Bandon Fishing Report, Nov 5th 2009
Local lakes: The Tenmile Bass Club hosted a local tournament last weekend at Tenmile Lakes in Lakeside. The new owners of Lakeside Marina told me that largemouth bass fishing over the weekend was good and that anglers fishing in the tournament caught several nice largemouths. Rainbow trout fishing at Tenmile Lakes also has been good. Anglers trolling wedding ring spinners tipped with nightcrawlers have been doing the best. Trout fishing at Empire Lakes in Coos Bay remains very good after the recent stockings. We haven’t received any reports from Bradley Lake recently. Access has been tough because of the lower lake level and weed build-up at the boat ramp. If anyone fishing the lake would like to share some information, please give us a call at 347-2875.
Local rivers: The Chetco River above the U.S. Highway 101 bridge will open for fall Chinook fishing on Saturday, Nov. 7. With more rain in the forecast, look for Chinook fishing to improve. Traditionally, the Chetco is known for its large fall Chinook. Anglers fishing the lower Rogue River for fall Chinook over the weekend caught a few early winter steelhead. Most of the fall Chinook have been being caught in the Agness area. Anglers fishing the Elk and Sixes rivers last weekend reported catching plenty of jack salmon, along with some nice adult fish. Bob Dearth of Bandon caught two nice Chinook Saturday, one of them weighing more than 30 pounds. Anglers reported slower fishing conditions on Monday, but with a series of big high tides and rain forecasted, look for fishing to heat up again. There have been plenty of good salmon fishing opportunities on the Coquille River recently. Jon Vining of Bandon has been launching his boat at Sturdivant Park in Coquille and fishing downriver to Clausen’s Corner. He told me they’ve been catching some nice coho salmon along with a few kings. Anglers fishing the Rocky Point area are still reporting good coho fishing. Most anglers have gone from bait to spinners, which have been very productive. As of last week, the wild coho harvest on the Coquille River was at 55 percent of the 1,500-fish quota. Shore-based salmon fishermen had a good week fishing Seven Mile Slough, just above Rocky Point. Most of the fish are being caught on sand shrimp under a bobber. Anglers fishing near the forks of the Coos River are still reporting good fall Chinook fishing. Some fresh Chinook salmon are still being caught by shore-based anglers fishing the boardwalk in downtown Coos Bay. Most of the anglers fishing the boardwalk area are catching their fish casting spinners.
Area shellfish: Crabbing in the bay at Bandon was still very good over the weekend. The numbers of crab moving in and out of the bay have been changing daily due to the rough ocean conditions. The quality of crab has been excellent, since most of them have gone through their molting stage. Crabbing in the Charleston and Empire areas of Coos Bay has been great. Boaters crabbing near Empire last weekend reported easy limits of nice Dungeness crab.
(Tony Roszkowski has owned and operated Port O’ Call — TonysCrabShack.com — on the Bandon waterfront since 1989. Many South Coast anglers rely on his fish and shellfish reports. Hear more from Tony on ‘Oregon Outdoors’ Thursdays on KWRO 630 AM.)
