09/30/2007

Hi Scott

I decided to go fishing this morning in the rain to try my luck.  Left at 9:00 a.m. I was fishing with plug cut herring, bouncing the bottom in 20 feet of water below the bridge.  After a long dry spell I made 2 passes and got 2 fish.  One 25 lbs. And one 15 lbs.  Was back in camp by 10:00 a.m.  Both fish were chrome.  Maybe the rain has helped bring in the fish.  It's about time.  I hope to send in another report tomorrow. I will have my wife Pat along and she always out fishes me.

Love your site.

Jerry litalien

Hi Jerry, I just love reports like yours. I just got thru commenting that maybe this rain we got this weekend would help jumpstart the chinook fishing and then I got your report in about 10 minutes later. I going to have to watch it or people will start thinking I know what I'm talking about :).  It may be the beginning of good things to come. Thanks for thinking of us and sending in your report. I know you go out of your way to get these to us and that makes them even more appreciated.


Scott

09/30/2007

On September 25th we took our friends Al & Jeanette on their first salmon fishing trip.  They had come over from Winston for this outing.  We launched at East Side and headed for the Marshfield channel.  After marking a number of fish, trolling the channel a number of times and seeing fish caught we decided to motor up to SOMAR for a try there.  On our first pass past the barge we made the turn up Coos River and Al hooked up with a fish.  He landed a 24.5lb hen.  She sure was a beauty.  This was his first salmon!!

P.S. We decided to go fishing on September 20th to try our luck.  We did not get a early start and of course the wind had to come up pretty strong, a few white caps here and there.  After fishing for a number of hours we decided to call it quites.   We were on the island side across from the Orca Coast Guard dock or in that area when Don's pole went crazy.  He had hooked 18lb hen.  This was his first fish in two years.  So far that has been the only fish brought home but not for lack of trying.

 

Carol Banhart

Well goes to show we are never to old to try something new and with a success like this it probably won't be the last time he goes fishing for salmon. Sometimes we think we hooked the fish when they in fact hooked us on fishing for them. Congratulations Al, nice fish!. It is always a real treat to watch someone land their first salmon, young and old alike. Thanks for the report and the photo.


Scott

09/30/2007

Hi Scott,

Fished the Umpqua Saturday, 29th of September. Shot up river from Winchester Bay, it was cold!! Started fishing at Dean Creek with a strong outgoing tide at first light using a snubber, followed by a fish flash, then a five foot leader with plug cut herring, that was brined and blued. 10 minutes later Sherrie had a nice big silver, unfortunately it was not fin clipped, back in it went. Ran back up and made another run. Bang, Sherrie hooked and landed a nice 21 lb. nook. Picked up and ran back up, made another pass and had a nice take down but didn't stick. Made another run and bang I picked up a nice 25 lb. Chinook. All fish and take downs were in about 15 ft of water using 5oz of lead on a 18 in dropper line. We fished pretty much down the middle of the river. Will try again next weekend.

John and Sherrie

Hello there John & Sherrie, now that is a fishing report! Straight to the point.  It does the heart good to hear about folks bringing in the Chinook. Things are steadily starting to pick up a little. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything new when I say how hard the fishing pressure is right now, on just about all the Oregon coastal rivers. I am hoping this rainy weekend we are having will start moving a few more of the big fellows in out of the ocean.  There are allot of fish in the river right now, the bite has just not been red hot. Need something to get them started a little harder on the bite. Thanks for the report and pictures.


Scott

 

09/30/2007

Scott,

Fished Friday afternoon at Gold Beach with my family. My daughter Sara caught this one (about 8 lbs) and a small jack. Did not see very many fish caught for how many boats were there.

I fished solo Saturday and never had a bite, saw about 30 caught with a very few large Chinook in the bag for the 80 or so boats there. For how good the ocean silver fishing was, they sure have not shown up in the rivers.

Thanks for the great site!

Mike

Hi Mike, tell your daughter we all said congratulations on her catch. The fishing has not been what we have all come to expect this year, all the runs have been a little smaller in numbers and late it schedules we have become accustomed to as well. I still have high hopes of a late run of Chinook this year however I think most of he annual visitors will be on their way to their winter homes before they show up in any real numbers. The locals may have a late season to remember this year. Thanks for sending in your report.


 Scott

09/27/2007

Hi Scott,

 My brother who is in the Air Force, was in town on personal family business. We were able to get out for a couple of hours on the Coos River. The boat was in the water for less than five min. When he hooked up with this nice 21 lbs nooker. We were fishing plug cut herring and my brother was using a nice herring rig my dad made. We were fishing around the forks of the Coos.

My brother has been overseas and in Idaho for the last thirteen years and I think this might have been his first salmon trip, so it was very special for my dad and I who go out all the time. Good luck and tight lines to everyone.

