Uncategorized Archives - Page 3 of 4

Salmon season winds down, steelhead next

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 weeks into the season, most of the salmon run has now spawned as the first steelhead begin to show up.

A nice king salmon released on the Smith River with guide Rye Phillips of Wild Rivers Fishing.

The opening day on the Smith resulted in epic fishing for the guides Wild Rivers Fishing had on the river. Andy, Mick, Rye and Sam got customers into big numbers of kings, with double-digit hookups for some of the anglers. Salmon had been stacking up in the Smith for weeks, as the fish were biting aggressively during the opener.

The next day, heavy rains blew out both the Chetco and Smith. From that point until now, the salmon fishing has been tough on both rivers, as many of the kings spawned as soon as the water levels rose.

Customers hold a bright Chetco king caught with guide Michael McGahan of Wild Rivers Fishing.

The Chetco produced decent salmon fishing the first week it was open, with bright kings spread throughout the lower river. But with rains arriving late this year, the majority of the salmon spawned soon after the first big rise in flows. The last several days, fishing has been tough.

Capt. Andy holds a big king caught on a MagLip plug.

For the past week, salmon fishing has been slow, but adult steelhead are beginning to show up on the Chetco. There have been reports of four steelhead Thanksgiving week on the lower river, along with big numbers of halfpounders.

A customer battles a king salmon on the Smith River.

Salmon will continue to trickle in for the next month, while the steelhead run will accelerate. Expect steelhead fishing to be good by late December. Some seasons, limits are possible by the second week of December. January and February are the peak season for steelhead on the Chetco and Smith rivers.

Longtime customer Dave holds a nice Smith River king caught with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing.

Longtime customer Jerry holds a Sixes River king caught with guide Shane Brooks of Wild Rivers Fishing.

Longtime customer Vince holds a bright Chetco king caught with guide Michael McGahan of Wild Rivers Fishing.

A bright Smith River hatchery king caught with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing.

Last season, salmon fishing remained good on the Elk and Sixes rivers into late December. Good flows are needed to get down these small coastal rivers, and they will remain options as weather conditions allow.

One of the highlights of fall fishing on the Smith and Chetco is the beautiful scenery, and autumn colors. Colorful trees still line the banks of the rivers. By January, the leaves will be gone, and the cold weather will trigger the main migration of winter steelhead.

To book a winter steelhead trip, visit www.wildriversfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

Salmon season begins on Chetco

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 during the peak season upriver, according to longtime Brookings-based guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. Andy has been fishing several Oregon Coast rivers in recent weeks, but will now focusing mainly on the Chetco and Smith rivers since salmon have arrived. He was on the Coos and Millicoma rivers near Coos Bay, Ore., last week, as well as the Umpqua and Rogue rivers in recent weeks.

Customers of Wild Rivers Fishing hold nice kings caught last week on the Coos River.

The Chetco River is the biggest draw in early October because of the potential for a trophy fish. In 2008, one of Andy’s customers caught a 58-pound king at the mouth of the Chetco, the biggest king in recent memory there. He also guided customers into a 65-pound king upriver in recent years, and has guided anglers to more than a dozen salmon over 50 pounds on the Chetco and Smith rivers.

Bright jack salmon caught Sept. 28 with Capt. Andy of Wild Rivers Fishing on the Chetco estuary, plus an adult king.

This year, despite ODFW’s forecast of a less-than-stellar return to the Chetco, big numbers of jack salmon have arrived. Several nice adults also have already been caught in the Chetco. The salmon are a bit early, an indication of a strong run, Martin said. The popular bubble season, where anglers fish in the ocean off the mouth of the Chetco in October, was canceled this year by ODFW, but there is a silver lining. That means 1,000 king salmon will not be harvested in the ocean by sport and commercial fishermen this year, adding to the in-river fishery. In years without an October bubble season, the fishing in the estuary and upriver after the rains is often above average.

A 29-pound king caught Sept. 28 at the mouth of the Chetco by a customer fishing with Capt. Rich of Brookings Fishing Charters.

In recent years, the Chetco estuary has fished better than normal because of the release of 15,000 fall chinook smolts that are acclimated to Ferry Creek, the first tributary of the Chetco above the estuary. Those salmon tend to hold longer in the estuary, fueling the sport fishery in late September and October. Another 100,000 fall chinook smolts are released at Social Security Bar. Lots of hatchery fish are already showing in the catch of the 2020 salmon return. Since the majority of the salmon on the Chetco are wild, that indicates there are a lot of bigger wild fish to come.

Ana of Brookings caught this big salmon over the weekend on the Coos River with Capt. Andy.

Anglers and guides will focus on the Chetco estuary until fall rains come. They will then head upriver on the Chetco, or to the Smith River in Northern California, with their drift boats. Both rivers produce big salmon. Capt. Andy said he will be bobber fishing with eggs, back-bouncing eggs, and running plugs, especially MagLips, HawgNose and FlatFish from Yakima Bait Company.

