wildrivers, Author at Wild Rivers Fishing

Steelhead fishing heats up on Chetco, Smith

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 been concentrating on the upper Chetco, while Rye has been fishing the lower section of the river. Rye also has spent some time on the Sixes River, while Andy and Travis have made a couple trips to the Smith.

All of the rivers have good numbers of steelhead now. Schools of fish can be seen in the tailouts and the edges of the riffles.

On Monday, Feb. 4, Travis got a double hookup on the Smith just above Ruby. Over the weekend, Andy found a couple of bigger schools on the Chetco and got into several fish in the Wild and Scenic section.

Fishing should stay strong in February, which is the peak season. This year’s run appears to be a little later than most seasons, so fishing likely will remain strong in March.

Wild Rivers Fishing and Brookings Fishing Charters also have been running ocean charters, with good success for lingcod, especially further north near Arch Rock.

Steelhead season begins on Chetco, Smith

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 latest series of rain storms. Capt. Andy and Capt. Rye have both had success, with lots of halfpounders and a few nice adults.

Just before the latest rain storm, schools of steelhead could be seen on the lower Chetco. The fish were holding in the flats and tailouts, waiting for more rain to move upriver.

Peak season on the Chetco is now through late February. March also can be good, especially in the upper river, where Capt. Andy and Capt. Travis are two of just a handful of guides with special permits from the Forest Service to fish.

We also are running ocean bottom fishing charters during the winter months, as the weather allows. Capt. Andy took the Miss Brooke on a rockfish and lingcod charter Jan. 1, the first charter trip of the year out of Brookings. Aside from limits of big rockfish, the six passengers also caught a boat load of lingcod.

To book a river or ocean charter, call (541) 813-1082.

Fall salmon season heats up

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 all season, with limits several days and a few slower days mixed in.

Salmon caught in August 2018 in the Rogue Bay with guide Andy Martin.

The size of the salmon on the Rogue Bay was great this year, with a solid 20-pound average. Fish to 30 pounds were caught each week. This salmon were caught trolling with anchovies and Yakima Bait spinner blades.

A nice king from August 2018 on the Rogue Bay in Gold Beach.

Now that September has arrived, Andy will be shifting gears to the Coos and Coquille rivers, which has some of the prolific fall salmon runs each year on the entire West Coast. The Coos has an abundant run of hatchery kings, with limits common during peak season. Here, we troll plug-cut herring and Fish Flash flashers. Salmon have been caught on the Coos since late August. Peak season is all of September.

In October, Andy and the Wild Rivers Fishing crew will focus on the Chetco estuary and upriver on the Chetco and Smith rivers. The ocean “bubble” season at the mouth of the Chetco runs Oct. 7-8 and 14-15. We have five guides working this fishery so a few seats are still open.

Until the October rains come, Andy will be trolling the Chetco estuary and combining bottom fishing trips. This is a great way to fill the freezer before winter.

The drift boat season will begin as soon as the fall rains arrive. News this year is Andy’s customer 18-foot Clackacraft ClackaMax. This is the same size as the 19-foot Willie boats and is extremely comfortable and roomy to fish from.

Capt. Andy’s new 18-foot ClackMax drift boat.

The Chetco and Smith fall salmon season will run from mid-October through early December. We also will fish the Elk and Sixes if the Chetco and Smith slow.

Andy and Travis are two of the few guides with special-use permits for the Upper Chetco. This is a great fall salmon fishery without the crowds of the lower river.

To book a trip, call 541-813-1082.

Lingcod, rockfish action good out of Brookings

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 stuck close to the harbor.

This week, calm seas with little wind returned, allowing us to get to Mack Arch, where limits have come quickly.

Last week, we ran our first halibut trip of the season out of Brookings. We ended up with two keepers, a 41-incher and a 45-incher, caught in 180 feet of water. The Miss Brooke was the first boat of the season to come back with more than one halibut.

We will begin ocean charters on Saturday, May 19.

For daily fishing reports, please follow our Facebook pages, https://www.facebook.com/brookingsfishingcharters/ and https://www.facebook.com/Wild-Rivers-Fishing-208106299199775/ which are updated with photos and reports daily.

To book a trip, please call (541) 813-1082.

Ocean salmon season begins May 19 out of Brookings

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 the Klamath River, the ocean salmon season was closed out of Brookings, as well as in some Northern California harbors. During the summer, the salmon that are feeding off the coast of Brookings are usually Sacramento River and Klamath River fish.

This year, the pre-season forecast for the Klamath River is 350,000 fish, well up from last year’s 50,000-fish total. The Rogue River forecast is more than 400,000. With the Port of Brookings right in the middle of the ocean feeding area of those runs, we are anticipating a good ocean salmon season on the Southern Oregon Coast.

We will be offering salmon trips daily. We specialize in trolling herring and anchovies for salmon. There are already schools of anchovies off of Brookings, and the pelicans also have arrived. If pelicans are around, the salmon are not too far away.

Our ocean salmon charters are $175 a person and include all bait and tackle. We also fillet or gill and gut your catch.

Call (541) 813-1082 to book an ocean salmon charter out of Brookings.

Another solid steelhead run on the Chetco

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 able to get back onto the water. Before this rain, the Chetco was low and clear, which sent most of the out-of-town guides back home.