Tag: Brookings Oregon Fishing Charters

Brookings salmon opener best in years

The ocean salmon season off the coast of Brookings started with a bang over the weekend, but the hot opener, which produced limits for Brookings Fishing Charters customers, wasn’t a complete surprise.

As the ocean salmon seasons for the West Coast were being developed this spring, the Brookings Fishing Charters crew pointed to forecasts and last year’s catches in predicting a stellar season on the Southern Oregon Coast. Those predictions turned out to be true on Saturday, June 20, as the six passengers on the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters landed 12 adult king salmon for full limits. They also hooked and lost more than a dozen more kings.

Many private boaters also enjoyed great success during the opener. The second day, Sunday, June 21, also produced good fishing, but swells, choppy seas and strong winds limited catch rates.

ODFW fish checkers said the opener was outstanding. Most boats had at least one fish, and there were well over 100 boats fishing.

Michael McGahan, a deckhand and fishing guide for Brookings Fishing Charters, holds the first king salmon of the 2020 season landed on the Miss Brooke.

The ocean season out of Brookings runs June 20-Aug. 7. The last few years have resulted in fair to slow fishing for ocean salmon, with the exception of high numbers of shakers, or salmon that are too small to keep, last year. Last year’s shakers are still around, but instead of 20- to 24-inch fish, they have grown to 10- to 20-pounders this season.

Customers hold their limits of king salmon caught June 20 aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters.

Federal biologists estimate there are more than 500,000 adult salmon from the Sacramento River, 220,000 salmon from the Rogue River, 180,000 adult kings from the Klamath River, for a total ocean abundance close to 1 million adult Chinook salmon. Unlike the last few years, when those salmon stayed off of the Golden Gate, or offshore of Humboldt Bay, this year some of the bigger schools are off of Brookings. Massive schools of herring and anchovies are keeping the fish close to Brookings.

Capt. Travis Sallander of Brookings Fishing Charters washes down the opening day catch from the Miss Brooke.

The last really good salmon year off of Brookings for sport anglers was 2014, when fishing was wide open all of July. This year’s opener rivals the great fishing of 2014, and most years the salmon fishing gets better later in the summer, in July and early August.

Brookings Fishing Charters trolls for salmon with downriggers, divers and spreaders. Using light tackle, customers get to enjoy the hard fight of these prized fish, which are excellent table fare when caught in the ocean.

Customers of the Miss Brooke hold their catch from Sunday, June 21.

The 2020 limit for salmon is two kings a day. Wild or hatchery king salmon may be kept. Coho salmon, including hatchery silvers, must be released. The minimum size is 24 inches.

A salmon is netted by the Miss Brooke crew on opening day.

Brookings Fishing Charters runs six-pack charters daily. Aside from salmon, lingcod and rockfish trips also are available. The crew of Brookings Fishing Charters are locally-based captains and deckhands with boats moored year round at the Port of Brookings. These captains have extensive local experience.

Bruce, a regular customer of Brookings Fishing Charters, holds a nice king caught June 21 with Capt. Andy.

Aside from ocean salmon, the Brookings Fishing Charters crew also guides on the famous Rogue River Bay. Here, thousands of king salmon stack up at the mouth of the Rogue River in Gold Beach, Oregon, waiting for fall rains to move upriver. Hot weather inland keeps the Rogue River above tidewater in the 70- to 75-degree range, too warm for salmon. The salmon stack up in the bay until the water cools and they can continue upriver.

Some nice kings caught June 21 aboard the guide sled with Capt. Andy.

To book an ocean salmon fishing charter, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call the Brookings Fishing Charters booking office at (541) 813-1082.

One of two double hookups landed on opening day aboard the Miss Brooke.
A nice lingcod caught on the opening day of the ocean salmon season off of Brookings.
We also have been catching limits of nice rockfish on our charters.

Rockfish bite good out of Brookings

Despite windy weather for much of the past two weeks, fishing for rockfish has been very good out of Brookings, with limits of snapper to 5 pounds. Fishing for lingcod also has been good on the nice weather days.

A nice vermilion rockfish caught in late May 2020 by Jamie of Grants Pass.

Fishing has been good in the bay, off of Chetco Point and in the Bird Island area. On calmer days, the boats have been running to House Rock and Mack Arch.

Nice limits of lingcod caught in May 2020 near Mack Arch aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters.

Salmon season opens June 20 out of Brookings. With a strong forecast for the Sacramento River and Rogue River, and decent forecast for the Klamath River, there are expected to be big numbers of feeder kings off of Brookings this summer. The baitfish and pelicans have already arrived, a good sign for the salmon opener.

A nice grade of rockfish caught aboard the Miss Brooke.

A few Pacific halibut are being caught off of Brookings. So far, fishing for California halibut has been slow, but schools of these prized fish usually don’t show up until late June or early July.

Lingcod and rockfish from a recent trip aboard the ‘Bout Time.

We are now adding names to our call list for albacore tuna. These trips usually take place in July and August, as the albacore move close to shore. We fish for these fish with rod and reel, and handlines, depending on how customers want to fish.

Fast action for rockfish aboard The Dash.

Salmon fishing in the Rogue Bay will get going in late June, with July and August the peak season. Capt. Andy and Capt. Shane will be running trips out of Jot’s Resort this summer, and will be offering lingcod, rockfish and salmon combos. This is a premier trip and best chance to really load the freezer with fish.

A nice lingcod caught with Capt. Mick aboard The Dash.

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

Nice limits of rockfish and lingcod caught aboard the Papa B.
A nice vermilion caught aboard the Miss Brooke.

Lingcod biting, charters on idle

Just as the lingcod and rockfish action accelerated out of Brookings, and our charters were getting nice limits of both, new measures from the state of Oregon to combat the coronavirus pandemic have sidelined our charter boats for right now.

Brookings Fishing Charters has suspended ocean charters at this time, in accordance with the governor’s executive order regarding coronavirus. Happening during the busy Spring Break period, with many of the reservations made months ago, this is an especially difficult decision. We will be contacting customers booked during the upcoming two-week period to reschedule or process refunds of deposits. We hope to be fishing again sometime in April or early May.
Our thoughts are with the countless families and small businesses here on the Oregon Coast financially impacted by this, the medical workers dealing with the pandemic, and our customers who will have to fish with us some other time.
No cases of coronavirus have been confirmed on the Southern Oregon Coast, and obviously we hope that remains the case. We sincerely hope the spread of COVID-19 is quickly contained, and wish a positive outcome for anyone who comes in contact with it.

Limits of lingcod aboard the Miss Brooke in early March 2020.

Before we temporarily shut down, lingcod fishing was very good. We were seeing a nice grade of fish, with limits most trips, and limits of nice rockfish as well.

6 limits of lingcod caught aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters in March 2020.
Nice limits of rockfish caught aboard the Papa B in March 2020.
Glenn, a longtime customer, with a nice lingcod caught in March 2020 aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters.
More lingcod limits caught aboard the Miss Brooke in March 2020 near Mack Arch.

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.