Tag: Brookings fishing charters

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.

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.

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.