brookings charter boats Archives - Page 2 of 2

Chetco estuary has best salmon season in years

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 ended up well above average.

**Dave Gilmore with the 42-pound king salmon he caught in the Chetco estuary with Capt. Michael. It is the largest king caught with our crew in 2022.**

The action picked up in late August, with a full kings trickling in, and by early September, the action was already in peak-season form. Limits were caught throughout the season. Capt. Michael, Mick, Sam and Shane ran estuary trips for Wild Rivers Fishing. They trolled anchovies or herring along the jetties, targeting salmon moving in and out of the lower river on the tides. The salmon held up along the jetties until fall rains allowed them to migrate upstream to spawn.

**Capt. Mich with a heft Chetco River estuary king salmon from 2022.**

Action remained good through most of October, before significant rains allowed the fish to move into the tidewater. Once more fall rains arrived, our crew switched over to bobber fishing the tidewater areas of the Chetco, and eventually running plugs and back-bouncing roe as major rains arrived in November.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife indicated the 2022 run was well above average, with lots of hatchery and wild fish returning. Lots of jacks showing in the catch indicate another good year likely in 2023.

The hatchery run received a boost from a fairly new broodstock program where hatchery fish are acclimated in Ferry Creek, the lowest tributary of the Chetco. Those fish tend to hold up in the lower river, where anglers trolling the estuary have an easier shot at caching them. The Oregon South Coast Fishermen club plays a key role in collecting broodstock, which are wild salmon returning to the Chetco. The fish are brought to Elk River Hatchery near Port Orford, where they are spawned. The juvenile salmon are then returned to the Chetco. After a brief time in the river, they migrate to the ocean, then return to the river on a spawning run two to four years later.

Salmon return to the Chetco estuary late August through December. The peak season is September and October. After fall rains, the salmon quickly move upriver, spending little time in the estuary. Winter steelhead arrive late November through March. Wild Rivers Fishing guides target salmon first in the estuary, then upriver in their drift boats. They switch to winter steelhead in late December. Peak season for steelhead is January and February.

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

Steelhead season ends strong on Chetco

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 September and October. The fall drift boat season for salmon begins in late October or early November, after the first major fall rains. Winter steelhead will arrive in early December, with the best fishing in January and February.

**A nice steelhead from February 2022 on the Chetco River with Capt. Andy.**

This past season was good overall, despite high water in December, then a prolonged period of low, clear water. Even though the river was low, and difficult at times to get a drift boat through shallow riffles, fishing was good. There was an above-average return of both hatchery and wild steelhead in both the Chetco and Smith rivers during the 2021-22 season.

Fishing was especially good late in the season, after the crowds were gone. Rain in March brought in impressive schools of hatchery and wild steelhead, leading to high scores for the handful of local guides still on the river.

Currently, the best fishing opportunities are in the ocean, through our partner charter company, Brookings Fishing Charters. Learn more about ocean charters out of Brookings at www.brookingsfishing.com

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

**A nice limit of Chetco River steelhead with Capt. Andy in January 2022.**

Salmon season starts hot, slows with low water

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.

**Capt. Andy holds a pair of Chetco River kings from early November.**

In October and early November, the action was great. The Wild Rivers Fishing crew of Andy, Michael, Rye, Mick, Sam and Shane bounced around from the Smith to Chetco and then Elk and Sixes, getting into decent numbers of kings on each trip. The rivers then blew out in early November, and then slowed as the rain stopped.

**Capt. Michael with a chromer Sixes River king salmon.**

Action overall was above-average early in the season, but slow during the second half. Focus now turns to winter steelhead, which are already showing up on the Smith and Chetco rivers, and should get better with rains in mid-December. A few more bright salmon also should show up on the Chetco and Smith, and especially on the Elk and Sixes, after the first big rain of December.

The first drift boat salmon trips started in late September, when rains increased flows on the Smith River and a bunch of jacks moved in. Andy, Rye and Sam got in on the action, and caught big numbers of salmon on plugs. Lots of doubles on the smaller kings stacked up in the lower section of the Smith.

In mid-October, more rains fell, and the drift boat season got underway on the Chetco and Smith. We used bobbers and eggs, plugs and divers and bait to get into fish on both rivers. Another big rain in early November brought in the last decent fishing on the Smith and Chetco, which then slowed as the bulk of the fish moved upstream to spawn.

The action was good on the Elk and Sixes for a couple of weeks, but they too got low and clear and the action slowed.

Peak season for steelhead fishing is late December through February. With several local guides working out of our office, we have some availability. Call (541) 813-1082 to schedule a winter steelhead drift boat trip.

Here are some more photos of our 2021 drift boat salmon season on the Chetco, Smith, Elk and Sixes rivers.

Big steelhead showing up on Chetco, Smith

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 teens.

High water in early January has brought in decent numbers of steelhead. Catch rates, however, are still somewhat low, with one to two fish a day on average. There is a nice mix of hatchery and wild steelhead on the Chetco, while the Smith has a few hatchery steelhead, and plenty of bigger wild fish.

A large hatchery steelhead caught on a 3.5 MagLip in January 2021 on the Chetco River.

As the rivers dropped back into shape after the New Year’s rain storm, the Wild Rivers Fishing crew spent the first few days the Chetco was fishable by running plugs close to shore. A 19-pound and an 18-pound steelhead were caught on 3.5 MagLips. After the river continued to drop, side-drifting was effective.

A 19-pound steelhead caught on the Chetco River in January 2021.

The Wild Rivers Fishing guides have donated a handful of wild steelhead to the ODFW hatchery broodstock program on the Chetco. The steelhead are caught with hook and line, and after being held in live wells on the drift boats, are dropped off in holding pens on the lower river. ODFW then takes the steelhead to the hatchery on the Elk River (there isn’t a hatchery on the Chetco), where they are live spawned. The adult steelhead are released back into the Chetco, and several months later, the juvenile steelhead are brought back to the Chetco.

A beautiful Chetco River wild steelhead that was donated in January to the ODFW broodstock hatchery program.

The last few years, February has been the peak season on the Chetco and Smith rivers. Steelhead season runs through March 31 on the Chetco and the end of April on the Smith.

A hefty Chetco River hatchery steelhead from January 2021.

One of the wild steelhead donated to the broodstock program.

Ocean bottom fishing charters also will begin soon out of the Port of Brookings. The Wild Rivers Fishing crew also captains charter boats in Brookings, targeting lingcod, halibut, salmon, rockfish and albacore tuna.

To book a guided drift boat river trip, or an ocean charter, call (541) 813-1082 or visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

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.

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.

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.