Tag: Wild Rivers Fishing

Fall lingcod bite hot, first steelhead arrive, crab opener good!

BROOKINGS, Ore. (Dec. 8, 2024) – It has been a very busy and productive late fall on the Southern Oregon Coast, with hot action for lingcod and rockfish, bonus crab with last week’s ocean sport opener, the first winter steelhead of the season on the local rivers, and some big, bright late fall king salmon still around. The Point St. George Reef Lighthouse season also ended with a bang, with limits of lingcod and jumbo rockfish.

Brookings Fishing Charters is continuing ocean fishing charters for lingcod, rockfish and crab in December as the weather allows. The charter boat captains also are running drift boat trips on the local rivers for salmon and steelhead when ocean conditions are too rough for offshore charters.

Limits of lingcod and a bunch of crab from the Dec. 6 charter aboard the Miss Brooke.
A nice limit of lingcod at Mack Arch in late November aboard the Nauti-Lady.

Dungeness crab season opened Dec. 5 off the coast of Brookings, and the Brookings Fishing Charters quickly set crab pots as a bonus for the lingcod and rockfish charter customers. Aside with limits of rockfish and lots of lingcod, customers also are leaving with bags full of cooked crab. Crab combos will continue as the weather allows, although catch rates could drop with the Dec. 16 commercial crab opener, as thousands of crab pots will carpet the ocean out of Brookings.

Deckhand Eric with a pot full of crab from a recent charter on the Kraken.

At Mack Arch, fishing has been wide-open for lingcod on our long-range 6-hour charters. Lingcod to 20 pounds are being caught, along with limits of nice rockfish. Most of the lings are being caught on light spinning tackle in shallow water.

Closer to the harbor, the local 4-hour half-day charter is producing limits of rockfish, with a few lingcod mixed in. During the winter, lingcod move closer to the shoreline to spawn, and fishing can also be very good close to port for lingcod and rockfish.

Capt. Andy with the first adult winter steelhead of the season on his drift boat last week on the Chetco River. Late December, January and February are peak season for steelhead fishing.

On the Chetco and Smith rivers, Capt. Andy, Rye, Sam, Mick, Chris and Eric have been running salmon trips from their drift boats. Aside from some late-season king salmon, they also are finding the first winter steelhead of the season. Salmon season will wind down in December, although some fresh fish will still be around on the Elk and Sixes, while steelhead season will improve. January and February are peak season for steelhead on the local rivers. The Brookings Fishing Charters and Wild Rivers Fishing team is the most experienced group of local guides on these world-class rivers. Learn more about winter steelhead fishing at www.wildriversfishing.com.

Heavy rain expected this coming weekend will give salmon action a boost on the Elk and Sixes rivers while they begin to drop early next week, while more schools of fresh steelhead are expected on the Chetco and Smith rivers.

Capt. Rye with a 42-pound king salmon from early December on the Chetco River.

The Point St. George Reef lighthouse area closed to fishing Nov. 30. The last few trips of the season to the lighthouse aboard the Miss Brooke and Kraken produced quick limits of lingcod and rockfish, with a nice mix of colorful canary and vermillion rockfish, and lingcod to 20 pounds. The lighthouse area is expected to re-open in May.

Nice limits of lingcod from a late-season trip to Point St. George Reef aboard the Miss Brooke.

During the winter months, lingcod become the prime target of charters aboard the Brookings Fishing Charters boats. Using light tackle, the crew will first take customers to reefs full of rockfish and try to catch quick limits, leaving plenty of time to use large jigs or bigger baits intended to catch lingcod. The best catch rates of the year for lingcod usually happens from December through April as the lingcod are in shallow water.

Capt. Andy with a nice lingcod caught in early December aboard the Miss Brooke.
Limits of lingcod caught aboard the Miss Brooke with Capt. Chris and Sammy.
A nice vermillion rockfish caught aboard the Nauti-Lady in late November.

This coming week, the Brookings Fishing Charters crew will be offering crabbing only charters before the commercial season opens. Cost is $100 a person and includes cleaning and cooking of the crab. Call our office at (541) 813-1082 to book a crabbing trip.

