California salmon closure Archives - Brookings Fishing Reports

BROOKINGS, Ore. (April 30, 2023) – Ocean anglers fishing out of the Port of Brookings are anxiously awaiting a couple of season openers that provide Alaska-style fishing closer to home. Pacific halibut season opens May 1, and although giant barndoor halibut are rare off the Oregon Coast, the average size is similar to Alaska. Oregon halibut seasons are also less restrictive, and charter anglers often return with limits.

Fishing at the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse, meanwhile, opens May 15. The lingcod and rockfish action, with potential for trophy fish, rivals the saltwater action in Alaska and British Columbia. Brookings Fishing Charters will be offering trips for halibut and the lighthouse daily, as the weather allows.

Ocean salmon season opens June 17 off the coast of Brookings. Poor runs expected back to the Sacramento and Klamath rivers have led to an ocean salmon closure in California this year, but the Oregon Coast will be open to hatchery coho salmon, also known as silver salmon. Brookings often has the best coho fishing on the Oregon Coast during the first part of the season, before the bulk of the run migrates north to traditional hot spots closer to the Columbia River, where the silver salmon spawn. Coho salmon are popular with anglers because of their great taste, and hard fight at the end of the line.

**Deckhand Eric holds a lingcod that hitchhiked to the surface on a blue rockfish in April.**

Since early March, our charter boats have been running half-day and 6-plus-hour longer ranger lingcod trips, with good success. Those popular bottom fishing trips will continue daily on our six-pack boats and the Nauti-Lady, along with the additional opportunities for halibut and trips to the lighthouse.

Fishing for rockfish has been good on most trips, with limits of large black, blue and canary rockfish. Our charters have been using light tackle in shallow water for the rockfish. The Oregon limit for rockfish is five fish a day, with no depth restriction or delayed opener. Rockfish, also known as Pacific snapper, rockcod or sea bass, include black, blue, canary, vermillion, yellowtail, olive, tiger, copper and China rockfish. Two lingcod a day also may be kept out of Brookings, in addition to the rockfish.

**Capt. Kirby holds a lingcod caught on a charter aboard the Kraken.**

During our half-day charters, we are catching rockfish in the Bird Island, Twin Rock and House Rock areas. Lingcod are biting best a little north of Bird Island, but in shallow water. We also have run longer-range lingcod trips to Mack Arch with good success.

**Some of the lingcod caught aboard the Miss Brooke at Mack Arch.**

**A trophy lingcod caught in late April aboard the Miss Brooke.**

Pacific halibut opener

Halibut migrate into shallow water during the spring and summer to feed, after spawning at depths close to 2,000 feet during the winter in the Gulf of Alaska. Out of Brookings, halibut are caught in 200 to 300 feet of water early in the season, and a little shallower as summer arrives. Catch rates also improve later in the season, but fish are caught as soon as the season opens. This year, the season out of Brookings runs May 1-Oct. 31, seven days a week, with no depth restriction.

**Halibut and lingcod are often caught during our charters to the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse.**

The Brookings Fishing Charters crew is the most experienced group of halibut charter captains on the Southern Oregon Coast. Capt. Andy, Capt. Travis and Capt. Rye each spent a decade running halibut charter boats in Alaska. They also have extensive experience on the Oregon Coast. Capt. Michael, Capt. Mick and Capt. Mike also have been very successful at catching halibut off of Brookings, and at the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse.

**Some of the halibut caught last summer with Brookings Fishing Charters.**

Brookings Fishing Charters offers halibut charters, or halibut and rockfish or halibut and salmon combos. Halibut average around 20 pounds off the coast of Oregon, the same size as most of the fish in Alaska (although fish over 100 pounds appear more frequently in Alaska). Each season, customers with Brookings Fishing Charters catch halibut over 30, 40 and 50 pounds. The biggest caught by one of our customers was 60 inches, and nearly 100 pounds.

