BROOKINGS, Ore. (May 19, 2023) – The highly anticipated lingcod and rockfish season opener at the Point St. Geoge Reef and lighthouse lived up to its expectations, with easy limits of lunker rockfish and steady action on big lingcod. Halibut fishing also is off to a good start near the lighthouse, and has improved off of Brookings.
Aside from local half-day bottom fishing trips out of Brookings, and all-day long-range trips to the lighthouse, anglers fishing out of the Port of Brookings also have an ocean salmon season to look forward to. The coho salmon season off the Oregon Coast begins June 17, and Brookings is often ground zero for the best action in late June and early July.
A pair of nice lingcod caught near the Point St. George Reef lighthouse in mid May.
The lighthouse area is a highly popular trip because of the Alaska-style fishing often found in the productive waters of Point St. George Reef. Aside from big lingcod and halibut, the thriving reef is home to massive schools of blue, black, canary and yellowtail rockfish. Tiger, vermilion, China, copper and quillback rockfish also are caught near the lighthouse, located halfway between Brookings, Oregon, and Crescent City, California. Few boats venture to the far side of the lighthouse, where the Brookings Fishing Charters fleet has a large number of tried-and-true hotspots for lingcod and rockfish.
Chris, a frequent Brookings Fishing Charters customer, fights a lingcod near the lighthouse on May 16.Chris holds a limit of lingcod caught aboard the Nauti-Lady in May.
Each season, lingcod topping 40 pounds are caught near the lighthouse. Charter boats fish shallow pinnacles, catching lingcod in was as shallow as 30 feet, and deeper water up to 250 feet. The lighthouse area often has more consistent fishing for lingcod compared to reefs closer to Brookings or Crescent City.
An angler fights a salmon that hit a bottom fishing rig in May. The salmon was released without being removed from the water.
Brookings Fishing Charters has been running trips daily. Half-day local trips are offered for lingcod and rockfish, along with a longer-range 6-plus-hour targeted lingcod trip. The lighthouse trips run 8 hours. All-day halibut trips also are available. Halibut season runs through Oct. 31 out of Brookings, with the best fishing in later June, July and August.
A pair of 20-pound lingcod caught May 19 aboard the Nauti-Lady.
Salmon fishing is closed in all of California this summer, but will open out of Brookings June 17. Two hatchery coho, also known as silver salmon, may be kept each day. River fishing for salmon also will open as normal on the Chetco and Rogue rivers this fall. River fishing for salmon is closed in California this year.
During a charter in mid-May to the lighthouse, a large king salmon was released on the Nauti-Lady. Several salmon also have been released by anglers fishing out of Brookings. Plentiful boat is a good indication of healthy ocean conditions, which generally lead to good silver salmon fishing. The action is often fast and furious, with double and triple hookups common during coho season.
Fishing in California waters opened May 15, and the Brookings Fishing Charters fleet spent much of the first week of the season at the lighthouse. The Nauti-Lady and Miss Brooke ran several trips to the lighthouse during the opening week, with limits of big rockfish daily, and boat loads of big lingcod.
BROOKINGS, Ore. (May 29, 2022) – Long-range trips to the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse are producing limits of nice lingcod and rockfish, while fishing charters on our local half-day trips also are yielding nice rockfish with lingcod mixed in.
Some of the nice lingcod caught Memorial Day Weekend aboard The Dash with Capt. Mick.
So far this season, trips to the lighthouse, located halfway between Brookings and Crescent City, just across the border in California, have been a major draw. Aside from quality limits, a few Pacific halibut also have been caught on our charters to the lighthouse, along with a 5-foot wolf eel. Trips to Mack Arch also are resulting in limits of nice lingcod and rockfish, with some fish pushing 20 pounds.
Capt. Michael holds a nice halibut caught aboard the Kraken at the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse.
Salmon season opens June 18 out of the Port of Brookings Harbor, and expectations are high. More than 1.2 million hatchery coho salmon are projected to be off the Oregon Coast this summer, most headed back to the Columbia River. Those salmon begin their northerly migration up the coast near Brookings, where they move closer to the beach after wintering in deep water, and follow the coastline back to the Columbia River. Along with the abundant forecast of silver salmon, the Sacramento River, which fuels ocean fisheries in Oregon and California, also has a strong forecast for fall king salmon, along with the Rogue River. Salmon from those two river account for the majority of the kings caught each summer off of Brookings.
