2019 ocean season off to hot start

The Brookings Fishing Charters crew kicked off the New Year by running the first ocean charter of the season out of Brookings, getting customers into limits of big rockfish and a boat load of lingcod.

Bottom fishing seasons are open year round in Oregon, but rough weather kept boats at the dock since before Thanksgiving. On New Year’s Day, the swells were down to 2 feet with calm winds, so Capt. Andy took a group out on the Miss Brooke. There were plenty of rockfish in the shallow kelp beds, but most were small, so Andy headed to deeper water, where big black and canary rockfish were aggressively biting. All six customers got quick limits of lunker rockfish before the Miss Brooke returned to shallow water to target lingcod. Each angler got at least one lingcod, with the biggest around 14 pounds.

The ocean is rough again, but ocean charter trips out of the Port of Brookings will resume as the weather allows.

In December, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission set the 2019 bottom fishing regulations. The lingcod limits remains two fish a day at least 22 inches long. Anglers also can keep five rockfish, with any combination of black, blue, canary, deacon, China, quillback, copper, vermilion, olive and yellowtail rockfish, and kelp greenling.

To book a trip, call (541) 813-1082.