Date: February 17, 2024
BROOKINGS, Ore. – There has been no shortage of rain this year on the Southern Oregon Coast, and the result has been tough steelhead fishing on the Chetco, Smith, Elk and Sixes rivers, as high flows have limited the opportunity to side-drift for the prized fish. In January alone, Brookings received 42 inches of rain. … Continue reading “High water makes steelhead fishing tough”
Date: January 8, 2024
BROOKINGS, Ore. – Steelhead season has gotten off to a slow start throughout the Oregon Coast and on the Smith River in far Northern California, as catch rates the first week of January were below average, with good conditions but few fish. The last few days, catch rates have improved as adult winter steelhead begin … Continue reading “More steelhead arrive after slow start to season”
Date: December 19, 2023
BROOKINGS, Ore. – Fall salmon season has come to an end on the Southern Oregon coast, while the first winter steelhead of the season are now arriving on the Chetco, Smith, Elk and Sixes rivers. Peak season for steelhead is January and February, but fishable numbers of these prized fish have already arrived on the … Continue reading “Steelhead season begins on Chetco, Smith rivers”
Date: May 23, 2023
There will be plenty of opportunities to catch salmon this year on the Oregon Coast, both in the ocean and the bays and rivers, and forecasts show strong runs of kings are expected back to Chetco and Rogue rivers, while the ocean coho salmon prediction is well above average. State regulators in California made the … Continue reading “Salmon seasons open on Oregon Coast, and forecasts look good”
Date: March 23, 2023
During the fall and winter, the Wild Rivers Fishing crew runs guided drift boat trips on the Chetco, Smith, Elk and Sixes rivers for salmon and steelhead. As spring arrives, our crew shifts gears, putting the drift boats away and instead focuses on ocean charters out of the Port of Brookings. Our team of guides … Continue reading “Ocean charter season begins in Brookings”
Date: February 21, 2023
The 2023 steelhead run on the Chetco and Smith rivers, as well as most coastal rivers in Oregon and Northern California, is turning out to be below average, with tough fishing and challenging conditions. After weeks of high water in December and early January, the rivers are now low and clear. Fish numbers appear to … Continue reading “Steelhead fishing tough, but nice fish around”
Date: December 23, 2022
Steelhead have arrived early in the Chetco River, a good sign as the peak season rapidly approaches. Guides fishing for Wild Rivers Fishing have been finding a mix of hatchery and wild steelhead in the Chetco, along with late fall salmon. An early showing of steelhead in December generally signals good fishing in January and … Continue reading “Steelhead season off to good start on Chetco”
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King salmon are continuing to trickle into coastal rivers even as Christmas approaches, as one of the best fall salmon seasons in recent memory winds down. The numbers of kings returning to the Chetco and Smith rivers were well above average this year, while the Elk and Sixes rivers also had solid runs. Salmon fishing … Continue reading “River salmon season well above average”
Date: December 22, 2022
The 2022 salmon season at the mouth of the Chetco River was the best in years, as big numbers of kings stacked up in the estuary waiting for fall rains. Catch rates were the best in recent memory, with guides boats and private boaters catching impressive numbers of wild and hatchery kings. The total run … Continue reading “Chetco estuary has best salmon season in years”
Date: July 1, 2022
During the summer months, the Wild Rivers Fishing crew switches gears to running charter boats out of Brookings, through Brookings Fishing Charters. The ocean salmon season opened in late June, and fishing has quickly improved, with limits or near limits of kings and hatchery coho. Big numbers of hatchery and wild coho, and kings of … Continue reading “Ocean salmon action heats up”
Date: June 12, 2022
Catching steelhead with a soft bead below a float is all the rage these days on Northwest rivers during the winter. Bobber-dogging beads is effective, and easy. But long before drifting beads was the go-to method for most guides, tossing a cluster of roe combined with a Puff Ball or Corky was the top method … Continue reading “How to make Steelhead Candy”
Date: June 2, 2022
The 2021-22 winter steelhead season has come to an end on the Chetco, Smith, Elk and Sixes rivers. Fishing closed for the season March 31, and re-opened May 22 for sea-run cutthroat trout. Anglers will begin to catch a few king salmon in the Chetco estuary in June and July, with the best trolling in … Continue reading “Steelhead season ends strong on Chetco”
Date: December 31, 2021
Steelhead season is off to a strong start on the Chetco and Smith Rivers, with near-perfect conditions and a big return of winter fish. The Wild Rivers Fishing crew has been enjoying success on both rivers. Despite cold weather, with lots of snow in the hills, fishing has been has been good the past week. … Continue reading “Steelhead action heats up”
Date: December 20, 2021
Frequent storms with heavy rain have steelhead season off to an early start on the Chetco and Smith rivers. A mix of hatchery and wild steelhead have already been caught on both streams, and now anglers are waiting for a break in the weather to get on the water. Steelhead began arriving in late November, … Continue reading “Steelhead arrive in Chetco, Smith rivers”
Date: December 6, 2021
The 2021 drift boat salmon season on the Chetco, Smith, Elk and Sixes rivers started hot, as big storms brought impressive numbers of fish in, but ended on a slow note, as prolonged low, clear water made fishing tough the second half of November and in early December. In October and early November, the action … Continue reading “Salmon season starts hot, slows with low water”