Crabbing also can be added to bottom fishing charters. Contact out office for details.

Eric and Capt. Sam with a few of the many crab caught during the ocean sport opener last week.
The Miss Brooke fishing near House Rock in early December 2024.

To book a river or ocean fishing trip, call (541) 813-1082. For more information on ocean charters, visit www.brookingsfishing.com. For river trips, visit www.wildriversfishing.com.

Here are some recent catches with our river guides on the Chetco and Smith rivers.

Here are some recent catches aboard our ocean charters.

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.

Long-range trips yield fantastic lingcod and rockfish action

BROOKINGS, Ore. (May 12, 2024) – Limits of lingcod, jumbo rockfish, and fish-after-fish action were the result of our long-range ocean charters this past week to the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse and Mack Arch. The action was the best it has been all season, with the fish boxes on our six-pack charter boats stuffed, and customers happy with some of the best ocean fishing to be found on the Oregon and Northern California Coasts.

Frequent customer Carin Sharp of Medford with a trophy lingcod caught this past week aboard the Kraken at Point St. George Reef.

Action at the lighthouse, located 11 miles straight out of Brookings, lived up to its billing, with trophy-size lingcod and colorful limits of rockfish, including whopper vermillion and spectacular-looking tiger rockfish, along with the normal assortment of blacks, blues, canaries, Chinas and coppers. The Miss Brooke and Kraken enjoyed limits outstanding fishing at Point St. George Reef, using light tackle to catch lingcod up to 25 pounds, and limits of jumbo rockfish. Fishing at the lighthouse is comparable to that in Alaska, with abundant lingcod and a diverse variety of rockfish. The average size of the lingcod and rockfish at Point St. George is the highest in the region.

A nice limit of lingcod caught at Mack Arch aboard the Miss Brooke.

The Miss Brooke also traveled to Mack Arch this week, where large rockfish and hungry lingcod kept customers busy. Mack Arch is 17 miles north of Brookings, and with less pressure than the reefs closer to the harbor, often has some of the best ocean fishing on the Southern Oregon Coast. The reef is especially popular with our light-tackle customers, who often catch large lingcod in water as shallow was 20 feet using light spinning rods.

One of several tiger rockfish caught last week at Point St. George Reef.
A nice assortment of lingcod and rockfish caught by a group from Reno, Nevada.

Ocean salmon season opens May 16 out of Brookings. Two king salmon a day may be kept. The best action for salmon out of Brookings is usually mid-June through July. Our six-pack charter boats use downriggers and divers to troll for salmon, and our captains have a well-earned reputation for producing the highest ocean salmon catch rates on the Southern Oregon Coast.

Pacific halibut season is also open, but fishing out of Brookings usually improves in late June, July and August, as the fish migrate into shallower water.

Capt. Kirby holds a lingcod caught on a local half-day charter.

Aside from the long-range trips to Point St. George and Mack Arch, the action also has been good on the local half-day charters. Four-hour and six-hour trips are offered for anglers who don’t want a full day on the ocean. Light tackle is used to fish for lingcod and rockfish, with reefs as close as a mile from the harbor.

Fish on! Carin Sharp fights a large lingcod aboard the Kraken.

To book an ocean charter fishing trip, visit www.brookingsfishing.com, or call our booking office at (541) 813-1082.

A big lingcod and a trophy vermillion rockfish caught aboard the Miss Brooke.

Here are some of the catches from the past week on our charters.

Lingcod biting between storms

(BROOKINGS, Ore. – Dec. 23, 2022) — Rough weather has kept charter boats at the docks for most of November and December, but between storm, fishing has been very good for lingcod and rockfish off the coast of Brookings and at the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse.

The Brookings Fishing Charters crew has been running ocean charters as weather conditions allow this fall and winter, and also taking customers down the Chetco and Smith rivers for salmon and steelhead. Salmon fishing was well above average this year, with big returns to the coastal rivers, while steelhead fishing also is off to a good start.