A pair of nice salmon caught on the Coos River in September 2020.

The limit on the Chetco is one adult salmon a day, wild or hatchery, beginning Oct. 1. Anglers also can keep five jacks a day less than 24 inches. New this year, after an adult salmon is retained, the angler must rack their rod.

The Chetco estuary is currently open. The river above the estuary, marked by the powerlines across the river at rivermile 2.2, opens after significant fall rains. ODFW’s Gold Beach office will decide when to open the river.

The Smith River opens above Rowdy Creek any time flows pass 600 cfs. Until then, fishing is limited to the Sand Hole and mouth areas near Ship Ashore. Capt. Andy will spend some of his time trolling herring at the Sand Hole. He also bobber fishes the area.

Along with Capt. Andy, guides Travis Sallander, Rye Phillips, Michael McGahan and Shane Brooks run trips for Wild Rivers Fishing. Rich Signorello, Mick Thomas and Sam Stover also help out with larger parties.

To book a fall salmon trip, visit www.wildriversfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

Ocean charter season begins, salmon, halibut openers near

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.

Capt. Andy Martin and his daughter Alexandra hold a pair of vermilion rockfish caught off the coast of Brookings in early April 2020.

The Miss Brooke, Papa B, The Dash and ‘Bout Time have been running ocean charters since January. Ocean fishing was good in March, before stay-home orders brought charters to a standstill just before Spring Break. Lingcod fishing has been especially good this year, and the number of large vermilion rockfish has been above average. With the charter fleet grounded because of social distancing mandates, the crew has been taking their families fun fishing, and getting nice limits of lingcod and rockfish.

A nice lingcod caught in April 2020 by Jim Martin, Capt. Andy’s father, near House Rock.

We hope to resume ocean charters in May, just in time for the Pacific halibut opener. Pacific halibut season runs May 1-Oct. 31. Fishing is hit-and-miss off the coast of Brookings, but Brookings Fishing Charters has the highest success rate of any local charter company catching these prized fish. Several Pacific halibut are brought in by the Brookings Fishing Charters crew each year.

Pacific halibut, lingcod and rockfish caught last season aboard the Miss Brook near Mack Arch.

The ocean salmon season out of Brookings will run June 20-Aug. 7 this year. Late June and early to mid-July are the peak season for king salmon. Brookings Fishing Charters is one of the most successful charter fleets on the entire Oregon Coast at catch king salmon in the ocean for customers. This year’s ocean season is promising, with a combined ocean abundance forecast for the Sacramento, Klamath and Rogue rivers of nearly 1 million adult king salmon. Salmon from the Sacramento River make up the majority of the ocean catch off of Brookings. This year’s forecast for the Sacramento is almost 500,000 adult kings.

Anglers hold California halibut caught last August with Capt. Andy Martin out of Brookings.

California halibut have been off the coast of Brookings for decades, but the fish have been fairly elusive. While Cali Hali are incidentally caught each summer by anglers targeting bottom fish or salmon close to shore, few skippers have been able to dial in how to catch them. Last summer, Capt. Andy had several impressive days fishing for California halibut, with catch rates of three to five fish per angler. The best time for Cali Hali is July through September.

Capt. Rye and Capt. Mick with albacore tuna caught last summer off the coast of Brookings aboard The Dash.

Brookings Fishing Charters also was successful last summer at getting customers into albacore tuna. The six-pack charters were able to quickly get offshore and find the prized fish, with very good catch rates. Tuna trips are based on a call list. Call (541) 813-1082 to get on the list. Trips are booked when weather and fishing conditions allow.

Alexandra with a nice rockfish caught in April.

Customers of the Miss Brooke hold lingcod and rockfish caught in late March, before ocean charters were put on hold because of covid-19 stay-home orders.

To learn more about our ocean charters, visit www.brookingsfishing.com. We off daily trips, weather permitting, out of the Port of Brookings. We also have a dock slip in Gold Beach for Rogue Reef lingcod and rockfish in June, July and August. For information, call (541) 813-1082.

All of the ocean charters working out of the Brookings Fishing Charters office are six-pack charter boats, with local owners and operators.

The Miss Brooke is owned by Capt. Andy Martin and operated by Andy and Capt. Travis Sallander.

The Dash is owned and operated by Capt. Rye Phillips.

The Papa B is owned and operated by Capt. Mike Brouillette.

The ‘Bout Time is owned and operated by Capt. Rich Singnorello.

Strong salmon run expected to Rogue Bay

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.

Anglers hold ocean-bright king salmon caught on the Rogue Bay with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing.

This year’s fall king salmon forecast for the Rogue is strong. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates the ocean abundance of fall king salmon from the Rogue River is 257,000. Of those, ODFW predicts the in-river run to be around 60,000 adult fall kings.

An angler holds a 25-pound king salmon caught on the Rogue Bay with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing.

