Brookings Fishing featured on KTVL Channel 10

The crew of Brookings Fishing Charters was recently featured during a three-part series about winter lingcod fishing on the Oregon Coast that aired on KTVL Channel 10 in Medford.

The segment, part of Oregon Outdoors with Mark Freeman, can be viewed at https://youtu.be/NwqAZNWL7Cw

To film the series, Capt. Andy Martin took the Miss Brooke to Mack Arch and Arch Rock, about 17 miles north of Brookings. Thd TV crew, along with customers that day, enjoyed fast action for rockfish and caught several lingcod.

The Mail Tribune in Medford published an accompanying article. http://mailtribune.com/oregon-outdoors/ling-on

Ocean fishing good between storms

While stormy weather has kept charter boats at the docks much of January and February, on days when the ocean has been flat, in between storms, fishing has been good for lingcod and rockfish. The sport crab season also is now open off of Brookings.

Capt. Andy and Capt. Travis have both run charter trips this winter for Brookings Fishing Charters. With lots of freshwater flowing out of the Chetco River, the best fishing has been to the north, especially from Bird Island up. The Miss Brooke had some good success in the House Rock area, and also up at Mack Arch. Customers have been catching a good grade of rockfish, with a mix of blacks and canaries, and some nice lingcod.

Ocean conditions often continue to improve in late February and early March. We will be offering trips as weather conditions allow in the winter, and by late March will have all four boats in the water offering lingcod, crabbing and rockfish trips daily.

Ocean salmon season likely will open in May. Halibut season opens May 1.

To book a trip, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

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.

Salmon beginning to show up

A pair of nice salmon and lingcod caught last week aboard the Miss Brooke.

Salmon season has been open since May 19 off the coast of Brookings. The season runs through Aug. 26. Although fishing has yet to bust wide open, some nice kings are being caught. We ran trips last Monday and Friday, and both days returned with a couple of nice kings. The salmon are running 12 to 20 pounds.
The fish are offshore in 300 feet of water, so we are using downriggers to troll herring and anchovies, but soon they will be closer to the buoys, where we can fish shallower. Anchovies are already thick just outside of the mouth of the river, so the salmon will migrate closer any day.
Fishing for lingcod and rockfish remains good, especially when we fish north of Bird Island.
We are now running trips daily with both boats, so there is availability throughout the summer.
To book a trip, call (541) 813-1082.

Brookings lingcod, rockfish opener yields limits

The 2018 lingcod and rockfish season got off to a great start out of the Port of Brookings, with quick limits of lingcod, as well as a nice variety of snapper and rock cod.

Customers of Brookings Fishing Charters holds limits of lingcod caught Jan. 1 aboard the Miss Brooke.

The Oregon bottom fishing season opened Jan. 1. With calm weather the first week of January, Brookings Fishing Charters ran two boats on Jan. 1 and 2 and the Miss Brooke ran another trip Jan. 7. Each trip produced limits of nice lingcod and plenty of rockfish.
Rough weather returned the second week of January. Gale-force winds and big swells have kept boats at port since.
During the opener, lingcod fishing was especially good near Bird Island. Both Brookings Fishing Charters boats caught limits of lings using twin-tail scampies, flutter jigs and whole herring.

Scott Hood of Chico, Calif., holds a tropjhy-size brown rockfish.

On Jan. 2, one of the Brookings Fishing Charters customers caught a brown rockfish that may have been a contender for the world record. Since brown rockfish are unusual out of Brookings, the crew was unaware the world record was only 4 pounds. Scott Hood of Chico, Calif., caught a brown that likely weighed between 5 and 6 pounds.

Regular customers of Brookings Fishing Charters, Liz Brown and Glen Thill of Medford, hold one of several lingcod they caught during the Jan. 1 opener aboard the Miss Brooke.

Limits of lingcod from Jan. 2.

Capt. Travis got this family from Reno into a nice limit of lingcod Jan. 2.

We will continue ocean charters in February as ocean conditions allow. To book, call 541-813-1082 or visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

Salmon season begins on Chetco, Smith rivers

Jackie of Bend hold a nice Chetco River king salmon caught Oct. 23 with Capt. Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters.

The fall rains have increased flows on the Chetco and Smith rivers, kicking off the fall salmon season on both rivers. During the fall and winter months, Brookings Fishing Charters captains Andy Martin and Travis Sallander switch over to the drift boats to guide on both rivers. Andy and Travis are both licensed to guide in Oregon and California, and have special-use permits from the Forest Service to guide on the upper section of the Chetco. Only a very limited number of guides have these permits.
The Chetco rose to levels where drift boats could get down on Oct. 20. The first day of drift boat fishing produced limits for the handful of guides on the river.

Customers of Capt. Andy Martin holds limits of king salmon from the Chetco River.

The Smith River was fishable the following day, and Andy and Travis both caught limits there. By Oct. 23, both guides were back on the Chetco, which was in prime shape and fishing well.

Capt. Travis Sallander floats the Smith River just south of Brookings with customers fishing for salmon.

Salmon season will continue through mid-December on the Chetco and Smith rivers. Steelhead season follows, with fish in the river from December through March.
To book a trip, cal Brookings Fishing Charters at (541) 813-1082 or visit our river guide service page at www.wildriversfishing.com.

Thanks for making 2017 a great season!

