Oregon opportunities

Roper

Roper

Idiot Savant, still
Forum Supporter
I have a friend of mine that lives in Oxford UK. He’s going to be visiting his son in San Francisco in September. He’s also going to come up to Everett and join with me for about seven days. We’ll head up to the ranch and do some grouse hunting. On his return to San Francisco he plans to get a one-way rental car. Then he plans to travel down 101 to San Francisco. He’s asked me about fishing opportunities on the way and I have no clue. So I’m asking for you folks that are in Oregon to speak up and offer what opportunities he might have either moving water or saltwater.
 
Roper said:
I have a friend of mine that lives in Oxford UK. He’s going to be visiting his son in San Francisco in September. He’s also going to come up to Everett and join with me for about seven days. We’ll head up to the ranch and do some grouse hunting. On his return to San Francisco he plans to get a one-way rental car. Then he plans to travel down 101 to San Francisco. He’s asked me about fishing opportunities on the way and I have no clue. So I’m asking for you folks that are in Oregon to speak up and offer what opportunities he might have either moving water or saltwater.
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September on the oregon coast? Take a month and fish it all....
 
September is a really good time to thumb a ride on a boat that heads west from land.
 
#101 through Oregon is the coastal route, and being that September is the beginning of prime fall run Kings, fun stops could include:
Pacific City for a night or two, swing for King's on a half day guide trip in tidewater, fly fishing for rock fish at the local reefs from a beach launched dory, troll for King's outside, Albacore as well if they have shown up reasonably close.
Depoe Bay, bit further south, has numerous 6-pak charter boats for trolling King's.
Lots of ocean and river opportunities heading further south.
 
sea run cutties should be in the rivers too if he doesn't have the gear/money for salmon, basically any coastal river has fishable runs.

I've never fished it and I'm not sure exactly about run-timing but Klamath half-pounders might also be an option?
 
As mentioned above, just about any river or stream that flows into the Pacific can hold some manner of anadromous fish ... at the very least, sea-run cutthroat. All the rivers around Tillamook can be good (depending on river conditions). Plus the Alsea and Siuslaw rivers and those in between.
 
Evan B said:
Just be sure to call them "chinook" and not "kings" once you cross over to anything south of puget sound 😂
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"Chinook salmon are the largest of the Pacific salmon, hence the name “king salmon.” They can grow as long as 4.9 feet and up to 129 pounds, but typical length and weight of mature fish are about 3 feet and 30 pounds."

"To fly fish and catch King Salmon in Pacific City, Oregon, you should primarily target the Nestucca River, which is considered a prime location for catching Chinook (King) salmon on the fly, with the best chance of success occurring near the river's mouth where it meets the Pacific Ocean; be prepared to use heavier tackle and larger flies due to the size of the fish."
 
SurfnFish said:
Chinook salmon are the largest of the Pacific salmon, hence the name “king salmon.” They can grow as long as 4.9 feet and up to 129 pounds, but typical length and weight of mature fish are about 3 feet and 30 pounds.
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It's not me you need to convince. Just calling them "kings" or coho "silvers" down in these parts will often get some folks to ask if you're from Alaska or Seattle :ROFLMAO:
 
Evan B said:
It's not me you need to convince. Just calling them "kings" or coho "silvers" down in these parts will often get some folks to ask if you're from Alaska or Seattle :ROFLMAO:
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these parts? Have owned a home in Oregon since the 90's and been here full time for past 18 years. And the guys I spent years swinging for Kings in tidewater with, which included #2 in ODFW and the guy who wrote the state salmon recovery plan? Yea, they called them Kings as well.
Sometimes being correct isn't being right
 
SurfnFish said:
these parts? Have owned a home in Oregon since the 90's and been here full time for past 18 years. And the guys I spent years swinging for Kings in tidewater with, which included #2 in ODFW and the guy who wrote the state salmon recovery plan? Yea, they called them Kings as well.
Sometimes being correct isn't being right
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Hrmm, the circles I run in are just different I guess. They beat it out of me real quick when I moved down here. Might be more of a Columbia fishery thing then. I haven't fished the coastal tribs. Everyone around me and on iFish doesn't use the king/silver terms.

Overall, this was all meant in jest as I really have no opinions. Was just something that surprised me when I started fishing the Columbia and people would correct me.
 
Whew, glad you two cleared that up. Having someone recommend going out and give "swing for King's" a try could be confusing for some people I suppose.
 
Pacific City Dory fly fishing. 6-7 years ago used Pacific City Fly fishing but not sure if around, no more website. It was a father/son outfit. Great time.
Our adventure started 7am. Head out and lay some crab pots (half dozen or so if I remember correctly). Work you way a bit further out..,.probably never more than 2 miles from the beach. That day we targeted rock fish on 8/9 weight rods and it was a blast. Great fighting fish. Had some monster lingcod chasing them on the line at times. Around noon headed back to crab pots… went through them and had a few keepers. Back around 1pm. We were staying in Oregon for the week so we kept the crab and fish. Rock fish make great fish tacos!!!

The Nestucca River be a good place for a DIY. Plenty on the internet for access points

Wilson River is another I would look into.

Nehalem River. Salmon running at this time. You can rent a boat out of Wheeler or bank fish with conventional gear (I’ve tried a couple spots on the lower Nehalem to fly fish but it’s not the best). I have usually gone inland quite a ways to fish it. My best luck was going to the Steelhead Hatchery on the N. Fork and hiking down a ways.

The one thing about several of the Oregon northern coast rivers is that you need a boat or some type of watercraft to fish them more effectively. A lot of the lower stretches run through fields and farms with no bank fishing access. Once you go inland a ways you start finding more opportunities.
 
dbaken said:
Whew, glad you two cleared that up. Having someone recommend going out and give "swing for King's" a try could be confusing for some people I suppose.
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Like I said, it was meant in jest.

I'm more bothered by the misused of apostrophes than what people call chinook/kings ;)
 
When my Puget Sound fishing cousin and best friend from WA come down to fish the Columbia with me in the fall, we like calling the coho "Silver-hos" to be politically correct for all audiences :ROFLMAO:
 
Geez.... I had no idea about the great pacific salmon name wars... In these parts we all call the big ol' salmon Chinooks or Kings -- no one seems to get in an uproar about it one way or the other. The smaller, steelhead size, pacific salmon we call silvers or coho and again, no one I've met gets riled up over one name or the other.

However, I do take acceptation to the term "blueback" when referring to sea-run cutthroat trout. In no way do the fish have a blue back .... caught lots of the critters and have never seen one with a blue back yet. I don't know where the term came from but it is wrong ;):D
 
Like I said, I was just making a joke based on my experiences moving down here from the Puget Sound a few years ago. Didn't know others hadn't had similar experiences. Either way, it wasn't meant as a serious statement from me.
 
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