A tiger rockfish caught at the lighthouse aboard the Kraken.
King salmon season opens June 25, when anglers will be allowed to keep wild or hatchery king salmon, also known as Chinook, along with hatchery coho salmon, which also go by the name of silver salmon.
Below are some of the catches from recent trips aboard the Miss Brooke, Kraken, Nauti-Lady, Papa B, Bout Time and Dash, which make up the Brookings Fishing Charters fleet.
BY RICH HOLLAND/Western Outdoor News. BROOKINGS, Ore. – Fires raged both sides of the border, the delta variant was on the move and the wind was blowing a gale along the southern Oregon coast, yet nothing was going stop a group of four anglers from a week of fishing planned six months earlier.
The crew with halibut caught in August 2021 aboard the Nauti-Lady.
The plan? To use the growing fleet of Andy Martin’s Brookings Fishing Charters to maximize whatever opportunities the waterways and coast from Gold Beach to Crescent City could offer the first week of August. The list of possibilities is long: king salmon, silver salmon, Pacific halibut, California halibut, rockfish, lingcod and albacore.
Martin’s cooperation and flexibility were both necessary and outstanding. It was he who suggested that we book Monday, Wednesday and Friday, leaving as much room for adapting to conditions as possible.
As luck would have it, conditions were excellent when we arrived, dead calm under the protection of Chetco Point. A slight change in the forecast noted that while Cape Blanco to Gold Beach was under a gale warning, the area from Brookings south would be variable 5 to 10 knots with fog and overcast.
Patrick Bird fishes aboard the Miss Brooke near the Point St. George Lighthouse.
“It’s looking good for the Lighthouse tomorrow morning, so make sure you have both your California and Oregon licenses,” said Martin when we called to check in Sunday. “Since we are leaving from and returning to Oregon, we will be under Oregon regulations as far as our catch.”
Brookings Fishing Charters is right across from the launch ramp boat lot and is both office and tackle store. After we paid up, it was a short drive to D Dock where the Miss Brooke, a 29-foot Kingfisher aluminum with twin 150 outboards, was tied up and Andy and Michael McGahan were ready to go at 6 a.m.
Limits of lingcod aboard the Miss Brooke near the lighthouse.
“It’s a little windy and bumpy this morning but it is going to lay down all day,” said Martin as he steered for the St. George Reef Lighthouse. As we neared and the spire came into view, as well as islands and basaltic outcroppings, he also told the story of the hundreds who died in a shipwreck just after the Civil War, resulting in the construction of the costliest lighthouse ever built in US waters.
Wind with current meant a quick drift despite the braking of the kicker motor, so even in the shallow water it was hard to feel the bottom. Some heavier heads induced a steady inpouring of beefy black rockfish to come aboard. Then Steve Holland caught the first lingcod of the morning, followed quickly by Paul Freese. Both sported the blueish tint occasionally seen on lings.
A trophy vermillion rockfish caught by Rich Holland.
The size of the black rockfish increased as the drift improved with the weather, and canary, yellowtail, copper, china and yelloweye rockfish all found the lures. The last three had to be released under Oregon regulations. The yelloweye were huge and at first gave the impression of being a big lingcod.
Except the big lings gave a much better impression when hooked – besides the ones that fought all the way to the top, a couple almost spooled Steve and Patrick Bird before finding it back to the rocks.
With a slot or two left for some big rockfish, it was time to move the drifts to Martin’s best big lingcod spot for the last of the lings needed for the two fish per person limits. While no monsters were landed Patrick scored the biggest ling of the day when it hitchhiked aboard via a small rockfish, while this writer connected with a beauty of a vermilion rockfish.
Patrick and Capt. Michael with a hitchhiking lingcod.
“The weather is going to keep getting better every day,” said Martin, “Wednesday could be the best.”
Tuesday was beautiful and with the opportunity to move farther offshore, and while we hiked and golfed, some boats got into both silver and king salmon. Yet the good conditions had Capt. Martin leaning in a different direction for our Wednesday run.
“Our boats that have been trying have been getting at least one good halibut a day up to 50 pounds, even in the rough water,” he noted. “I think we’ll take the big boat out and I bet we can do better than that. We also catch a lot of big petrale sole, and they are great eating.”
