Tag: brookings fishing reports

Drift boat salmon season produces big kings

BROOKINGS, Ore. (Nov. 22, 2024) – With rough ocean conditions the past month, the Brookings Fishing Charters crew has been focusing on the local rivers, where fall-run king salmon are migrating into freshwater to spawn. The Chetco and Smith rivers boast some of the best drift boat salmon opportunities on the West Coast, and this year has lived up to their reputation. The Brookings Fishing Charters crew of captains and deckhands are also full-time drift boat guides in the fall and winter, and among the most experienced river guides in the region.

Capt. Andy with a hefty hatchery king salmon caught last week on the Elk River in Southern Oregon.

Salmon season in the rivers and estuaries began in September, when big kings began staging along the Chetco River jetties in Brookings. Fishing was good through October, with salmon as big as 52 pounds caught by boaters trolling flashers and anchovies. The Brookings Fishing Charters crew switched back and forth between the estuary salmon fishing and ocean charters until late October, when heavy rains increased flows on the Chetco and Smith rivers and kicked off the drift boat season upriver.

Capt. Mick with a bright Chetco River king caught on a MagLip plug.

Upriver, anglers fishing from drift boats used plugs – primarily Yakima Bait Co. MagLip and FlatFish plugs – or roe and sand shrimp, to catch big king salmon moving into the rivers to spawn. Fishing was good through November, until a series of big storms, with hurricane-force winds and heavy rain, brought the rivers to minor flood stage.

Capt. Sam with a big Smith River king, which was released after a quick photograph.
Capt. Rye with a large hatchery king salmon from the Chetco River estuary.

This fall we welcomed two new drift boat guides to our crew, although they have been members of our team for several years. Eric and Chris, who have been deckhands on our ocean charter boats, successfully ran their first drift boat trips with customers this fall. Chris completed his Coast Guard captain’s class this spring, is now licensed to run our ocean boats and river boats. He has been having a good fall Chinook season on the Chetco. Eric, who started work with us when he was 16 and a sophomore in high school, graduated in June and is now running drift boat trips and deckhanding on the Nauti-Lady while he completes his Coast Guard license classes.

Capt. Chris holds a nice Chetco River king salmon.
Eric holds a nice Chetco estuary king caught while deckhanding for Capt. Rye.

We will continue to fun drift boat trips for salmon into December. The Elk and Sixes rivers have a later run of fall kings, while fresh fish also will trickle into the Chetco and Smith rivers. Winter steelhead season begins Dec. 1 and runs through March. Late December, January and February are the peak season for winter steelhead. Our guides will run salmon and steelhead combo trips through mid-December, then switch gears just to side-drifting for steelhead.

To learn more about our drift boat trips, visit www.wildriversfishing.com.

Ocean charters will resume next week with good weather on the forecast. When the weather cooperates, our crew splits time between the ocean and rivers.

Here are some of the recent drift boat salmon catches with our crew.

Lighthouse area opens with hot lingcod action

BROOKINGS, Ore. (May 5, 2024) – Big lingcod, lunker rockfish, and fast action has been the result of the first few trips of the season to the famed Point St. George Reef Lighthouse, which re-opened to anglers on May 1 after being closed since last August.

Located 11 miles straight out from the Port of Brookings jetties, the lighthouse area is home to some of the best lingcod and rockfish action outside of Alaska. Fishing is open inside the 20 fathom (120 feet) curve all summer. Thriving rockfish and lingcod populations, and the chance at halibut and a colorful variety of fish, make the lighthouse area a favorite destination.

An angler holds a trophy vermillion rockfish caught on opening day at Point St. George Reef aboard the Miss Brooke.

The Miss Brooke ran the first trip of the season to the lighthouse area, and despite rough weather, got easy limits of rockfish and a bunch of lingcod. Windy, stormy weather kept boats away the second day of the season, while fishing was absolutely light’s out the next day, with limits of jumbo rockfish and full limits of quality lingcod. Trophy vermillion and copper rockfish were included in the catch.

A nice lingcod from Point St. George Reef aboard the Miss Brooke.

