no more than 200 yards of the Chetco.
“Because this is where the fish are,” Martin says.
Though most of the Chetco remains closed to angling to protect a poor return of wild Chinook to this South Coast stream, anglers are finding they don’t need much space to catch fish eclipsing 50 pounds in an ongoing fishery that is as popular as it is maligned.
Estuary waters west of U.S. Highway 101 are the only part of the Chetco open under a restricted bag limit of one wild Chinook a day and no more than two this season. The low wild fall Chinook return is blamed largely on poor ocean conditions, and is expected throughout Southern Oregon streams.
But anglers are making the best of that one wild Chinook a day, hauling in some of the largest salmon seen here in two decades. Tops so far comes courtesy of Carl Johnson of Brookings, whose 58-pounder caught Sept. 30 unofficially is the largest Chinook caught in the Chetco Bay since the early 1980s.
“That was a gorgeous, gorgeous fish,” Johnson said. “I’ve caught several in that category, but none on the Chetco and not in the estuary.”
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Tags: anchovy, brookings, Chetco, Chinook, fishing, salmon
Posted by Webmaster on Oct 8, 2009 in
Crabbing in Oregon,
Fishing Chinook fishing in the Coos River has slowed this past week. But with a forecast of rain and larger tide exchanges, we should see more salmon coming into the river. The wild coho season on the Coos has closed but you may still retain fin-clipped coho.
Chinook fishing in the lower Coquille River has also slowed, but the wild coho season has remained strong with good numbers of fish being caught in the lower river and bay. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates we have taken about 45 percent of our 1,500 wild coho quota. Some fishermen have remarked that wild coho are larger the later we get into the season. The Coquille is also producing some 30-plus pound Chinook, and we still have plenty of jacks in both river systems to keep the fishermen excited.
Salmon fishing on the lower Rogue River in Gold Beach still is producing some Chinook, and there are plenty of fin-clipped coho being caught in the bay.
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Tags: Chinook, fishing, huting, Oregon, recreation, reports
Posted by Webmaster on Sep 2, 2009 in
Fishing,
General 
As the water termperatures continue to cool down, the fall Chinook salmon will continue to work their way into the Rogue River.
Michael Becker, of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Gold Beach, said the waters are about 67 degrees currently, and more Chinook will move upriver as the temperature decreases.
About 35 to 50 catches of fall Chinook per day are being reported, Becker said, and numbers look normal for this time of year. The two-year-old jacks are also starting to appear.
Becker said that the bay still is best for fishing, but steelhead fishing is beginning to slow down, although you can still catch some adult summer steelhead. Becker said it’s important to make sure that the steelhead are fin-clipped.
Many 16 to 20 pound fish are available in the area, as well as three-year-old fish, Becker said. One person reported catching a 481?2 pound fish.
The ocean should be good for fishing next weekend, Becker said, when the waters are calm. Fish for bottom fish, especially lingcod.
Tags: Chinook, fishing, Rogue River