In Brookings, Oregon, halibut season is open seven days a week. One halibut a day of any size may be kept. Six halibut a year may be kept. In Alaska, several days a week are closed, there is a reverse slot limit (so anglers are often limited to small chicken halibut) and the annual non-resident limit is less.

Point St. George Reef Lighthouse

Halfway between Brookings and Crescent City is the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse, which has some of the best lingcod and rockfish action on the entire Pacific coast. The productive reef is situated near two marine reserves. With seasonal closures, the rockfish and lingcod populations are extremely healthy. Large rockfish, with a great variety of color, are caught near the lighthouse, along with trophy lingcod. Each season, several fish pushing 30 pounds and a few topping 40 pounds are caught near the lighthouse.

**Triple hookups of big fish is a common occurrence at the lighthouse.**

Brookings Fishing Charters runs trips on all of its boats to the lighthouse with special Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Because the trips originate in Oregon, our boats have the option of fishing for coho salmon, or halibut, on the way back to port. Salmon season is closed in California this year, and the halibut quota often is reached quickly in California, so Brookings is the ideal starting and ending location for Alaska-style combo trips to the lighthouse. Our boats often get their limits of bottom fish at the lighthouse, and then troll for salmon after they reach the border and continue back toward the harbor.

**Lingcod like these, caught last summer aboard the Nauti-Lady, are a top draw at the lighthouse.**

**A colorful variety of rockfish and lingcod caught last summer aboard the Kraken.**

**Eric holds a hefty lingcod caught next to the lighthouse aboard the Nauti-Lady last summer.**

**Brent with a pair of trophy vermillion rockfish caught aboard the Nauti-Lady at the lighthouse.**

The lighthouse is approximately 11 miles from Brookings, almost straight out from the harbor. The reef and best fishing is a little further, in what is known locally as the “Dragon Channel” a lingcod and trophy rockfish infested area of the reef. Swift currents, sudden depth changes, and an extremely rugged undersea terrain provide ideal habitat for big rockfish and lingcod. Oldtimers tell stories of lingcod between 50 and 70 pounds, and each season plenty of trophy lings are caught.

Giant vermilion rockfish, jumbo canary rockfish and trophy copper rockfish are caught on nearly every trip. Our customers also encounter rare tiger rockfish at the lighthouse, and often catch (and release) giant yelloweye rockfish, which are protected and cannot be kept.

**A nice variety of lingcod and rockfish from the lighthouse.**

Ocean salmon opens June 17

This year’s ocean salmon season runs June 17-Aug. 31. Two hatchery coho, or silver salmon, may be kept each day. While Chinook runs are down this year on the Sacramento and Klamath Rivers, leading to the ocean king salmon closure, coho runs are healthy. This year’s quota in Oregon is 110,000 fish, well above the average quota of 28,000 to 40,000 coho. The ocean abundance of Columbia River and Oregon Coast coho is more than 1 million fish. Those salmon spent the first part of their ocean life in deep water off of California and Southern Oregon, making Brookings the ideal spot to catch them in June and early July, before they migrate back to the Columbia River.

**Coho salmon are plentiful off of Brookings in June. These were caught aboard the Miss Brooke.**

**Limits of coho salmon last summer aboard the Miss Brooke.**

**Coho salmon are great for young anglers because the action is often fast and furious.**

When coho schools are thick, which is often the case early in the season, double and triple hookups are common, and limits are the norm. The Brookings Fishing Charters captains have a well-earned reputation of being the top-producing ocean salmon skippers out of Brookings.

We catch salmon trolling herring or anchovies behind flashers. Divers are often used for coho, but downriggers are also mounted on the boats in case lines must be fished deeper.

Similar to halibut, several of the Brookings Fishing Charters captains have years of experience running charter boats in Alaska for coho salmon.

Local half-day trips

Our 4-hour local bottom fishing trips are still our most popular ocean charters. These are good for young anglers, or people who don’t want to spend a lot of time on the water, or be very far from shore. Limits of rockfish are common on these trips, and the action is often fast and furious, with anglers catching two fish at a time, and a large variety of fish. All of the fish are great to eat, and customers keep their catch.