Date: January 24, 2021
The peak of the winter steelhead season has arrived on the Chetco and Smith Rivers, and although fishing is only fair at best, some of the fish being caught are in the mid-teens or bigger. The Smith already has produced a handful of 20-plus-pound steelhead, and the Chetco has yielded several fish in the upper … Continue reading “Big steelhead showing up on Chetco, Smith”
Date: December 14, 2020
Salmon season has quickly wound down on the Chetco and Smith Rivers, giving way to winter steelhead. This season, steelhead are showing up a littler earlier than normal, which generally indicates an above-average run. Numerous wild and hatchery adult steelhead have already been caught on the Chetco River. In late November and early December, shore … Continue reading “Steelhead arrive in Chetco”
Date: November 29, 2020
The drift boat salmon season on the Smith and Chetco rivers is winding down, about to give way to steelhead fishing now through the end of March. Heavy rain in mid-November allowed for the first opener of the season on the Smith River above Rowdy Creek and on the Chetco River above the estuary. Two … Continue reading “Salmon season winds down, steelhead next”
Date: September 29, 2020
The highly anticipated fall salmon season has begun on the Chetco River, where anglers are focusing on the area near the mouth and awaiting fall rains to start fishing upriver. Big numbers of jack salmon have already shown up. An abundance of jacks early in the season is generally a strong indicator of good fishing … Continue reading “Salmon season begins on Chetco”
Date: April 15, 2020
The river guides who spend the fall and winter fishing for salmon and steelhead the Chetco and Smith rivers for Wild Rivers Fishing are also saltwater charter boat captains. Through our sister company, Brookings Fishing Charters, they run lingcod, rockfish, salmon, albacore tuna, California halibut and Pacific halibut charters out of Brookings and Gold Beach. … Continue reading “Ocean charter season begins, salmon, halibut openers near”
Date: April 11, 2020
With drift boat steelhead seasons now over on the Southern Oregon Coast, anglers are looking forward to the summer salmon season on the Rogue Bay, where thousands of kings will stack up near the mouth and wait for fall rains before heading upstream. This year’s fall king salmon forecast for the Rogue is strong. The … Continue reading “Strong salmon run expected to Rogue Bay”
Date: March 14, 2020
Customers of Wild Rivers Fishing guides Andy Martin and Rye Phillips hold limits of steelhead from early Feruary 2020 on the Chetco River. The 2020 winter steelhead run on the Chetco, Smith, Elk and Sixes rivers is winding down, but looking back, the return to the coastal rivers was above average, with very good fishing … Continue reading “2020 steelhead run above average”
Date: February 5, 2019
After hit-and-miss steelhead fishing on the Chetco and Smith rivers in January, fishing picked up the first week of February as fresh fish moved in from the ocean. Wild Rivers Fishing guides have been catching as many as half a dozen steelhead a day. Andy and Travis, with special-use permits from the Forest Service, have … Continue reading “Steelhead fishing heats up on Chetco, Smith”
Date: January 7, 2019
Steelhead season is under way on the Wild Rivers Coast, with fish now in the Chetco and Smith rivers. Fishing was slow for much of December, but now that rain has arrived, fresh steelhead are showing up. The Chetco has been the best bet so far in 2019, and should get even better with the … Continue reading “Steelhead season begins on Chetco, Smith”
Date: September 2, 2018
Our 2018 fall king salmon season on the Southern Oregon and Northern California coast is off to a great start. Capt. Andy spent August on the Rogue River Bay in Gold Beach, where an above-average salmon run has been expected. While not epic, fishing was solid all of August. We averaged a fish per rod … Continue reading “Fall salmon season heats up”
Date: May 15, 2018
Lingcod and rockfish season is in full swing off the coast of Brookings, where the Wild Rivers Fishing crew has been running trips daily. During good weather days, limits of lingcod and rockfish have been common. During windy days, we are still catching rockfish, but the lings are tougher to come by when we are … Continue reading “Lingcod, rockfish action good out of Brookings”
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The ocean salmon season out of Brookings opens Saturday, May 19, and runs through Aug. 26. The 100-day season covers the best times to fish for salmon in the ocean out of Brookings, which is usually mid-June through mid-August. Peak ocean salmon season is typically in July. Last year, because of a low forecast for … Continue reading “Ocean salmon season begins May 19 out of Brookings”
Date: May 8, 2018
What has turned out to be another solid steelhead run on the Chetco and other Southern Oregon rivers has been interrupted by what may turn out to be the biggest storm of the season. The river blew out yesterday. Much more rain is coming this weekend and it may be several days before we are … Continue reading “Another solid steelhead run on the Chetco”
• Chetco River •
The Chetco is one of Oregon’s premier salmon and steelhead rivers, and our most popular fishery. It produces more kings over 50 pounds.
• Smith River •
The Smith River is known for its large run of giant king salmon, as well as numerous steelhead of over 20 pounds.
• Rogue River •
The Rogue River is one of the few rivers in the world that has salmon and steelhead fishing twelve months a year!
• Coquille Bay •
The Coquille and Coos Bays have most prolific early fall salmon fishing on Oregon Coast!
• Elk and Sixes •
For sheer numbers of king salmon, the Elk River is hard to beat. The Elk and Sixes both have late fall runs, peaking in December.
• Brookings Ocean Charters •
Capt. Andy Martin spent 10 years guiding in Alaska but now guides and runs charter boats year round in Brookings, Oregon.