The lighthouse area is located halfway between Brookings and Crescent City, with excellent lingcod fishing on the section of reef closest to Brookings. Each year, lingcod over 40 pounds are caught at the reef, with numerous 20-plus pounders. The average size is between 8 and 10 pounds. The rockfish variety is unmatched, with abundant black, blue, copper, vermillion, tiger, yellowtail, widow and canary rockfish. Quillback and yelloweye rockfish also are plentiful at Point St. George Reef, but must be released.

A quick limit of lingcod near the lighthouse aboard the Miss Brooke.

The reef is a world-class light-tackle fishery, and the Brookings Fishing Charters fleet uses light spinning rods to target the big rockfish in shallow water, with heavier gear on board if needed, to switch over to lingcod-specific baits and lures.

Closer to Brookings, the Brookings Fishing Charters fleet has been getting limits of quality rockfish on its local half-day trips, with lots of lingcod mixed in. Rockfish action has been very good, with jumbo black and blue rockfish making up the majority of the catch.

A big lingcod caught close to Brookings on a half-day fishing charter.
A nice lingcod aboard the Papa B on a local half-day charter out of Brookings.

Pacific halibut season also is open, with the best fishing out of Brookings in late June, July and August. Halibut migrate in from deep water to feed, and return to depths of 2,000 feet or more in the late fall and winter to spawn in the Gulf of Alaska.

Ocean salmon season opens May 16 out of Brookings. The season runs through August, with a two-king-salmon-per-day limit. Wild or hatchery kings may be kept. Coho salmon may be kept starting in mid-June. The Brookings Fishing Charters fleet has been encountering salmon during its bottom fishing trips, while pelicans have already arrived in Brookings to feed on anchovies and other baitfish. All are good signs for the approaching ocean salmon season.

Many of the Brookings Fishing Charters customers spend the afternoon before their charter, or the following morning targeting surfperch from the beaches around Brookings. Surfperch action has been very good. Anglers use small hooks, light weights, and shrimp or sandworms to catch surfperch with light spinning rods. The mouth of the Winchuck, Crissy Field State Park, Lone Ranch, Chetco Point, and Chetco River jetties are all good surfperch locations. The crew at the Brookings Fishing Charters booking office, the same location as Brookings Bait and Tackle, will help anglers rig up for surfperch and point them in the right direction.

Capt. Mick holds a chrome-bright spring king salmon from the Lower Rogue River.

Spring king salmon continue to be caught on the lower Rogue River. Capt. Mick and Capt. Rye have been running trips, anchoring and fishing anchovies in the slower water as the prized springers move upstream. Spring salmon fishing continues into early June, while the busy Rogue Bay salmon fishery is best in July and August.

Here are some of the great catches from the first few trips to Point St. George Reef.

Nice limits of lingcod caught aboard the Miss Brooke at Point St. George Reef.

Here are some great catches from our local half-day fishing charters this past week.

To book an ocean charter or Rogue River salmon trip, call (541) 813-1082, or visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

Lingcod action hot in Brookings as lighthouse, salmon and halibut openers near

BROOKINGS, Ore, (April 21, 2024) – Lingcod fishing is the best it has been so far this year out of the Port of Brookings, while anglers will have several more options for exciting ocean charter fishing in May, as the Pacific halibut and king salmon seasons open, along with the extremely productive Point St. George Reef Lighthouse.

A nice lingcod caught aboard the Papa B in mid-April.

The past week, the Miss Brooke, Kraken, Papa B and Dash, all six-pack charter boats with Brookings Fishing Charters, have been getting limits of nice lingcod as well as non-stop action for rockfish. The lingcod bite hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, as the winter and early spring spawn is in full swing.

During calm weather days, limits of lingcod have been common, with fish over 20 pounds being caught. The rockfish action has been fast and furious, with limits of quality fish. The best fishing has been from Bird Island north. During the long-range six-hour trips, the Brookings Fishing Charters boats have been cruising to Mack Arch, for the best lingcod fishing on the Southern Oregon Coast.

Limits of lingcod caught near Mack Arch aboard the Miss Brooke.