One of the many families who caught their limit of lingcod this summer with Brookings Fishing Charters

We have finished our 2017 ocean charter season, and it was a great success. Our busiest season to date! Overall, we had a great lingcod season out of the Port of Brookings. The Miss Brooke, our offshore boat, ran nearly every day of the season. We also put our new 26-foot bay boat into service for near-shore lingcod and rockfish. Capt. Andy was busy this season on both boats, while Capt. Travis took the helm of the Miss Brooke the second half of the season.
We begin the 2018 season as soon as we get a break in the weather. Usually we are up and running by late January or early February.
We had some disappointing news late in the season, first when the Chetco Bar Fire caused extensive evacuations in the Brookings area and made for smokey conditions. Then in mid-September, the lingcod and rockfish season closed early. The salmon fishing in the estuary, however, was good and our October ocean salmon season was great, with plenty of fish in the 30- to 40-pound range.
Call (541) 813-1082 to get on our call list for early season ocean charters in January and February.
– Capt. Andy Martin, Brookings Fishing Charters

Anglers fish for rockfish with light tackle aboard the Miss Brooke.

One of our longtime customers, Dan from Bend, with a bright king caught on October out of Brookings.

JUNE 29, 2017 FISHING REPORT

Summer has arrived on the Oregon Coast and we are at our peak season for rockfish and lingcod. The rockcod have moved in shallow as giant schools of anchovies move close to the beach. We are seeing daily limits of nice rockfish on light tackle. Aside from plenty of black snapper, we also are seeing some very nice vermillion rockfish (such as the trophy fish picture below) and canary rockfish. The limit on rockfish remains 7 fish a day in Oregon, with up to 6 black snapper. We also can keep canary rockfish, vermillions, China rockcod, copper rockfish and blue rockfish, so limits are very common right now. The lingcod are running 8 to 10 pounds, with a few fish over 20 pounds. Our biggest recently is a 26-pounder. We have plenty of seats open in July and August. Call (541) 813-1082 to book a trip.

Trophy vermillion rockfish

March 22, 2017 Fishing Report

We have entered the peak season for spring lingcod, with limits common when the ocean conditions cooperate. So far we’ve seen stormy weather for half of March, but also some nice days where we’ve enjoyed fast action for lingcod and a variety of rockfish. With the new rockfish regulations for 2017 on the Oregon Coast, we can now keep more canary rockfish, as well as coppers, Chinas and quillbacks. The grade of black and blue rockfish has been nice, the prefect size for fish and chips. Crabbing was good to start the month, but slowed with the large amounts of freshwater running into the ocean from the Chetco River. We expect the lingcod fishing to remain strong through April and into May. The ocean conditions also will continue to improve. Yesterday we saw the most whales we’ve seen so far this year, with half a dozen spotted between the Brookings jetties and the red buoy. To book a trip. call our office at (541) 813-1082 or Capt. Andy’s cell at (206) 388-8988.

Limits of lingcod out of Brookings, Oregon, with Brookings Fishing charters

First lingcod caught by young angler

Nice limits of lingcod caught aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters in early March 2017 (top), and a young angler with her first ever lingcod, caught with Brookings Fishing Charters.

Lingcod season off to good start

Although ocean conditions have been rough for most of the winter, the days between storms when boats have been able to get out of the Port of Brookings have resulted in good fishing for lingcod. rockfish and crab. Capt. Andy took the Miss Brooke out for the first charter of the season in February. and found limits of lings and rockfish in the Bird Island area. The lings are running 5 to 15 pounds, with a few bigger. The fish are spawning in shallow water, making them easier to target during the bigger winter swells. Crab season has been good for recreational crabbers so far this year. Ocean conditions generally improve as we get into March, so we will be on the water more often. To book a trip, call (541) 813-1082 or email Capt. Andy at wildriversfishing@yahoo.com.

Capt. Andy Martin holds the first lingcod of the season aboard the Miss Brooke.

Capt. Andy Martin holds the first lingcod of the 2017 season caught aboard the Miss Brooke in late February.

Ocean fishing regulations set

Oregon ocean anglers will continue to be allowed to keep seven rockfish and two lingcod per day, and the season will remain open year round, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission decided recently. The commission adopted the 2017 ocean rockfish and lingcod regulations at its Dec. 2 meeting. The rockfish limit remains seven fish a day. New for 2017, anglers will be allowed to keep quillback, copper and China rockfish. The sub-limit for canary rockfish has increased from one to seven. The sub-limit for blues has increased from three to four. This four-fish sub-limit also includes the coppers, quillbacks and Chinas. This is all good news and will allow anglers to keep some of the fish they were required to release during previous seasons. The commission also lowered the black rockfish sub-limit from seven to six. While black rockfish make up most of our catch, anglers will still be able to keep seven rockfish total, with several fish that were off limits previously. The lingcod limit remains the same, two a day at least 22 inches. In California, anglers are not as fortunate. The black rockfish limit in California has been reduced from five blacks to three blacks, and the lingcod limits have been reduced from three to two. The Oregon Coast will be your best bet for plentiful limits of rockfish, and now you will be allowed to have a lot more “color” in your catch. We begin our ocean charters in March.

Brookings rockfish charters

Anglers fishing out of Brookings will now be allowed to keep more canary rockfish as part of their seven-fish rockfish limits. The lingcod limit remains two fish a day.

OCTOBER 29, 2016, BROOKINGS FISHING REPORT

Rough weather has kept all the charter boats off the ocean for the past few weeks, so Brookings Fishing captain Andy Martin has been focusing on the Chetco and Smith rivers for fall king salmon. Fishing has been good, thanks in part to lots of early rain on the Oregon Coast. Capt. Andy and the other guides of www.wildriversfishing.com have boated several limits in the last few days, with a few fish over 40 pounds. The fall salmon season runs through November. We will then switch to steelhead before turning our attention to ocean charters again in March.

Smith River king salmon

A 40-pound king salmon caught in late October 2016 with guide Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters and Wild Rivers Fishing.