02/08/2010 - Local Report

Empire lakes, Tenmile Lakes and Saunders lake are all reporting excellent trout fishing.  Anglers are using bright spinners and worms for the best luck. 

The rivers have been reportedly low and clear, but there are still Steelhead being caught although it has slowed down with these river conditions.  According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:  "Access to the South Coos River above Dellwood is by permit from Weyerhaeuser Company, and is subject to their rules. Anglers can call the Weyerhaeuser hotline number at 1-888-741-5403 for recorded information on access and permit purchases." 

Recreational crabbing has slowed down in the area, its more been more productive for bay crabbers with boats, with most of the harvest being reported as Red Rock Crab.  Dock crabbing has been very slow in the Charleston area.

Bottomfishing for Rockfish, Greenling and Cod has been decent when the waters have been calm enough to go out. 

01/25/2010 - Local Report

The West fork of the Millicoma river was clear yesterday and the East Fork was clear but with better fishing conditions as one Angler reported.  He stated that he was using a corky and an egg and landed 3 with that combination.  He said that the banks were a little deserted yesterday and reported only seeing about 10 cars up the East Fork.  The angler said that his friend caught a nice 30 incher weighing in at nearly 9 pounds using a bobber and jig set up.  There really needs to be a couple inches of rain to bring some more steelhead up into the river, that fishing has definitely slowed down from last week.

01/15/2010 - Local Report

The East fork of the Millicoma river was reportedly perfect fishing conditions today.  The West fork was also in good shape and got even better as the day progressed.  There were hundreds of fishermen on the banks of both forks most of the day.  Many steelhead were being landed through out the day.  Anglers were reportedly using eggs and corkys or yarn and a corky.  There were some fishermen using a Blue Fox #4 lime green spinner and having good luck with that. 

01/04/2010 - Local Report

Steelhead fishing was reportedly picking up speed today.  One angler's report stated that he was up the East fork of the Millicoma River and hooked three and landed one.  This angler was using drifting eggs with a corky.  This angler saw 6 other fish being hooked this morning.  The waters on the east fork were in perfect condition and the river was being fished heavily from Nesika park on down.  The West fork of the Millicoma was low and clear today.  Crabbing remains excellent in the bay. 

2009 ARCHIVED REPORTS

12/15/2009 - Local Report Steelhead are reportedly being caught up on the East Fork of the Millicoma River, but it has been pretty slow.  The next rain should bring in some brights and there should be a good return this year. Crabbing continues to be excellent both off the dock and in the bay.  Limits are being met and the shells are firm and full. 
11/30/2009 - Local Report Rainbow trout fishing is reportedly excellent in many local lakes.  Anglers have been successful using Powerbait and spinners.  Recreational crabbing and clamming continue to be excellent in Coos Bay.  Limits are being met quickly and the weather has been excellent.  Steelhead season is now open and there are a few being caught in the Coos River Basin.  This should pick up through the month as the best fishing should start about the end of December.  Bottom fishing for Lingcod and rockfish has been reportedly strong.

11/18/2009 - Local Report  Both recreational crabbing and clamming have been excelled in Coos Bay.  The crabbers are limiting out quickly either off the dock or out in the bay with a boat.  The dock crabbers are reporting mostly rock crab and the bay crabbers are reporting reaching limits on Dungeness.  Salmon fishing has continued to slow with very few brights being reported.

11/5/2009 - Local Report  Clamming and Crabbing are both being reported as excellent in Coos Bay.  Tides have been good late evening and the crabs being harvested are hard shelled.  Salmon fishing has slowed down since most of the fish have moved up river.  There are a few being caught at the Coos Bay boardwalk, but most of them are dark.  Empire Lake in Coos Bay was just recently stocked with Rainbow Trout and anglers have been successful using Powerbait and spinners.

10/30/2009 - Local Report  Crabbing inside the bay has been very successful this week.  Sport crabbers are limiting out quickly on Dungeness Crab and the shells have been hard.  Chinook Salmon have been reportedly being caught down on the Coos Bay Boardwalk and in the mouth of Daniels Creek in Catching Slough.  Trout fishing will close in Coos Bay and the rivers on October 31.

10/21/2009 - Local Report  Crabbing outside the bar has now closed for the season.  Inside the bay, crabbing has been slow with very few coming close to their limits.  Bay fishing continues to be slow with a few sea trout, perch and bottom fish being landed.

10/03/2009 - ODFW Report  There have been a few sea-run cutthroat trout caught in Coos Bay. The use of bait while fishing for trout in streams above tidewater is now allowed. Trout season is open until October 31.  Harvest of fall Chinook has slowed down this past week in Coos Bay but there are still plenty of fish to be caught. Harvest this past week has been almost a 50/50 split between jacks and adult Chinook. The best place to fish from a boat is in the Marshfield Channel, Coos River, and South Fork Coos River.  Harvest of Chinook by bank anglers has picked up this past week. A few of the bank fishing area are at the Coos Bay City Boardwalk, the mouth of Catching Slough, the mouth of Daniels Creek, and the upper end of Isthmus Slough near the House of Confusion. The 2009 temporary regulations for fall chinook are now in affect until Dec. 31.  The quota has been met for the wild coho fishery in Coos Bay and harvest of wild coho is no longer allowed. Anglers may still retain fin-clipped coho.