Pacific halibut season opens May 1, with a two-fish-per-day limit. Normally, fishing is still fairly slow in May before catch rates accelerate in late June, July and August, as halibut migrate closer to shore to feed. For the past decade, the Brookings Fishing Charters crew has produced the best catch rates for halibut out of Brookings. Several of the local captains spent years running charter boats in Alaska, and are experts and finding halibut, and fishing for them out of Brookings.

A lunker lingcod caught in mid-April with Brookings Fishing Charters.

Ocean salmon season opens May 16. For a preview of the 2024 ocean salmon season out of Brookings, click here. Anglers will be allowed two king salmon, hatchery or wild, a day. The Brookings Fishing Charters crew has a well-earned reputation for producing limits of coho and king salmon. The peak season is mid-June through July.

The Point St. George Reef Lighthouse, with fishing rivaling that of Alaska, opens May 1. This is the best area to target trophy lingcod, and a colorful variety of rockfish. It is a customer favorite. For a preview of the lighthouse season, click here. Capt. Andy of Brookings Fishing Charters attended Pacific Fishery Management Council meetings in Fresno in March, and Seattle in April to advocate for a re-opening of the lighthouse season, as well as the Oregon ocean salmon seasons.

Capt. Andy and Dave Marciano from Wicked Tuna after a charter aboard the Miss Brooke.
Deckhand Eric with a black rockfish caught by Dave Marciano of Wicked Tuna.

In March, Capt. Andy and deckhands Eric and Chris enjoyed the opportunity to fish with Dave Marciano from Wicked Tuna. Dave runs the Hard Merchandise, and was visiting the Oregon Coast after attending a sports show in California. He chose Brookings Fishing Charters for his first Oregon Coast fishing adventure.

Here are some of the lingcod caught in recent weeks with the Brookings Fishing Charters crew. Lingcod and rockfish is open year round out of Brookings.

The Brookings Fishing Charters captains also have been running spring salmon trips on the Rogue River. Here are a few catches with Capt. Rye and Capt. Mick in recent weeks.

To book an Oregon Coast charter trip, visit www.brookingsfishing.com, or call (541) 813-1082.

Lingcod, rockfish biting between storms

BROOKINGS, Ore. (Feb. 17, 2024) – While 2024 has been off to a rainy, stormy start, when the ocean settles down and swells subside, fishing has been good for rockfish and lingcod. The Brookings Fishing Charters crew ran several bottom fishing charters last week, and returned with limits of rockfish and several lingcod. Some trips have resulted in limits of lingcod, although the lingcod bite is slower when swells and choppy seas prevent the boats from fishing near the inshore rocky reefs. However, the Miss Brooke has returned with lingcod every trip so far this year, along with full limits of rockfish.

A nice lingcod caught aboard the Miss Brooke with Capt. Andy in February 2024.

When the weather has been calm, with minimal swell, lingcod fishing has been very good, with limits or near limits for each angler. The House Rock and Mack Arch area have fished best, as high water in the Chetco has made fishing tough closer to the harbor because of the muddy flows from the river.

A happy angler holds a limit of lingcod from a February trip aboard the Miss Brooke.

A break in the weather is expected the second half of this week, which should allow charter boats to get out this coming weekend. So far this year, Brookings Fishing Charters is the only charter company in Brookings to run ocean trips. The Miss Brooke has been out several times, along with the Papa B.

Some of the nice rockfish caught in early February aboard the Miss Brooke.
A customer with a nice lingcod from late January 2024 aboard the Miss Brooke.

Lingcod fishing is often good during the winter months, between storms, as the fish move into shallow water to spawn. Large numbers of male lingcod, between 20 and 26 inches, move shallow to stage for spawning, followed by the larger females, which can top 20 or even 30 pounds. Smaller males outnumber of females by a large margin, and are extremely aggressive during the spawning season. They eagerly bite jigs or baits. Calm weather produces better fishing, as the lingcod are in 20 to 50 feet of water. Large swells can make fishing shallower water, near wash rocks, more difficult, so the best success occurs when the ocean is flat.

A nice lingcod aboard the Miss Brooke.

Lingcod and rockfish seasons are open year round in Oregon. Salmon seasons are set by the federal government and will be announced in April. Halibut season opens May 1 and runs through October. The Point St. George Reef Lighthouse usually opens to fishing in May. California ocean seasons will be announced in April, although a general season option will be revealed in March.