Wes

Hi Wes and thanks for sharing your fishing report with all of us here at Fish-Works. As a father of grown children I can tell you how rare and special those days are when I get a chance to get together with my boys fishing. That is a fine looking Chinook your brother put in the boat, and if it was his first Salmon trip, then it was only right, that if only one fish was to be caught, that he would be the one to catch it.


Scott

09/26/2007

Hi Scott,

Well I have been fishing about as much as I can for the last week.  Contrary to what the ODFW fishing report says, Chinook fishing in Coos Bay shouldn't be described as "good" more like spotty at best.  I fished Monday with a guide, down on the Marshfield channel and saw one fish caught by noon.  Although another boat at the ramp said he seen 4 caught all morning.  I would estimate there were 50-60 boats in the lower river, most boats had 2-4 people on them.  We pulled out at noon and launched up river to try some bobber and egg fishing.  We didn't even get a take down.  I bobber fished the bank yesterday, Tuesday, and saw 2 jacks caught and one tagger lost.  Thanks to a boat driving to close to our lines.  Please you folks in boats give bank fisherman some room.  If see them with a fish on give them a wide berth.  Don't continue to troll through everyone's lines.
 
Wish I had a better report, but I figure I could at least save someone a trip down here if they were going based on the ODFW fishing report. 
 
 tight lines and keep your tip up
 
Shawn Chase

Hey there Shawn,

sorry to hear that the fishing has been so slow, pretty much what I'm hearing from most that emailing me lately. I keep thinking and hoping that it will take off like gangbusters before long on the Fall Chinook but when and if is still a guessing game without more evidence in the mix. I agree with your call for courtesy from those who are fishing from there boats, there is plenty of river for us all, the guys who are bank fishing are limited in what they can do to stay out of your way and you need to do the same for them. When I was a much younger guy we were bank fishing where the Columbia and Snake come together. Folks were standing side by side fishing, and a boat fisherman kept coming in way to close and chopping folks lines up. Everyone was screaming at him and he seemed to take a lot of pleasure in seeing others upset, flipping folks off and screaming profanities in response. Finally an old guy who was camping there went back to his trailer and came back out with a shotgun. He had loaded it with slugs and put two rounds through the front end of the guys boat near the water line, next thing we knew he was going back up the river on a full plane, to keep his boat nose out of the water,  till he got back to the boat ramp. It didn't end happily ever after, the State Police showed up about an hour later and arrested the guy and confiscated his shotgun, however we did start catching salmon after that :)>. 

 
 Scott

09/23/2007

Hi Scott,

 We had a chance to hit the river again Friday. We took along Aaron Richards who caught his first salmon, a beautiful bright silver hen weighing 28lbs.  We also caught a jack but got off the water early at 10:30.  We were trolling plug cut herring.

By the way we have been using the brining method  we got from your site last year.  We love it and recommend it and your site to all our friends.  We love seeing fisherman catch the fish. It makes all the hardwork of all the STEP volunteers worth it! 

 Valerie
>=}}}}}(*>

Hello Valerie, I think it is special moment for someone to catch their first Salmon, no matter how old we are when it happens. I remember too well as a young man raising my own kids up, wondering if they would ever know what it was to land their first Chinook. There was a point in time that without the hard work of the STEP program, the Fall Chinook runs would be something our kids only read about. I remember breathing a sigh of relief as my youngest son reeled his first one in. Now as I watch my grandsons growing up, I hope that some of the things we have done during the course of our lives will insure that the Chinook are there for them and their children too. You can thank Larry Moore, the site originator for the Herring Brine Recipe. His special twist seems to work well for allot of folks. I have couple of dozen packaged up and ready to go for my next salmon fishing trip. Thanks for the report.


 Scott

09/21/2007

Thanks Scott,

I have been on the go ever since this weekend and exhausted.  I did get to go fishing today with my husband (never get to fish the derby as I am working and camping out in the trailer the entire weekend at a ramp).   I caught a really nice bright 21lb Chinook today on the Coos River. It was a hen with lots of sea lice attached and really red firm meat. We saw about 12 caught and all looked to be ocean bright.  A lot of boats moved up river after a morning fog lifted but don't know how they did.   That's a good sign that more fish are moving in.

Valerie Pena
>=}}}}}(*>

Hi Valerie, thanks for the update on the Fishing Derby, I have had emails this week asking what the results were. I sounds like there was a great turnout and plenty of fish caught, so everyone should consider it a great success. I'm glad you and your husband got some time to get some fishing done for yourselves. I'm hearing the same thing, allot more activity all along the central Oregon coast. Allot of the fishing pressure right now will be headed south here in a couple more weeks and leave the rivers to the locals to finish up the season for them. I think that this year with everything running just a bit behind schedule, October and November could prove to be excellent Chinook fishing months this year.