Fishing for rockfish, surfperch, and greenling in the lower Coos Bay estuary has been good. To catch rockfish and surfperch fish near pilings or submerged rock piles and for greenling concentrate your fishing effort near kelp beds for the best success.  The best baits to use are sand shrimp or a jig and twister tail.

The entire Oregon Coast is still closed to recreational mussel and clam harvest due to elevated levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning or PSP toxins according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Crabs are not affected by this level of toxin and are safe to eat.  Before any shellfish harvest trip, make sure to check the Oregon Department of Agriculture website for any recent shellfish closures recent shellfish closures at: http://oregon.gov/ODA/FSD/shellfish_status.shtml.

Recreational crab harvest inside the bay is good for those with boats and those on the docks. Red rock crabs are the main harvest at the Charleston and Empire docks but there are also a few legal Dungeness crabs being harvested as well. The best time to crab is a few hours before high tide and the preferred baits to use are fish, chicken, or turkey legs.

9/18/2009 - Local Report  Salmon are reportedly being caught in abundance by the Chandler Bridge area on Coos River.   One angler reported that yesterday their boat hooked 12 and landed 8.  There were many boats out and lots of fish being caught in that area. The anglers were using #6 Blue Fox lures (orange) with 2 oz. of lead with a splitter bar.   

9/16/2009 - Local Report Chinook Salmon fishing over the last week has been excellent off Coos Bay near the Channel and Coos River sections of the bay.  Plug cut herring seems to be the bait of choice with most anglers.  Some are trolling with a flasher, and some are not.  Wild Coho are being caught near the McCullough Bridge area.  The most recent ODFW regulations state that the limit on wild Coho is one non-fin clipped Coho per day and a total of five non-fin clipped Coho for the season.  This will run through the last day of November or until a 1,000 landed quota has been reached. Bottom fishing continues to be very active with fishermen reportedly having the best luck with a jig and twister tails or sand shrimp.  There are some great minus tides this week and the clamming has been great.  Make sure to check the tide table section of this website to time your trip for the best time to go.

9/14/2009 - Local Report  Over the weekend, it was reported that Salmon were biting and being landed in the channel in Empire about 10 feet deep.  The anglers were trolling on downriggers using plug cut herring about 3.5 MPH.  Bay crabbing was excellent with most everyone harvesting their limits with hard shelled Dungeness.

9/9/2009 - Local Report According to a local charter operator, the bottomfishing has been spectacular.  Limits were caught on Rock Cod, Black Cod and Snapper and even Lingcod.  Shrimp Flies and Rubber Scampis have been successful luring them in.  Tuna fishing has been excellent since there is still lots of warm water.  Reports of tuna being caught as close at 18 miles out but the majority of catch is out around 25 miles.  Ocean Salmon fishing has been slow, very few being caught.  The river Salmon fishing has been very successful using plug cut herring with or without a flasher.  Ocean and Bay crabbing has been excellent.  The shells have hardened back up and limits are being met on Dungeness.

9/3/2009 - Local Report  Tuna are being fished hard about 30 miles out.  One local angler came in with 18 on his boat today.  Bottom fishing has been great off Simpson's reef and Coho are being caught in the mouth of Coos River.  Coho are reportedly biting on hoochies and flashers.  The ODFW announced that anglers are now allowed to keep one wild Coho Salmon caught inside the river.

8/27/2009 - Local Report  Salmon are being caught at the mouth of the Coos River, using plug cut herring and a flasher.  There have been several landed over the last few days.  Crabbing still remains active on the docks and in the bay, but most of the shells are reported as half full and soft.

8/20/2009 - Local Report  Largemouth bass, yellow perch and bluegills in the local area lakes is still decent.  Chinook Salmon fishing has been slow but is expected to pick up in the next couple weeks.  Clamming has been good this week with some great minus tides.  Crabbing has been still going strong for those on the dock and also in the boats.  Shells are getting pretty soft on the Dungeness pulls and on the docks, most pulls are Red Rock crab. 

7/29/09 - Local Report  A few reports from around the Charleston Marina and the Marina RV Park this week that say that the tuna is about 14-20 miles out and the water is warming back up.  The bottomfishing has slowed down a bit in the last week.  The bay and dock crabbing has been good, but the shells are starting to get pretty soft.  Salmon fishing has been active, but very few keepers being reported.