The Brookings Fishing Charters crew fishes year round out of the Port of Brookings. The Nauti-Lady, Miss Brooke, Kraken, Dash and Papa B comprise the fleet. Each captain also is a river guide, and the crew runs drift boat salmon and steelhead trips in the fall and winter when the ocean is too rough to fish.

Happy anglers with a nice steelhead caught with Capt. Andy in February on the Chetco River.

Spring Break is approaching and is generally a good time to fish for lingcod and rockfish. To book an ocean charter, visit www.brookingsfishing.com, or call (541) 813-1082. For information on river trips, visit www.wildriversfishing.com.

Coleslaw, tarter sauce and cocktail sauce: Fish and chips essentials

While quality fish fillets and fresh potatoes are the key ingredients to “fish and chips,” a good side of coleslaw and generous amounts of homemade tarter and cocktail sauce are essential to completing a fish dinner.

Coleslaw, a popular dish with early American settlers in New England, is a staple at fish and chip restaurants. There are two common recipes for coleslaw when served with fish, and both are delicious.

Coleslaw, cocktail sauce and tarter sauce are fish and chips essentials.

Capt. Mike Brouillette, who owns and operates the Papa B, has a tasty vinegar and oil-based coleslaw he perfected when he ran a barbecue catering business before he jumped full-time into the charter boat industry. Mike combines shredded cabbage with red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic salt, oregano and black pepper. Delicious with fish and chips, Mike’s recipe also goes great with barbecued chicken and tri-tip.

Capt. Mike Brouillette’s coleslaw recipe is simple and delicious.

Capt. Mike’s Coleslaw

2 1/2 cups shredded cabbage

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Simply mix the ingredients and serve immediately. While some coleslaw recipes taste even better when prepared well in advance, the vinegar-based recipe is best served within minutes after it is prepared.

Capt. Mike’s Coleslaw goes as well with fish and chips as it does with chicken or tri-tip.

Another popular coleslaw recipe includes a combination of cabbage, carrots, onion, mayonnaise and buttermilk. The favorite coleslaw recipe of Capt. Andy’s wife, Sarah, tastes best when prepared several hours before dinner so it has time to soak up the flavors of its numerous ingredients.

Sarah Martin’s favorite coleslaw recipe pairs perfectly with fish and chips.

Traditional Coleslaw

4 cups finely chopped cabbage

2 tablespoons finely chopped carrot

1 tablespoon finely chopped yellow onion

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

ground pepper, to taste

Mix the ingredients in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Tastes even better when refrigerated overnight. Stir a few times, if possible.

Traditional creamy coleslaw is a staple with fish and chips.
Homemade tarter and cocktail sauce are much better than any store-bought sauces.

Capt. Andy’s homemade tarter sauce is much more delicious than any store-bought sauce, and is quick and easy to make.

Tarter Sauce

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup finely chopped dill pickle, or dill pickle relish

1/4 cup finely chopped white or yellow onion

2 teaspoons chopped capers

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and stir well.

The simple ingredients for delicious homemade tarter sauce.

Cocktail Sauce

Mix 1/2 cup ketchup with 1 teaspoon extra hot horseradish (ground horseradish, not creamy horseradish sauce). Add salt, pepper and several squeezes of lemon juice. Mix well. For hotter cocktail sauce, add a little more horseradish.

To catch a limit of rockfish, lingcod or halibut to go with these great coleslaw and tarter and cocktail sauce recipes, visit www.brookingsfishing.com for fishing charter information.

River salmon season off to hot start!

BROOKINGS, Ore. (Oct. 10, 2023) – Big numbers of bright king salmon have arrived in the Chetco River estuary, while halibut, lingcod and rockfish continue to be caught during ocean charters out of Brookings. The transition from summer to fall often produces some of the best fishing opportunities of the year, and that continues to be the case as anglers have plenty of options on the Southern Oregon Coast.

Some of the nice salmon caught the first weekend of October with Capt. Sam.