Scott

09/18/2007

Fished the incoming tide (9:00 - 3:30) again on the 16th and hooked and landed one. There were tons of boats out but our chinook was the only fish we saw caught all day. He sure was scrappy making several nice runs. We were fishing plug cut herring just off of the bottom trolling with the tide in the lanes.

Scott E. Touchette 

Hey Scott, it looks like you did alright for yourself given some of the recent Chinook fishing reports. I'm of the mind that we are still a couple of weeks out from the height of the fall run. It seems to me that everything this year has been a few weeks behind schedule, and the numbers are less in general than what we have seen in recent years. I think we all got spoiled a little the past few years. There are still plenty of more productive days ahead yet this season.


Scott

09/17/2007

Hi Scott,

Fished the Umpqua the past two days, above the bridge to Dean Creek.  Resulted in a couple of nice salmon, one 34-1/2 lbs and the other 15 lbs.  It's been tough fishing so far this year, I'm still hoping that a nice run will reach the river before I have to go home.  Used cut-plug herring for both fish.

Jerry L'Italien 

Hello there Jerry, it's been awhile, I'm sure happy to see you knocked out a few of them Chinook down there. While things seem to be off to a slow start this year I think we are going to see a strong finish this summer, or should I say fall. I know allot of folks plan their time out here on the coast based on what the patterns have been in recent years, however this year the runs seem to be a little smaller and later than usual as well. The bright side is, that I'll be here to catch whatever is left after you all go home ;). Thanks for the report and will look for more success stories before you go home.


Scott

09/17/2007

Hi Scott

I took Nate (big bass) and Dave (small bass) smallie fishing on the Umpqua below Elkton. Very fun day, caught about 50 bass, all drop shotting 4” plastic worms. We also saw a school of 15 Chinook moving upriver, and another big bunch of either Coho or Steelhead just up from Sawyer’s Rapids. As soon as we get some good rain I think things are going to turn on.

Take care,

Rod Lathrop

Hey there Rod, quite a switch from your last report that had you out in the middle of the Pacific. What a great way to spend a day. The smallmouth bass fishing up around Elkton is not reported  on very often but it can be phenomenal fun at certain times of the year. I agree with your on the Salmon fishing, there are allot of fish out there they just seem to be laying up and not doing a bunch, a few days of rain could really put this whole thing in motion. The one guy looks like he is holding the bait used the catch the other one ;).


Scott

09/16/2007

Hi Scott   Back at it again today at the old Halibut hole 3 chicks and one grandpa, weight was 87 pounds  and a sore arms crazy drift, things are changing again back to a rough ocean for the next several days I need a couple of days off anyway. Tight Lines Capt. Rick

Captain Rick Mason
Salmon Harbor Charter Fishing
(541) 271-2010
 www.salmonharborcharterfishing.com

Hi there Captain Rick, it looks like for size, that one in the middle made that guys trip worth while. I relate to the sore arms, you don't think of halibut fishing being all that physical but lifting that weight up and down off the ocean floor all day sure let's you know the following day what you were doing, and reeling a few of them big boys up from 300 feet down will test your physical metal a little as well. I guess we can be grateful for weather we had the last few days and hope for more later this month. Still plenty of time to get a few more Halibut and Tuna trips in out there if nature cooperates a little while longer. Enjoy your days off and get some needed and deserved rest. Thanks for the report.


 Scott

 

09/16/2007

scott; got out on the big flat pond on Saturday--what a beautiful day on the ocean!!!  we started just outside on the Siuslaw and trolled around the buoy for about and hr--nothing so we picked up and went out to 240' --a seal lion popped up so we left and went out to 280'-- trolling north-down about 30'

 hooked up on 5 nice Coho only able to bring one on board --came back in around the buoy close to high tide and picked up one more fin clipped about 15 lbs---had dropped crab pots in the river on the way out only had one keeper ---lots of females--the boys must be off fishing!!!

Terry Sullivan

THE SEAHUNTER

Hello Terry, I'm sure glad to get a Siuslaw report from you, I had a couple of people email me yesterday concerned that no one was reporting on the Siuslaw and wondered if we were purposely keeping it a secret since their have been reports of more Chinook being taken recently and I hadn't been out lately so I had no real details to share with them. I couldn't believe how nice it was out there yesterday, the calmest I have been out on in nearly 40 years of fishing. The crabbing has just not been very good on the Siuslaw this year, which is really surprising to me given the  crab harvest patterns of more recent years. Maybe we will still get a good few weeks of crabbing before this season is over.


Scott

09/15/2007

Hi Scott,

I see that you returned with a halibut, congratulations.  Karen and I fished for Coho today off the Sea Lion Caves in 275-300 foot water that was 55.8 degrees.  We released three natives and I caught and kept one small male Coho.  Fishing was slow for all of our buddy boats and the ODFW fish checker had only checked three ocean salmon when we returned around 3:30 PM.  I didn't think to ask her about river fish although it was obvious that the river was getting much more pressure than the ocean.