**The Nauti-Lady returns to port after a half-day trip in April on a beautiful spring day.**

To learn more about our ocean charters, visit www.brookingsfishing.com, or book by calling our office, (541) 813-1082.

Here are some of the catches from last week on our charters out of Brookings.

**The Miss Brooke fishing off of Brookings in late April.**

BROOKINGS, Ore. (April 6, 2023) – Ocean anglers will get two and a half months to catch hatchery coho salmon this summer off the Oregon Coast, with the season running June 17 through Aug. 31 out of Brookings. Coho often produce wide-open action, and when schools move through, multiple hookups at the same time are common. Coho, also known as silver salmon, are known for their hard fighting abilities and excellent taste.

Federal fishery managers set ocean salmon seasons on April 6 during a meeting of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Brookings will be the closest port to California with any ocean salmon fishing, as salmon will be closed this year off of California, and in the Sacramento River and its tributaries. Chinook fishing is closed the entire year in the ocean off of California, and until Sept. 1 in the ocean off of most of the Oregon Coast. The river seasons on the Rogue and Chetco rivers will go on as normal. Coho fishing will be open from Brookings to Tillamook most of the summer. Anglers will be allowed to keep two hatchery coho per day. Fishing will be open seven days a week, with a 110,000-quota for hatchery coho.

**Anglers hold limits of coho salmon caught last summer on the Miss Brooke.**

During most seasons, catch rates for hatchery coho are highest out of Brookings early in the season, with the last two weeks of June and first two weeks of July the prime time to catch coho. The fishery is fueled by massive releases of hatchery coho by Native American tribes on the Columbia River. Those fish migrate south in the ocean, and arrive off the coast of Brookings in May, June and early July as they make their way back to the Columbia. This year, federal fishery manager predict an ocean abundance of more than 1 million coho, with most of the fish from the Columbia River, but plenty also from the Umpqua, Coos, Siuslaw, Coquille, Siltcoos and Rogue rivers.

**Double hookups are common during coho season off of Brookings.**

The Brookings Fishing Charters crew has a well-earned reputation for producing the best ocean salmon catch rates for the local charter boat fleet. All of the captains are also licensed river guides and have decades of experience fishing for salmon. Many have extensive Oregon and Alaska fishing guide and charter boat experience.

Coho are caught trolling plug-cut herring or anchovies behind flashers, or on lures that resemble baitfish. The fish are aggressive feeders and when the bite is on, they attack lures and baits with little caution, making them easy targets for experienced charter captains.

**Salmon from the 2022 season aboard the Dash of Brookings Fishing Charters.**

Low numbers of Chinook salmon expected to return to the Sacramento River led to this summer’s salmon shutdown in California. Since the majority of the king salmon caught off the Oregon Coast are from the Sacramento and Klamath rivers, Oregon also has salmon restriction. Coho salmon, however, are having healthy returns, especially on the Columbia River, where tribes have focused on building the silver salmon runs in recent years.

**Coho salmon caught on the Miss Brooke during the summer 2022 season.**

King salmon fishing will be allowed this year on the Chetco and Rogue rivers, where salmon runs are healthy. The Brookings Fishing Charters crew is historically known for getting some of the biggest salmon each year on the Chetco. The drought that devastated salmon runs in California was not as severe on the Oregon Coast rivers.

**A pair of nice salmon caught at the mouth of the Chetco with Capt. Andy.**

River fishing on the Rogue starts in late June and early July, while the Chetco kicks into gear at the end of September. Drift boat season is late October and early November.

Since coho salmon are migrating from Northern California up through Oregon during their ocean migration back to the Columbia, the early part of the season is best. The peak season is in late June and early July.

Brookings Fishing Charters will be offering ocean coho trips daily, with salmon only trips, or salmon and rockfish combos. There also are Point St. George Reef lingcod and hatchery coho combos, with salmon fishing taking place on the way back from the lighthouse in Oregon waters.