The Brookings Fishing Charters crew has been running ocean charters daily, as the weather allows, and also guided salmon trips on the Chetco River estuary. All of our captains are also licensed river guides, and have been enjoying great catches of big king salmon at the mouth of the river. With heavy rains this week, and rough ocean conditions, ocean charters will be running less frequently, while the crew switches to drift boats to target salmon upriver. Flows are expected to increase next week, and we plan to run our first drift boat salmon trips of the season.

An ocean-fresh salmon caught in the Chetco estuary with Capt. Shane.

Offshore, halibut fishing has been fair to good. The halibut season in Oregon runs through Oct. 31. Lingcod and rockfish season is open year round, and we will continue ocean charters as weather allows. During recent trips, limits of nice rockfish have been common, with hot action in shallow water using light tackle. Lingcod fishing is fair, but soon bigger numbers of fish will move close to shore to stage before spawning. Winter lingcod fishing can be fast and furious out of Brookings, and our six-pack charter boats are well equipped for fishing the shallow reefs where lingcod spawn.

Some nice halibut caught on the Dash with Capt. Rye.

Larger halibut are showing up in the catch, with fish to 60 pounds. Our crew has been targeting halibut in 180 to 240 feet of water. On anchor, lighter weights can be used, to make halibut fishing more enjoyable.

Salmon fishing was hot over the weekend at the mouth of the Chetco. Anglers must stay withing the jetties, but big numbers of salmon, both hatchery and wild, are holding up in the estuary before heading upriver. With the rains, drift boat fishing will be productive. Our crew will be fishing the Chetco, Elk and Sixes rivers for salmon, and the Smith River for steelhead. Capt. Andy, Mick, Sam, Rye, Travis and Shane will be running our drift boat trips this fall.

Here are just a few of the salmon catches from the last two weeks at the mouth of the Chetco.

Here is a sampling of the catches from recent ocean charters. We will continue to run our six-pack charter boats into the winter as the weather allows.

To book an ocean charter or guided river trip, call (541) 813-1082. More in river fishing can be found at www.wildriversfishing.com. For ocean trips, visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

Check out our latest recipe, Chipotle Rockfish, Shrimp and Bacon tacos.

Chipotle Rockfish, Shrimp and Bacon Tacos

By Capt. Andy Martin – We get to enjoy Taco Night a few times a week at my house, and typically we try a different version of rockfish tacos. Running a charter boat business, we get plenty of fresh rockfish and lingcod fillets to take home and try new variations of tacos. Recently we tried a spicier fish taco recipe, that was not only loaded with flavor and surprisingly easy to make, but was also unique to any other fish taco recipe we have tried. Chipotle Rockfish, Shrimp and Bacon tacos are insanely delicious, and sure to become a favorite way to prepare rockfish, halibut, cod or surfperch.

Rockfish, shrimp and bacon, ready to serve with your favorite taco ingredients.

This recipe took quite a bit of tinkering to perfect. It is best prepared broiled in the oven. Everyone who has tried it agrees it is their new favorite fish taco recipe.

Served with homemade salsa and crema sauce, and garnished with avocado, cucumber, cabbage and mango, these tacos are sure to make Taco Night a hit.

It’s hard to beat rockfish, shrimp and bacon broiled with chipotle peppers.
Key ingredients include chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and jalapeno peppers.
Fish, shrimp and slightly cooked bacon.
Mix the fish with mayonnaise, chipotle peppers, Jugo sauce, softened butter and onions and peppers.

Place ingredients on a screen over a baking sheet.
Broil on screen over a baking dish.
Ready to make insanely delicious rockfish, shrimp and bacon tacos.
Chipotle Rockfish, Shrimp and Bacon Tacos.

Chipotle Rockfish, Shrimp and Bacon Tacos

1-2 pounds rockfish (or surfperch, lingcod, halibut or surfperch), cut into smaller chunks

1 pound peeled medium or large shrimp

1 can (7 oz.) Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

4-6 slices bacon

1 cube butter

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Maggi Jugo sauce (can be substituted with 3 tbs soy sauce and 3 tbs Worcestershire sauce)

1 tbs garlic power

salt and pepper to taste

4-6 green onions

2 jalapeno peppers, sliced

2 Anaheim peppers, sliced

Crema sauce

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream

1 tbs sriracha sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

Juice from one lemon

Garnish

Salsa, avocado, cabbage or cole slaw mix, sliced cucumber, sliced mango (optional)

Slightly crisp bacon, and set aside to cool. (Don’t overcook bacon, as it will finish cooking under broiler).