 Tight lines,

Gary and Karen Smith

Hi Gary & Karen, I had heard that the ocean salmon fishing had all but come to a complete stop recently. So you folks did well compared to most. The ocean was sure nice and calm out there. I don't know how they did in the river either. I was up by Cushman's and The Siuslaw Marina a bout a week ago and the fellow who owns the docks and boat ramp up there said there were a few salmon going through the fish-cleaning station everyday. I don't think ODFW is recording too many of those because they tend to hang out further up river at the Florence boat ramp instead. That is where most folks launch and return to so you would get a better average there anyway. Thanks for the report, it may be time to re-rig the boat and start chasing the river for while.


Scott

 

09/15/2007

HI Scott  Halibut fishing today was slow for us , We did manage to land 4 today with a couple of other bites Some boats did better then others today with one boat landing a 117lb Halibut out at the banks. I do see your mug in the picture again you were one of the lucky ones . tight lines Capt. Rick

Captain Rick Mason
Salmon Harbor Charter Fishing
(541) 271-2010
 www.salmonharborcharterfishing.com

What a beautiful day out on the ocean, it was like a lake all the way out and back. Watching the whales going airborne out there made the whole trip worth while, that isn't something you get to see more than a few times in an entire lifetime. Being witness to the 117 pound halibut being landed by one of the other boats was truly a site to see, there aren't more than a handful of those on record off the Oregon coast. I'm sitting here munching down on a fresh halibut fillet while I'm doing my post tonight. I'm that handsome guy on the right :). Thanks a million for a great day and some great memories.


Scott

09/12/2007

Hi Scott,

I know it's been awhile just finished the Bass season with trip # 102 ! The Bass fishing was as peculiar as our weather this summer. It was the year of the Drop Shot. Matt Elliot of Portland pictured below helped finish the season on a high note as you can see, he popped some good fish on jigs (Tried & True) all sight fishing on the bottom shaken not hopped.  I'll now be in pursuit of old silversides.

P.S. I'll be renting out Angel Lodge on the Elk River to fisherman this season  Mid Nov- March. I'm giving your readers first  notice.

Call Todd Harrington    1-541-459-2276  for details.

Thanks,

www.fishinglivingwaters.com

Hey there Todd, it has been a day or two since we last heard from you. It sounds like you have managed to stay plenty busy this summer fishing "The Loop", the background in the photo says it all, that sure is a beautiful stretch of the Umpqua River and I can only imagine how clear the water must be right about now. I decided to leave the bit in on the Elk River Lodge, that river system can be red hot for fall Salmon fishing and someone visiting the site might just be on the hunt for a good place to hang their hat while they are down there fishing this year. Be sure and keep us posted on how you do with the Salmon chase up there and thanks for touching base with all of us here at Fish-Works.


Scott

09/11/2007

Hi Scott,
Sept, 10th ran the first salmon trip  to day on the Umpqua we hooked 4 salmon fought 3 and landed 3, one 35lbs and one 20lbs. Maybe we will have a good run this year. We are all booked up for September and some of October. but now is the time to get booked for fall Chinook on the elk and sixes, November and December. we had a good bass summer

**********************************************
GARY'S GUIDE' SREVICE
 riverguidegary@hotmail.com
 riverguide@mcsi.net
541-672-2460

Hello Gary, glad to hear your still out there stirring up the water. We haven't heard from you in awhile. That is a photo right out of Field & Stream :). Nice fish you have there, and it must have been a blast bringing it in on the fly rod. I haven't been fly fishing since I left Montana 10 years ago. I might have to get out there and see if I still got it. I know the Elk and Sixes is the place to be in November and December and I think it might be a stronger season toward the end because of the way the fish are showing up this year. The all seem to be a few weeks behind schedule, but they are getting here in their own sweet time. Take care and keep us posted on how things are going from time to time.


Scott

09/11/2007

Hi Scott   First report in a week or so fishing has been very  very slow offshore!!!   The cold water is holding up things for the guys in the river , We have been fishing 14 miles offshore for Salmon trying to find the warm water and fishing down  180 ft in 400ft plus water. We are going to take a look at the Halibut again this week looks like the big pond well be more like a lake for a change. We did manage to land a couple today.   Tight Lines Capt. Rick

Captain Rick Mason
Salmon Harbor Charter Fishing
(541) 271-2010
 www.salmonharborcharterfishing.com

Hello Rick, I figured if you were doing any good out there we would have heard from you sooner. Always good to hear when the weather is going to be a little more cooperative. Maybe if the ocean lays down things inland will get up and running a little steadier too. Good luck with the Halibut, if it's slow you can always get back out there and give Charlie Tuna hell :). Thanks for the report and good luck with the halibut tomorrow.