Just before Christmas, the six-pack charter boats working out of the Brookings Fishing Charters office enjoyed good fishing for lingcod and rockfish on our local half-day trips, and on the long-range trips to the lighthouse. Rough weather, with big swells and strong winds, returned Christmas weekend.

Customers hold limits of lingcod from a fall trip to the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse aboard the Miss Brooke.

The lighthouse area, along with all California coastal waters, close to fishing Dec. 31, and reopens May 15. Based at the Port of Brookings year round, the Brookings Fishing Charters fleet will continue to run half-day and long-range targeted lingcod trips all year. During the winter months, lingcod come close to shore to spawn, putting them within easier range of the sport fleet. Lingcod fishing often is good during the winter, especially at Mack Arch and near House Rock out of Brookings.

A nice lingcod caught aboard the Miss Brooke this fall out of Brookings.

Unlike other six-pack charters that occasionally fish out of Brookings, our captains are local, full-time charter boat captains based out of the Port of Brookings, and our boats fish here year round. The knowledge and experience of our crew is unmatched for six-pack charters in Brookings. That experience pays off during the winter, when local knowledge often leads to bigger lingcod and a better grade of rockfish.

The Nauti-Lady fishing off of Brookings in the fall of 2022.

Aside from our six-pack boats, the Nauti-Lady also operates out of the Brookings Fishing Charters office. The Nauti-Lady can accommodate larger groups, and its spacious deck allows customers to fish with lots of room and plenty of space to spread out. The Nauti-Lady operates year round out of Brookings, weather permitting.

The Brookings Fishing Charters captains are also full-time fishing guides who operate drift boats trips on the Chetco and Smith rivers. To learn more about river fishing, visit www.wildriversfishing.com

Below are some of the winter steelhead caught on the Chetco River in December 2022 with Capt. Mick, Michael and Sam.

Halibut season opens May 1 out of Brookings. Ocean salmon seasons are set in April, although we will have a general idea of the season dates in March. Typically, ocean salmon opens in June and runs into August. Albacore tuna arrive in late July.

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

Lighthouse trips yield nice lings and rockfish, occasional halibut

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.

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

Limits of lingcod and rockfish from the lighthouse aboard the Miss Brooke.

Steelhead biting on coastal rivers

While rough ocean conditions are keeping our charter boats at the dock, the frequent storms also have increased flows in the Chetco and Smith rivers, creating prime conditions for winter steelhead fishing.

The Brookings Fishing Charters team of guides are all licensed river guides, and run drift boat trips for salmon and steelhead when they are not running ocean charters. Steelhead season is off to a great start on the Chetco and Smith Rivers.

Capt. Michael holds a Chetco River steelhead caught by Larry from our office crew.

During the last week of December 2021, the Smith and Chetco dropped into perfect shape for steelhead. We fish from heated drift boats, running small plugs or side-drifting roe and Corkies. Catches have been good, with two to three fish per rod.

Capt. Andy, Mick and Travis have special permits from the Forest Service to fish the Wild and Scenic upper Chetco. This is a limited-entry area for guides and only a small number of fishing guides are allowed to bring their customers to the National Forest section of the river.

A nice wild steelhead that was caught and released on the Upper Chetco with Capt. Andy.
Another steelhead is released on the Upper Chetco.
Happy customers hold some keeper steelhead from the Chetco caught with Capt. Andy and Capt. Mick.

Steelhead season runs from late November through March on the Chetco and Smith rivers. January and February is peak season. Anglers can keep some of the steelhead they catch on the Chetco, while the Smith is primarily a catch-and-release fishery.

The Brookings Fishing Charters crew fishes from heated drift boats. Many of the boats have rain tops to make fishing more comfortable in wet weather.

To book a winter steelhead trip, call (541) 813-1082. More information is available at www.wildriversfishing.com.

Capt. Mick with a nice Chetco steelhead.

Nice weather improves lingcod, rockfish action

After two weeks of extremely windy weather, the ocean calmed down this week, giving anglers a better shot at lingcod and rockfish. Salmon fishing, meanwhile, slowed after very good fishing the first two weeks of the season.

Nice salmon caught aboard the Miss Brooke in late June. After two weeks of hot fishing, the salmon action slowed over the long Fourth of July holiday in Brookings.