Combine pieces of fish, raw shrimp and pieces of bacon in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, Jugo (or soy/Worcestershire sauce), softened butter, chipotle peppers (break into smaller pieces) and adobo sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix together (easier done with your hands than a spoon). Add green onions and sliced jalapeno and Anaheim peppers, and mix together.

Place fish mixture on an elevated baking screen over a baking sheet. The liquid from the mixture will settle below screen (browning bacon first reduces the amount of liquid that ends up on baking dish).

Broil for 5-10 minutes, or until fish is done.

Serve on warm tortillas (we like flour tortillas, but also is great with corn tortillas) with cabbage, salsa, crema sauce, avocado and cucumber. For an extra treat, try adding sliced mango.

To catch a limit of rockfish to make your own Chipotle Rockfish, Shrimp and Bacon tacos, visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

Lingcod biting at lighthouse, Mack Arch; local halibut action heats up

BROOKINGS, Ore. (July 11, 2023) – Long-range trips to the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse and Mack Arch are living up to their billing, with limits of jumbo rockfish and plenty of lunker lingcod. Halibut action also has improved off the coast of Brookings, with some of our charter customers getting their two-fish limits.

A nice halibut catch aboard the Dash in early July, with seven keeper halibut and one of several petrale sole also caught on the charter.

Nice ocean conditions have allowed the Brookings Fishing Charters fleet to get back to the lighthouse area, where anglers get a chance to enjoy some of the best lingcod and rockfish action outside of Alaska. Lingcod to 25 pounds have been caught on our charter boats in the past week, along with a nice variety of rockfish, including vermilion, tiger, canary, copper, China, black and blue rockfish, and whopper-size cabezon. The lighthouse is halfway between Brookings and Crescent City, California. Because of its distance from the harbors, as well as being situated on an extremely productive reef, the size and quantity of fish is unmatched in the region.

Nice double-hookup of lingcod at the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse aboard the Nauti-Lady.

The local charter fleet also has been heading to Mack Arch and Mack Reef, 15 miles north of Brookings, another lingcod hotspot. The variety of rockfish at Mack Arch is similar to that at the lighthouse.

Halibut season opened May 1 out of Brookings and remains open through Oct. 31. The first month and a half of the season was slow, as is typical. In the past week, catch rates have accelerated, with most customers getting at least one Pacific halibut and many getting their two-fish limits. Most of the halibut are around 20 pounds, but fish to 50 pounds are being caught.

Lingcod action aboard the Miss Brooke in early July at the lighthouse.

All of the Brookings Fishing Charters fleet – including the Miss Brooke, Kraken, Nauti-Lady, Papa B and Dash – have made trips in the past week to the lighthouse and Mack Arch. The rockfish action is typically fast and furious, with easy limits and a chance to release smaller rockfish to focus on a nice grade. Several spectacular tiger rockfish were caught over the weekend at the lighthouse, along with trophy-size vermilion rockfish. Large black and blue rockfish round out the limits.

A daily jackpot winner aboard the Nauti-Lady at Mack Arch in early July.

On the halibut grounds, our boats have been anchoring in 200 to 250 feet of water. On anchor, we can use lighter weights, from 12 to 20 ounces. Once the scent trail is established, the halibut bite picks up as feeding fish come from far distances and key on the large bait combos used by our experienced halibut captains. The Brookings Fishing Charters crew, with years of experience running charters in Oregon and Alaska, are among the few captains who anchor for halibut on the Oregon Coast.

Some of the action from a local half-day trip aboard the Kraken.

Albacore tuna are still well offshore, but the first fish of the season have been caught by charters in Tillamook Bay and Westport, Wash. We are keeping a close eye on offshore temperatures, and expect to begin tuna charters before the end of July. Call (541) 813-1082 to get on the tuna call list.

Our recipe blog has numerous ways to prepare the fish caught on our charters.

Don’t forget our blog also has a large selection of seafood recipes. Check them out here.

