Fishing Report 09-24-2021
Coho Salmon everywhere love to smash a Blue Fox Vibrax Spinner! Be sure to check out our HUGE selection of Blue Fox Spinners at Fisherman’s Marine and Outdoor, and when you’re successful catching some hatchery fin-clipped Coho, bring them into one of our three store locations to enter them into our Coho Derby, on now through October 30th! (All fish must be gutted prior to weigh-in.) Fish on!
Fishing Report - September 24th, 2021
Fall Chinook fishing on the Columbia River remains good, and fishermen are enjoying the freedom of fishing from Warrior Rock all the way to Bonneville. Depending on where you are fishing, the techniques tend to vary a little bit. Down near Warrior Rock, you will find anglers anchor fishing with wobblers and spinners on the outgoing tide. Trolling spinners, Brad’s Superbaits, Spinfish and even Spin-N-Glos behind 360 flashers is probably the most popular technique. Regardless of the tide you will find anglers trolling. Over the past few years folks have figured out just how deadly this technique can be. You typically keep your gear suspended up off the bottom and even stagger your depths to dial-in exactly what depth they are running at that day. Up near Bonneville, you will find anglers trolling 360 flashers as well, but you will also find a lot of anglers anchoring with Kwikfish, Maglips or Brad’s Killerfish. The water can be pushing really hard at times, making anchor fishing a great choice. Your gear is always fishing, and the current pushes the fish to the bottom, right in front of your gear.
Coho have begun entering local tributaries and we are starting to hear some decent reports of anglers finding success. Last week’s rain definitely helped out and brought some cooler water temps and even a bump in river height to some areas. These Coho are so sensitive to rain that even a few tenths of an inch can really get them moving upriver and on the bite. Spinners, spoons and plugs are all killer ways to find pods of fish and get the aggressive biters when you are searching around looking for fish. Once you locate them, eggs, jigs, beads and hardware are all techniques that anglers will throw to pick off the biting fish. Look for this fishery to really take off after our next good shot of rain.
Down at the coast anglers are still finding success targeting Coho in Astoria. Now, many anglers choose to follow the Chinook up river or down the coast line but those that stick around searching for Coho are often rewarded with fresh shots of fish on nearly every tide set. As of September 7th, the daily limit of Coho from Tongue Point to The Buoy 10 Marker is 3 adults. This can mean a very full fish box at the end of the day for Astoria anglers. Spinners, herring, anchovies, Spinfish and Brad’s Superbaits all will produce well for Coho. Using either 360 flashers or triangle flashers will both yield bites, but what the fish want may change at different parts of the tide, so bringing both setups can be beneficial.
In the ocean, south of Cape Falcon and down to Humbug Mountain, ODFW had set a season for retention of wild Coho. And anglers are loving the opportunity for more fish in the box. Along with quite a few Chinook in the mix, the Coho fishing has been good and should stay open until September 30th, unless we reach the quota. Trolling Herring, Spinfish, Superbaits and spinners have all been producing. Spreading out your gear and staggering your depths will allow you to find where the fish are and maybe even target Chinook or Coho separately, if they are spread out in the water column that day.
Inside Tillamook and Nehalem Bays the fishing is getting better by the day and will continue to improve as the weeks progress into October. Trolling herring and a triangle flasher has worked here for as long as folks have been fishing. These big fall Chinook have a hard time resisting a large, spinning herring. 360 flashers and spinners or Superbaits have also become a staple in these fisheries. Whatever your fancy, it’s always a good idea to keep both setups on hand incase the fish decide they prefer one or the other on that day.
Crabbing continues to be good in both of these estuaries and will continue to get better as we get into October.
Razor Clamming was great this past weekend in Long Beach as it hadn’t been open for nearly a year. The tides were very early in the morning so participation was a little lower than normal, but we have many more tentative dates throughout the fall to capitalize on these delicious clams.
ODFW is starting to ramp up their Trout stocking efforts as lakes are cooling down. This week they are stocking Henry Hagg Lake with over 5,000 legal and trophy Trout; Detroit Reservoir was stocked with nearly 4,000 Trout; and Foster Reservoir got 3,300 legal Trout. These freshly-stocked fish make for great sport and good time for the whole family. Fishing bait under a bobber or off of the bottom works really well for stocked Trout as well as casting spinners and Kastmasters.
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.
