Fishing Report 09-10-2021
Long-time Northwest angler, Mike Hunter, teamed up this week with Fisherman’s Pro Guide, Tim Juarez, to pull this nice Chinook from the fog on an Oregon Coast estuary. Fishing was very good for the group, and they caught several nice Chinook along with some Coho. Nice job, Team!
Fishing Report - September 10th, 2021
Chinook fishing came to a close this week on the lower Columbia. We will wait for an in-season run size update and hopefully get another crack at them later in the month. And with the amount of fish around these pay few days, there will definitely be Chinook around to catch once the river reopens. In the mean time, the Coho fishing in Astoria remains a stellar option. These hard-fighting, great biting Salmon are going to be around for the rest of the month down in the estuary. Trolling is the name of the game and Fisherman’s Pro, Chris Vertopoulos, reports that trolling Pro-Troll Flashers and either anchovies or 3.5 size spinners have been producing well. In particular, he has been using 3.5 spinners and doing extremely well.
He reports that on most tide sets, there have been big pods of Coho flooding into the river. This should continue into October if the 1.6 million Coho prediction comes to fruition, which certainly appears to be the case.
There are many areas up above Bonneville to fish for Chinook and trolling is again one of the top producing techniques. Trolling 360 flashers with Brad’s Superbaits, 3.5 size spinners or Spinfish will all entice bites. Another popular option is to hover fish eggs just a few cranks up off of the bottom of the river. This technique involves free drifting in the current to maintain a natural presentation. Bites may be subtle at times, however, if you find where a good concentration of fish are, you can have great success.
Tillamook Bay and Nehalem Bay have been kicking out Chinook and Coho and will continue to improve as the month moves on. This is another fishery dominated by troll fishermen. Either with triangle flashers and bait, or 360 flashers with spinners. It pays to keep both styles on hand as sometimes the weeds can be a atrocious, making trolling 360 flashers a challenge. Even triangle flashers can be tough to keep clean and trolling just a canon ball and cutplug herring may be the ticket. Make sure to watch the tides and move with the fish as these areas are not very big and the fish can easily move in or out with the tide.
Crabbing is a fun way to spend an afternoon at the coast. Whether you are dropping your pots and going fishing, or dropping pots and checking them routinely. Crabbing is a great option this time of year.
Bottom fishing is still good right now and is a great option for anglers that are craving a bit of salt water. Lingcod are being caught regularly and some of our Pro Staff, including Andy Martin, are reporting lots of limits. Swimbaits, large curly tail grubs and Rock Cod Rigs have all been producing well.
Tuna fishing looks to be lasting through September this year and typically we start to see some of the biggest fish of the year being caught right now. These fish have spent all summer gorging themselves on baitfish and stocking up their fat reserves. Trolling is always a good go-to option whether you want to cover water until you find a school of biting fish. Vertical jigs, swimbaits, X Raps and live bait are all really good options as well.
We are getting two days of keeper Sturgeon fishing on Saturday, September 11th, and Saturday, September 18th. This fishery will be on the Columbia River from the Wauna powerlines upstream to Bonneville Dam, including the Cowlitz River. The slot limit is 44”-50” and the limit is one per day and two per year.
Tributary coho have started to show up and with this year's gigantic Coho forecast there will definitely be big early pushes of fish. These early fish are typically going to hang out in the very lower reaches of the river waiting for the first few drops of rain to fall. Once we get a few showers these fish will blast up to their respective hatchery. Spinners, plugs, spoons, jigs and eggs are all good bait choices. Always bring several options with you as, at times, these early fish can be picky.
Trout fishing is starting to become a better option for folks as cooler evening temps are going to start dropping lake temperatures into a cooler range where Trout become more active. Spinners and trolling small plugs are good early morning options. Bait off of the bottom is always a go-to for fishermen, as it is a technique that works all year long and for all types of Trout.
Always be sure to check local regulations at ODFW and WDFW before heading out. Find reports and two most widely used baits, information on the Fisherman's Community page.
