Oregon bottom fish report

I have a buddy with a boat moored at Depoe Bay. He gets out to fish for black rockfish on the fly and offered to take me and my brother. I have always wanted to do this trip, and had been thinking about a dory charter, so this was a major bonus for me.

We had calm seas and mild wind but lots of low thick fog. The passage out thru the chasm at Depoe Bay is a thrill. Lots and lots of sportfishers and big cattleboat charters charging out. We fished nearby in about 40 feet of water and the fish were showing on the depth finder at 25-35 feet. We used 8/9 wt rods with fast sinking heads and clousers, decievers and various bunny flies. Huck it out, stack mend on top and wait for it to sink. Not too elegant but it was actual flyfishing.

Fish were caught and strong pullers though it wasn't fast action. I prolly landed about 10 and my brother and my friend did better. At times, we could see nice schools of fish on the fishfinder but they (suprisingly) weren't super grabby. No surface action seen, but another boat reported fish taken on top with lures. Maybe poppers next time?

Anyway, a great Oregon adventure, and I came home with a nice bag of fillets and crab too. Lots of fun!

 

[Paige]

Great fun!
If one was to let said rock fish swim down to the bottom, there is a strong chance of getting a lingcod to jump on!

 

[Denwor54]

I have fly fished this fishery on the Oregon coast for at least the last 15 years. It’s amazing that your fish finder will be solid fish and not hook a fish. Each year is unique as there is a vast variety of food sources. It can vary a lot with crab spawn, jellyfish, a hole variety of bait fish and squid. This year was baitfish was that ticket and fished on a fast strip the ticket. We had a lot of bird activity which was new to me and I adapted and was rewarded with a fish on every cast. If you repeat this trip feel free to reach out and send me a pm as the local guides give me updates on conditions. Last year the rockfish were looked into widow rockfish smolts so it may appear that your on large concentrations of fish but they can be focused on a specific food
Tight lines
Dennis

 

[Wade Rivers]

I have fly fished this fishery on the Oregon coast for at least the last 15 years. It’s amazing that your fish finder will be solid fish and not hook a fish. Each year is unique as there is a vast variety of food sources. It can vary a lot with crab spawn, jellyfish, a hole variety of bait fish and squid. This year was baitfish was that ticket and fished on a fast strip the ticket. We had a lot of bird activity which was new to me and I adapted and was rewarded with a fish on every cast. If you repeat this trip feel free to reach out and send me a pm as the local guides give me updates on conditions. Last year the rockfish were looked into widow rockfish smolts so it may appear that your on large concentrations of fish but they can be focused on a specific food
Tight lines
Dennis

Hey Dennis, thanks for the input.

Looking back we shoulda done a gut check on the first couple fish over the rail. That might of given us some guidance on fly selection. My buddy jigged with gear for a bit and caught a nice fat cabazon. At the cleaning station we found multiple small dungeness in it's gut. A crab pattern might be an idea too.

Cheers, WR

 

[SurfnFish]

I have a buddy with a boat moored at Depoe Bay. He gets out to fish for black rockfish on the fly and offered to take me and my brother. I have always wanted to do this trip, and had been thinking about a dory charter, so this was a major bonus for me.

We had calm seas and mild wind but lots of low thick fog. The passage out thru the chasm at Depoe Bay is a thrill. Lots and lots of sportfishers and big cattleboat charters charging out. We fished nearby in about 40 feet of water and the fish were showing on the depth finder at 25-35 feet. We used 8/9 wt rods with fast sinking heads and clousers, decievers and various bunny flies. Huck it out, stack mend on top and wait for it to sink. Not too elegant but it was actual flyfishing.

Fish were caught and strong pullers though it wasn't fast action. I prolly landed about 10 and my brother and my friend did better. At times, we could see nice schools of fish on the fishfinder but they (suprisingly) weren't super grabby. No surface action seen, but another boat reported fish taken on top with lures. Maybe poppers next time?

Anyway, a great Oregon adventure, and I came home with a nice bag of fillets and crab too. Lots of fun!




View attachment 123921

healthy black!

 

[Nick Clayton]

Nice job. Rockfish on the fly are sooo much fun. One of my favorite things to do.

Black rockfish in particular can be some of the most finicky fish you'll ever encounter. They can get super keyed in on one particular food source and can't be bothered to even look at anything else. Of course at other times they are as dumb and aggressive as any fish that swims.