Salmon begin returning to the bay in June. By early July, fishing is generally fair to good, with peak season in late July and August. Thousands of salmon will arrive in the bay, but warm water above the Highway 101 bridge often keeps them from continuing upstream. The ocean-bright salmon hold in the bay, moving back and forth with the tide until water temperatures in the tidewater area drop below 70 degrees.

A 30-pound Rogue Bay king salmon caught with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing.

The bay is a troll fishery. Guides and other anglers will troll anchovies behind spinner blades. The key is to get an anchovy to rapidly spin and trigger a strike. Veteran guides have years of experience threading anchovies to create that perfect spin. The best guides also know where to find the salmon at certain times in the tide, how much weight to use, how far to let the line out, and how fast to troll.

When lots of salmon stack up in the Rogue Bay, the action can be fast and furious. Here is a catch caught in guide Andy Martin’s sled.

One of the big draws of the Rogue Bay is the calm, protected water. Ocean-bright fish hold between the historic Gold Beach bridge and the tips of the jetties. Here, anglers don’t have to worry about big waves or sea sickness. The shallow water of the bay also concentrates the salmon into a small area, giving anglers an advantage. Catch rates can be high, with a couple hundred salmon caught in a single day by the dozens of boats trolling.

Guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing nets a king salmon for a customer during the 2019 season on the Rogue Bay.

There are plenty of guides to choose from on the Rogue. Guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing is a local, year-round guide based on the Southern Oregon Coast. Many of the guides who fish the Rogue come from outside of the area. Aside from being a local guide, Andy also is a full-time guide, not a hobby guide. Growing up in Brookings, just down the road from Gold Beach and the Rogue Bay, Andy has fished the Rogue for more than three decades and has guided there for more than 15 years.

Guide Andy Martin with a hefty king salmon caught by customer Carolyn Ford.

Last year, the Rogue had big numbers of jack salmon. These 2-year-old salmon are a good indicator of the follow year’s run. In August, guides were catching two to four jacks a person, and losing several more. That should equate to a big numbers of larger adult salmon this summer on the Rogue Bay.

Customers of guide Andy Martin hold jack salmon caught last August on the Rogue Bay. The big number of jacks last year means there will be plenty of adult salmon in 2020.

The limit on the Rogue Bay is two adult king salmon a day, plus five jacks less than 24 inches. When fishing is good, anglers expect to catch one to two adults a person. The salmon are in prime shape, bright and full of fat. The Rogue River is known as having the best-tasting salmon in the world. During the World’s Fair in Seattle year ago, there was a taste contest to determine the best-tasting king salmon. The Rogue won!

Guide Andy Martin holds a 30-pound king salmon caught by customer Jeff Kimball of Seattle.

Andy fishes the Rogue Bay in a custom 26-foot Alumaweld guide sled. It is one of the biggest boats on the bay. He also runs rockfish and lingcod combination trips, fishing the ocean first thing in the morning and then trolling the bay the rest of the day.

Guide Andy Martin holds a typical Rogue Bay king salmon.

To book a summer salmon trip on the Rogue Bay, visit www.wildriversfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

2020 steelhead run above average

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 when conditions were right.

We began the season with high, off-colored water, and spent much of early January on the Smith River in Northern California. The Chetco was too high until late January, but as it dropped, fishing was excellent. He encountered large numbers of hatchery fish this year, along with a strong run of wild steelhead. Overall, the Smith had one of its best runs in years, with new fish continuing to arrive. The Chetco was also very good, although it has been low and clear since mid-February. There are plenty of fish around, but they are tough to catch with low, clear water.

An angler holds a dandy winter steelhead from early February 2020 on the Chetco River, caught with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing.

We caught most of our steelhead this season on roe and Puff Balls or Corkies, side-drifting on the lower portions of the river. The lower Chetco was especially productive this season, as was the Smith between the Forks and Ruby.

We ran several large groups this season, and found good success on the Chetco and Smith rivers. With several full-time guides working out of the Brookings Fishing Charters and Wild Rivers Fishing office, we can accommodate groups to 12 people or more.

Steelhead season remains open through March on the Chetco and through April on the Smith. We are now focusing on ocean charters out of Brookings, where lingcod and rockfish season is under way.

Some of the lingcod caught in March 2020 aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters.

During our ocean charters, we target rockfish and lingcod year round. The ocean salmon season is expected to open in mid-May. Halibut season opens May 1. Our very popular Rogue Bay summer salmon season begins in late June or early July, as fall king salmon begin to arrive.

Some of the nice kings we caught in August 2019 on the Rogue River Bay. We begin Rogue Bay salmon trips in late June or early July.

You can follow our daily fishing reports at https://www.facebook.com/brookingsfishingcharters/ or at https://www.facebook.com/Wild-Rivers-Fishing-208106299199775/

To book a trip, visit our online booking calendar at www.brookingsfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

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.