With the calm weather, our charters made it back to Mack Arch for the first time in a few weeks. The rockfish action has been wide open, with rockfish feeding on crab spawn near the surface, while some nice lingcod also have been caught. One of our customers, Julie from Shady Cove, Ore., caught an impressive 27-pound lingcod on July 6.

Julie Jackson holds a 27-pound lingcod caught July 6 aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters.

The lingcod and rockfish charters also are yielding lots of color. We are catching vermilion and canary rockfish, along with lunker-size black and blue rockfish. The rockfish action has been some of the best we’ve seen so far this season.

A beautiful vermilion rockfish caught on the guide sled with Capt. Andy.

Brookings had really good salmon fishing from the June 20 opener through the end of the month. But cooler water from strong winds and upwelling offshore pushed the schools of salmon away from the harbor. The water temperature dropped to 46 degrees. It is slowly warming this week, and bait is still thick, so we expect an improved salmon bite this weekend.

Anglers hold the results of a July 4 double-hookup on the Miss Brooke.

Salmon season runs through Aug. 7. The limit is two king salmon, hatchery or wild, a day, with a 24-inch minimum length. The kings are running large this year, with fish to 25 pounds or biggers.

Nice kings from July 3 on the Miss Brooke.

There are reports of albacore tuna off the Oregon Coast. Several boats plan to scout the tuna grounds this weekend. If they find them within 30 miles, we will soon offer tuna trips. A few Pacific halibut also were caught this week out of Brookings.

The average size of the salmon off of Brookings this year has been excellent.

During good weather days, we are offering afternoon bottom fishing charters, along with the normal morning charters. The afternoon trips are popular with families, or people traveling from the Rogue Valley who would rather drive over in the morning instead of the day before.

We have been catching a lot of canary rockfish on our 6-hour bottom fishing charters to the north of Brookings. The grade is excellent.

To book an ocean charter, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call our booking office, 541-813-1082.

Sweet Chili Smoked Rockfish

A few weeks ago, frequent customer Glenn Thill brought some smoked rockfish on the boat that was great: sweet, not too dry, good flavor. You wanted another piece after trying it. Glenn shared the ingredients with Capt. Andy, who tried a few versions before settling on this recipe.

Smoked rockfish is easy to make and delicious. This recipe yields a moist, sweet treat, and can also be used for salmon and other fish.

1 cup Yoshida’s original sweet teriyaki sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

For those who like a more salty flavor, increasing the soy sauce to half a cup, or adding 1/3 cup salt is optional.

The main ingredients are brown sugar, Yoshida’s original teriyaki sauce, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

Cut the rockfish into small pieces, roughly three or four pieces per fillet.

Cut the rockfish fillets into small pieces. Each fillet will yield four pieces.

Brine in the Yoshida’s, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce mixture for at least 12 hours.

Add the fish to the brine, and leave in the refrigerator overnight. The fish can be brined for two to three days

Without rinsing place on a drying screen for one hour.

Allow the fish to air dry in the smoke with the lid off for at least an hour before turning on heat and adding chips.
Use thee pans of chips to smoke, then leave in smoke several more hours to finish.

Smoke, with three pans of chips, for 4 to 8 hours. Brush with sweet chili sauce and continue smoking until fish is done. You will know when fish is done when it easily breaks apart and turns from a translucent color to white inside.

After three pans of chips have been used, apply the first coast of sweet chili sauce. This will help keep the fish moist, and add a delicious sweet flavor.
After smoking for three or four hours, brush the fish with sweet chili sauce again.

We’ve tried lots of smoked rockfish recipes. Rockfish tends to dry out quickly, and also can easily by too salty. This brine yields a moist piece of rockfish with a firm texture without being stringy.

The finished product, sweet chili smoked rockfish.
Glenn Thill of Shady Cove, Ore., shared the ingredients for sweet chili smoked rockfish with us. Glenn is a frequent customer on our charter boats.

To catch a limit of rockfish to make your own smoked rockfish, visit our web site, www.brookingsfishing.com, or call our booking office, (541) 813-1082.