To book a charter to the lighthouse or Mack Arch, or a halibut charter, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

Here are some more catches from the past week at the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse and Mack Arch.

Grilled salmon healthy, delicious and easy

When preparing ocean-fresh salmon, or chrome-bright kings from the lower Chetco, Smith or Rogue rivers, simpler is better. There is no reason for fancy marinades or elaborate sauces, as fresh salmon from the ocean, bay or tidewater are already full of flavor. Grilled salmon is healthy, delicious and easy to prepare.

Applying a dash of salt, squeeze of lemon juice and dash of dill weed is the most popular way to prepare salmon fillets or steaks for grilling. There are also numerous other ways to season fresh salmon before setting it on the barbecue. Capt. Andy of Brookings Fishing Charters and Wild Rivers Fishing has a unique twist to grilled salmon to keep the fish moist, and not detract from the great taste ocean-fresh fish have because of their higher fat and oil content.

Aside from being a thrill to catch, ocean-bight salmon, like this beauty caught on the Miss Brooke, are also extremely tasty.

Popular with chefs who prefer to cook salmon over a cedar plank, brushing a mixture of melted butter, brown sugar and white vinegar keeps the fish moist while cooking, and adds just a tiny bit more flavor to an already delicious cut of king or coho.

Grilled Salmon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter (unsalted)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

salt, to taste

Cut the salmon into smaller strips, or steaks. Heat grill to 350 degrees (medium-low). A Camp Chef or Traeger works great for this recipe with the added smoke. Stir brown sugar with melted butter, and then add the vinegar, mixing well.

Add a dash of salt to the fillets, and place skin-side down on the grill. Brush the tops and sides of the salmon with the melted butter mixture. Grill for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the fish reaches 120 degrees (this is another reason a Camp Chef or Treager work so well).

Serve with rice and coleslaw. Tastes great with a little tarter sauce, barbecue sauce, or squeeze of lemon.

Add brown sugar and white vinegar to melted butter.
After salting the salmon, brush on the butter mixture.
Place on grill, skin-side down.
Grill at 350 degrees until internal temperature reaches 120 degrees.
Tastes great with rice and coleslaw.

To catch an ocean-bright king, book a fishing charter with Brookings Fishing Charters, www.brookingsfishing.com, or call (541) 813-1082.

Parmesan Rockfish tasty way to enjoy catch without frying

Fried fish and chips is a delicious way to enjoy a day’s catch of rockfish, lingcod or halibut, but baked fish is a tasty alternative to deep fried fillets. Aside from being healthier, baked fish, when cooked properly, tastes great, is easy to prepare and clean up, and adds variety for anglers who enjoy weekly servings of their catch. Parmesan Rockfish is also a lower sodium alternative to fish and chips, since it tastes great without adding salt.

Fish with white fillets, such as rockfish, lingcod and cabezon, like these caught last summer aboard the Kraken, taste great baked with a mixture of parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.

Parmesan Rockfish requires just a few ingredients, and since it’s baked, several portions may be cooked at once. Delicious when served with baked potatoes, rice, or pasta, along with coleslaw. This recipe tastes great with rockfish, lingcod, halibut, surfperch (which can sometimes flake apart when fried) or Pacific cod. Serve with lemon and tarter sauce.

Parmesan Rockfish

1-2 lbs. rockfish (or other white fish) fillets (works great with whole fillets, or fillets cut into smaller pieces)

1/3 cup bread crumbs or panko

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 or 3 eggs, beaten

1 lemon, sliced into wedges

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine parmesan cheese, bread crumbs or panko, basil, thyme, onion powder and black pepper. Dip fish in egg wash, and then coat with breading. Place on a baking sheet (use a nonstick cooking spray). Bake for 10 minutes, or until fish easily flakes with a fork.

Combine bread crumbs or panko, parmesan cheese, thyme, basil, onion powder and black pepper.
Dip fillets in egg wash and then coat with breading.
Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
Serve with coleslaw, lemon and tarter sauce.

To catch a limit of rockfish or lingcod to enjoy this delicious recipe, contact Brookings Fishing Charters at (541) 813-1082 or visit www.brookingsfishing.com.