Fresh salmon guts tricked this halibut aboard the Nauti-Lady.
As a result, we were out on the 41-foot Nauti-Lady early Wednesday morning sliding through the smooth windswell and fog out to one of Martin’s favorite spots for Pacific halibut.
“We have to wait for the halibut to pick up our scent and find us,” Martin pointed out as Ron baited double circle hook rigs with squid and herring and Andy set up rods for sand dabs and petrale sole. “Once the sand dabs really start biting, the halibut show up at this spot.”
Brent Foster, who sold his house after surviving the Paradise fire and moved to Brookings, was also aboard and he was the first to hook up with a flattie. Not long after a 24-pound halibut was flopping on the deck.
A long time passed without a bite, then the few that came were light. The sound of nearby humpback whales spouting whooshed through the fog. Every now and then the dense mist would lift and other boats would appear and disappear.
Capt. Andy holds a nice Pacific halibut.
Salmon started to jump around the boat and at times when the fog lifted we would watch a boat net a salmon. Then a call came in from Michael on the Miss Brooke – his group was limited out on king salmon to 35 pounds by 9 a.m.
Believe me, it was getting a little hard to bear!
Andy asked Michael to come by and drop off the salmon guts for bait and we got to see the big king held up by the happy angler. Then when the bait went on the hooks, the halibut started to climb on ours. Patrick broke the ice with a 15 pounder, the Paul landed a 28-pound flattie. We missed a few other bites and decked a handful of big petrale sole to make for plenty of meat to go around.
Big schools of rockfish at the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse.
All of the Brookings Fishing Charter boats and most of the other boats out Wednesday had whacked both kings and silvers. It should be noted lots of wild silvers and shaker (short) kings were released.
When Andy asked if we would like to go salmon fishing the next day (Thursday) it was probably one of the quickest times I ever said yes.
We were back out on the Miss Brooke with Michael and Travis at the wheel and on deck Thursday and a breeze was up and the ceiling of grey was well overhead. It was a chunky ride out to the fishing grounds of the day before.
Limits of salmon aboard the Miss Brooke.
“I’m not marking any bait – the krill was everywhere yesterday – there are hardly any birds and I don’t see any whales, but let’s put the rods out and look around,” Michael said. “Keep an eye out for whales, all of our fish yesterday were on whales.”
Was the day after hex going to take hold?
A handful of bites, two small silvers released and a decent sized hatchery silver boated later, well off the port bow two massive humpbacks twisted back into the water in a massive splash.
“Pull in the gear, we’re going to run for them,” said the skipper. “If we troll to the whales we’ll get there too late.”
Rich Holland with a big king.
We got there in time all right – so close we could smell the stench of the leviathans’ breath, so close we had to pull back the throttle and steer clear of the big fellas while we put out lures and baits in the slime of their feeding frenzy.
Instantaneous action doesn’t describe what followed, it was a scramble for one bent rod after another, with the inevitable misses and the satisfying runs of a solid hookup intertwined.
At first a lot of the kings were small. Travis dropped the Brad’s Lures fished on divers off the stern to 100 feet back and the keeper kings latched on. For whatever reason the anchovy baits fished tight on the inside at 25 feet also started to pick up more quality.
Whenever the bite slowed at all or the size dropped off, we ran towards the next whale. By 7:55 a.m. we had our 2-fish limits each of kings and silvers, mostly kings. We had dodged the “should have been here yesterday” jinx and done even better.
From the beach the next morning we could see the fog lay heavy. Word was only a rare keeper made it in the box. Later the fog gave way to a mid-afternoon gale. The weather had cleared again as of this writing (Aug. 11) and the boats were into the albacore offshore.
Next time.
For more information on fishing out of Brookings, go to Brookings Fishing Charters at brookingsfishing.com or phone (541) 813-1082.
Trip Info
Location and Recreation
Brookings/Brookings Harbor is located just north of the California border on Hwy. 101. There are many motels and vacation rentals available. We stayed Ocean Suites Motel. Accommodations can also be found to the south in Crescent City. The Chetco River bar is the mouth of Brookings Harbor. The Rogue River in Gold Beach is an hour away and the Smith River in California is 20 minutes south. The spectacular redwoods of Jed Smith State Park line the Smith and Harris Ranch and Lone Ranch State Beaches are just north of Brookings. Salmon Run golf course is on the Chetco and Del Norte golf course is adjacent to the Smith.
