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Columbia
river: The Columbia River which borders Oregon and
Washington is one of the Best Salmon fishing rivers in the world. While
it doesn't have the numbers of fish returning that it once did before
the dams, it still has huge numbers of salmon returning in many
different runs at different times of the year. It has runs of Spring
Chinook known as (Springer's) here in Oregon and
Washington, Fall Chinook also known as "Upriver Brights" or King Salmon, summer Chinook (June Hogs), Coho ( Silvers), Sockeye, Chum. The Columbia is where one of the most famous Salmon fishing seasons
takes place. The famous "Buoy 10" season that begins in
August at the mouth of the Columbia river in Astoria Oregon. Thousands
of anglers travel to Astoria Oregon and Ilwaco Washington each summer to
fish for the abundant Chinook and Coho salmon. While the Salmon fishing can be fantastic on this large river it can be difficult to plan for due to complicated regulations and seasons. It is best to plan far in advance for fishing the Columbia and to have a backup plan in case the catch quota has been reached or the season gets changed. Columbia River update-
Spring chinook salmon fishing is hot now. Now to early May is the
peak time to go. call us today we do have a few open dates left for
springer fishing.
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Willamette
river: The Willamette River a tributary of the Columbia
river flows through the Willamette valley and one of the largest
rivers
in Oregon also has excellent Salmon fishing. It to has benefited from
the same programs as the Columbia. It has strong returning runs
of Spring Chinook and fall Coho. These Willamette Springer's
are some of the best eating fish found anywhere in the world with
extremely high oil contents. Willamette Spring Chinook can reach
weights in excess of 50lbs. There is also a small run of Fall Chinook
in the Willamette but not in fishable numbers. The springer run is from March to May on the Willamette, the fall coho is Sept to Oct.
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Tillamook
Bay: Tillamook Bay and the 5 rivers that feed it are
world famous for big Fall Chinook or King Salmon as they are also
known. Tillamook also has excellent fishing for Coho and up in the Kilchis and Miami Rivers Chum Salmon. The Chum
fishing is a catch and
release fishing only thing and the rules on the Coho or silvers change
from year to year as far as retention goes. The Tillamook watershed is a
major producer for Wild Coho and Fall Chinook. There are also
Hatchery operations that support a growing fishery for hatchery raised
Spring Chinook. Tillamook is a very large shallow estuary with lots of sandbars. It is also very rich in nutrients which causes the seaweed to grow very well, also making it one of the tougher places to fish. fishing can be very good but expect to have to work for your fish. If you like a relaxing day on the water without crowds Tillamook wont be for you. If you are willing to put in the work it does kick out some huge fall salmon however. Tillamook Bay fall chinook salmon fishing lasts longer than many other coastal rivers often producing chrome bright big salmon into November and December.
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Yaquina river: The Yaquina river enters
the pacific ocean in Newport Oregon, a popular tourist destination on the
central coast. While Newport is known for its ocean fishing and
crabbing it is also home to one of the best kept secrets - Yaquina
river fall king salmon. The tidewater sections of the river offer easy
fishing for good numbers of returning fall Chinook and wild Coho. All
wild Coho must be released in the Yaquina however. The Chinook get quite
large and with little fishing pressure this is one of my favorite fall
salmon destinations. The Yaquina Bay and River salmon fishery is one of the very few coastal rivers that has hatchery operations on fall chinook salmon. In recent years there has been talk of opening it up for limited harvest of wild Coho as well. Not open for them yet but sounds like it might happen soon. The salmon season in Newport on the Yaquina river and Bay runs from mid September to early November and some years into late November.
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Rogue
river: The Rogue river on the southern coast of Oregon
and runs into the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach Oregon and has
outstanding runs of Spring Chinook, Coho and
Fall Chinook. Last fall on the Rogue a 71.5 pound
Fall Chinook was
caught on a fly rod. The rogue is a very popular destination for salmon
fishing in Oregon.
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Umpqua
river: The Umpqua flows into the Pacific Ocean in
Winchester Bay. The Umpqua river is a good producer for Fall Chinook
and Coho, It also has an excellent run of Big Spring
Chinook that the locals don't talk about much. Because of its
location in the central part of the state it receives much less angling
pressure than some of the more popular salmon rivers in Oregon.
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Alsea river: The Alsea is a large coastal river that drains into the
Pacific
at Waldport Oregon on the central Oregon Coast. It is a great river for big
Fall
Chinook, Coho with a small run of Spring Chinook. The Alsea river tidewater is very long with lots of small marinas and campgrounds offering folks lots of options. Fishing can be very good on this river.
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Siletz
river: The Siletz river drains into the pacific ocean at
Lincoln City. This is a large free flowing river that has great
numbers of wild salmon returning each year. The Siletz is very
popular
for Large Fall Chinook or Kings. Runs of Coho are also strong but
most are wild and must be released. It also has a small run of
Spring
Chinook. The Siletz has a large tidewater section but ramp access and campgrounds are very limited. This tends to pack all of the crowds into the lower few miles of the river. Most prefer to anchor with plugs on this river - making it a lazy fishermans dream.
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Nestucca
river: The Nestucca river enters the Pacific Ocean at
Pacific City and is a very consistent producer of extremely large
Fall Chinook, with fish over 50 lbs fairly common. It also has
runs of wild Coho and Springer's. The Nestucca is a large river with a fairly small tidewater area. Its is very shallow in the lower parts of the river making navigation a bit challenging. Fishing can be very good for those that know how to fish it. The river above tidewater is all a bank or driftboat show.
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Nehalem
river: The Nehalem River is a good river for Fall Chinook
and Coho and is also one of the few places in Oregon that has a
run of Summer Chinook. The north fork of the Nehalem river also
has a hatchery that raises Coho so you can keep the silvers in
this river that have hatchery marks. All native Coho must be released.
The Nehalem river flows into the pacific just north of Rockaway
and flows through the Coastal towns of Nehalem and Wheeler. Both the Bay and river are very productive for big summer and fall chinook as well as the hatchery coho.
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Clackamas
river: The Clackamas is a very popular salmon river and has hatchery supported runs of Spring Chinook and
Coho.
It is a major tributary of the Willamette River and has Salmon or
Steelhead fishing opportunities year round. Due to the fact that it is
in Portland it can get very crowded. Even with the crowds it is a very
good fishing river.
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Sandy
river: The Sandy is another popular Portland Oregon area
river. Like the Clackamas it has runs of Spring Chinook and
Coho as well as some Fall Chinook fishing opportunities.
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Santiam
river: The Santiam river is a tributary of the Willamette
river and both the North Fork and the South Fork offer great fishing for
Spring Chinook. There are large hatchery operations on the South
Fork of the Santiam and most Willamette River Spring Chinook originated
there.
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Deschutes
river: The Deschutes river in Central Oregon is
recognized as one of the premier fishing destinations in the
Northwest.
While it is better known for its world renowned steelhead fishing and
fly fishing for trout fame it also has good returns of spring and
fall Chinook.
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Elk,
Chetco, Sixes, and Coquille rivers: These southern Oregon
coastal rivers are where you want to fish for Salmon in the
winter.
These rivers have great fishing for fall Chinook and the
runs
return later here. These rivers get good around mid November and will
produce big Salmon into January.
Copyright ©
2003 [www.nwfish.com]. All rights reserved.
Revised:
April 05, 2010