Dining
From seafood to steaks, breakfast to burgers and brew pubs, there are lots of options: Alta’s Burger Bar (Smith River), Hiouchi Café (Smith River) Catalyst Seafood, Slug N Stone Ice Cream, Pacific Sushi, Bean and Whistle Coffee Bar, Zola’s Pizza, Wild River Pizza, SuperFly, O’Hollerans Steaks, Mattie’s Pancake House, Chetco Brewing, Misty Mountain Brewing, and Seaquake Brewing (Crescent City). A Fred Meyer has all your shopping needs.
Brookings Fishing Charters’ new long-range trips to the historic Point St. George Lighthouse have been a hit with customers, who have caught trophy-size lingcod and rockfish in recent weeks while fishing at the extremely productive reef between Brookings and Crecent City.
Customers hold limits of lingcod caught aboard the Miss Brooke in mid-August 2020 near the Point St. George Reef lighthouse.
“This was one of my favorite saltwater trips ever!,” said customer Brent Foster. “Amazing fishing on a great boat with super captain and crew. Thanks Capt. Travis and Michael for a memorable day with Brookings Fishing Charters.
Capt. Michael holds a lingcod that hitchhiked to the surface on a smaller lingcod near the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse.
“That was a fabulous trip,” said Cole Tidwell. “Thank you for a great time.”
Cole Tidwell of Grants Pass, Ore., holds a trophy vermilion rockfish caught aboard the Miss Brooke.
The lighthouse is approximately 11 miles offshore of Brookings at the edge of the Point St. George Reef. The fishing there is unmatched compared to other local areas, with larger-than-average lingcod, canary rockfish, vermilion rockfish, cabezon and tiger rockfish. Lingcod to 20 pounds are common, and lings over 30 pounds are caught several times a season.
Miss Brooke customers hold limits of lingcod from the Point St. George Reef.
Brookings Fishing Charters is one of the Brookings-based charter companies licensed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to take customers to the reef. A pair of marine reserves border the area, but the open section has world class lingcod and rockfish action, comparable to the best Alaska has to offer. Currently, the Miss Brooke and The Dash have California permits for the lighthouse area.
One of the trophy lingcod caught in August by a Brookings Fishing Charters customer.
Trips to the lighthouse and reef originate in Brookings, but fish in California waters before returning to Oregon. Anglers must have a California and Oregon license for the trip. One-day licenses are available.
Dave Miller of Shady Cove, Ore., with a monster lighthouse lingcod.
The run to the lighthouse is fast and comfortable aboard Brookings Fishing Charters’ six-pack boats. Because only six passengers are fishing, anglers can focus on larger fish, carefully releasing smaller ones with descending devices. Brookings Fishing Charters’ crew also are experts at targeting lingcod, especially larger specimens, and consistently catch large lingcod and limits for the boat. Quality light tackle makes the trip even more exciting.
Don Williams of Brookings with his Point St. George trophy lingcod.Capt. Michael holds a trophy lighthouse lingcod.Big lingcod are common at the lighthouse.Two lingcod caught on the same rod at the lighthouse.
Aside from the lighthouse trips, Brookings Fishing Charters ran several successful halibut charters the past week, with quality fish to 40 pounds. Halibut season remains open through October out of Brookings. It is the longest season for Pacific halibut outside of Alaska.
Capt. Mick and customers from The Dash with limits of Pacific halibut.Capt. Michael holds a 40-pound Pacific halibut caught aboard the Miss Brooke.A couple of Pacific halibut caught with Brookings Fishing Charters in August 2020.Pacific halibut have been making Brookings Fishing Charters customers happy.Capt. Travis with a tiger rockfish from the Point St. George Reef.Capt. Andy with a large vermilion rockfish from the Point St. George Reef.One of many tiger rockfish caught in August aboard the Miss Brooke.Tiger rockfish are rare out of Brookings, but more abundant at the Point St. George Reef.Dave Miller with a limit of dandy lingcod from the lighthouse.The Miss Brooke arrives at the historic Point St. George Reef Lighthouse.Fish on, calm water, in front of the lighthouse. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Brookings Fishing Charters is pleased to announce it is now offering long-range fishing trips to the Point St. George Reef and Point St. George Lighthouse, where the average size of rockfish and lingcod is often much larger than waters closer to the harbor, the action is usually fast and furious, and the experience of fishing in the historic area is something anglers won’t soon forget.
Customers hold lingcod and rockfish caught in early August aboard the Miss Brooke near the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse between Brookings and Crescent City.
Capt. Andy Martin, owner of Brookings Fishing Charters LLC, said he decided to begin offering the lighthouse trips as part of his company’s commitment to provide the best fishing opportunities possible out of Brookings. “The Point St. George Reef has some of the most prolific rockfish and lingcod populations in our region,” Martin said. “It offers the best chance at a trophy lingcod, trophy vermilion or canary, and trophy yelloweyes. The reef is full of life, and such an amazing place to fish.” The ability to fish near the lighthouse required a substantial investment by the Brookings Fishing Charters vessel owners for permits and licenses. The reef is located across the state line in Northern California, requiring out-of-state commercial fishing vessel licenses and commercial passengers fishing vessel permits for charter boat operators.
Anglers aboard the Miss Brooke enjoy a triple hookup of lingcod and rockfish a short distance from the Point St. George 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.
Lingcod are abundant near the Point St. George Reef lighthouse.
To fish the lighthouse area from Brookings, anglers must possess Oregon and California fishing licenses. The fish are caught in California, but landed in Oregon. Only a limit legal in Oregon can be landed in Brookings, so the limit is seven rockfish and two lingcod. Because they are caught in California, only four black rockfish and three canaries can be part of each limit. “Fortunately there are a lot of large vermilion in the area,” Martin said. “The canaries also are huge compared to what or normally caught closer to Brookings.” Boat operators must use caution to keep their vessels outside of marine protected areas, or “reserves” while fishing. Skilled navigation also is required for fishing in the minefield of wash rocks and other dangers near the reef and lighthouse.
Lunker yelloweye rockfish are common near the lighthouse. These fish must be released. This angler caught two at a time on a two-hook rig. The fish were safely released with a descending device.
Lighthouse trips are offered on the Miss Brooke with Capt. Travis, Capt. Andy and Capt. Michael, and The Dash with Capt. Mick and Capt. Rye. All are local captains with substantial time fishing local waters. Capt. Andy and Capt. Travis grew up fishing the local area, while Capt. Mick for years operated his own commercial fishing vessel fishing for lingcod and rockfish near the lighthouse out of the Crescent City Harbor. The captains also fish the Smith River and Chetco River during the fall and winters for salmon and steelhead, and are intimately familiar with the history and heritage of the lighthouse and local waterways.
The historic Point St. George Reef lighthouse, as seen from the Miss Brooke.
The Point St. George Reef and lighthouse are a fascinating part of local history. The lighthouse was built in 1892 after several tragic shipwrecks in the Point St. George Reef. Towering 146 feet above the ocean, the lighthouse can be seen from Brookings and Crescent City. The reef is part of what was named “Dragon Rocks” by Sir Francis Drake. On July 30, 1865, during a gale, the 220-foot Brother Jonathan, carrying 244 passengers, struck the reef and sank. Only 19 people survived. A fortune in gold went down with the ship. Most of the gold is said to still be at the bottom of the ocean near the lighthouse, although a fisherman claimed to have caught 22 pounds of gold bars in his net in the 1930s. The sinking of the Brother Jonathan played a key role in the decision to build the lighthouse on Northwest Seal Rock.
The lighthouse cost $752,000 to construct in 1892, equivalent to $22 million today, making it the most expensive lighthouse ever built in the United States. The lighthouse was major construction feat. Several people died during construction and more were killed while serving at lightkeepers.
A nice lingcod caught at the Point St. George Reef.
Trips to the lighthouse are limited to calm days because of the lengthy open-water crossing. Because of the distance, the trips are eight hours. Cost for the exclusive trips are $200. Few charter boats make the trips to the lighthouse. Previously, tourists would pay $200 just for a boat ride to see the lighthouse. The Brookings Fishing Charters long-range trip combines a scenic voyage to the lighthouse and an incredible fishing adventure.
“Fishing near the lighthouse is comparable to the trips I used to take customers to in the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound when I used to run charter in Seward, Alaska, and Glacier Bay, Alaska,” Martin said. “It is a world-class fishery, and Brookings is the ideal harbor to visit it from.”