7/21/09 - Local Report  Both Empire and Tenmile Lake trout fishing has been reportedly still active with the weather warming up.  The trout have been averaging between 17 and 20 inches long.  Using a bobber with the bait attached just underneath has been what most people have been using, or trolling with a flasher or worm.  Blue Gill have begun to spawn and are interested in worms on a small jig under a bobber.  One angler said that the fish have been pretty aggressive trying to protect their nests.  Largemouth Bass are also biting using crankbaits, spinners and plastic worms.   Bay crabbing is still doing well, with people harvesting close to their limits.  Most dock crabbers are reporting mainly Red Rock Crab and a few legal Dungeness.  Trout fishing is reportedly open in Coos Bay and the rivers.  Angling is restricted to artificial flies and lures in streams above tidewater.

7/17/09 - Local Report  Ocean fishing has seen rough weather for the last few days but that changed going into the weekend.  Seas and winds have calmed and the fog lifted this morning allowing over 40 sport boats to cross the Charleston bar.  Reports indicate that bottom fishing is fabulous with great catches of blacks and lingcod.   Crabbing and fishing off the docks has been slow with crab catches being predominantly red rock.

7/14/09 - Local Report  The charter fleet reports that tuna fishing has been fantastic!  Yesterday a nine person charter landed 85 nice-grade fish in the 20 lb. range.  They report averaging 50 tuna per day trip.  Expect to find them about 15 to 20 miles off shore at this time.  The charter fleet reports that salmon catches have been spotty but the sport segment indicate that the salmon fishing is great.  They reported limiting out on salmon yesterday and also indicated that bottom fishing is holding up well.  Crabbing and fishing off the docks have also been good.  Thoughts are that local upwelling is bringing food and bait fish closer to the surface making for good catch off the docks.  Hard shelled crabs are still being caught among soft shelled ones indicating that molting is still continuing.

Weekend Summary 7/13/09 - Local Report  The weekend was busy in Charleston, OR with flat and foggy ocean conditions.  Visibility was low and reports indicated tuna was 26 miles off the coast.  One angler reported a Saturday tuna catch of 26 and a Sunday total of 16 all in the 20 to 55 lb. range.  Bottom fishing was good and reports of Salmon catch were high as well.

7/10/09 - Local Report  Tuna are being reported about 20 miles out in 60° water.  Anglers are having luck fishing with cedar plugs.  Salmon and bottom fishing have also been reported as very active with fishermen catching their limits.  Bay crabbing continues to be excellent with reports of full limits with most of the catch still being firm shelled.  A few soft-shells reported, but the ration is about 9 to 1.

7/08/09 - Local Report  Salmon fishing was reportedly excellent yesterday with one group catching 8 fish and only two of those were natives and had to be put back. They were fishing about 10 miles out in 360 ft. waters.  They were using a diver with an apex yesterday which seemed to be working well.    The ODFW Fish Checker reported that she has checked in a lot of Salmon in the last two days.  Recreational Tuna fishing has been excellent as well, although the waters are cooling again and the tuna have headed out a bit further.  The Tuna were reportedly 19 miles out yesterday with one anglers report of 12 fish landed.  Sturgeon fishing at the bottom for the forks of the Coos River continues to be slow.  Many anglers are still fishing the area using squid and shrimp in bait bags with bites being few and far between.  One report came in that near Gardiner on the Lower Umpqua - they are really getting active and many fisherman have been lined up fishing that area hard.

7/07/09 - Local Report  Tuna fishing for recreational and sport fisherman has been very good.  The tuna are now being reported as close as 15 miles.

Weekend Summary and Morning Update - 7/06/09 - Local Report  Bottom fishing was very active over the weekend - many anglers reporting catching their limits even a report of a good sized 24" ling cod.  Black Rock, Vermillion, Coppers and Cabezon were all reported being landed - a very good mix.  One report came in saying that they were trolling jigs for the bottom fish and having luck with the zucchini clones.  Tuna fish were reportedly being caught by recreational fisherman about 20-25 miles out.  Many boats out of Charleston harbor reporting.  Commercial fisherman were also doing very well with their tuna catch.  Bay crabbing was excellent this weekend.  Many people were catching their limits and a few semi-soft shells were reported but most of the crab were firm.  Many Salmon fishermen went out on Friday July 3, but the high winds forced them back in early.  The salmon were slow biting and it was reported that for about every 10 Native caught, one fin clipped was being caught.  So, there was just basically some catch and release happening.  Charter fishing boats were all out and active this last weekend fishing for bottom fish and catching their limits.

Update 7/02/2009 - Local Report  The weather is reportedly better today and winds have calmed down some.  It was reported that 20-30 recreational boats left the Charleston area this morning to go Salmon fishing.  It was also reported that the local charter fishing boats are out.  Halibut season has opened back for for July 2, 3 and 4.  Another report regarding Dungeness crab in the bay reporting that many people were catching their limits yesterday and the shells are still semi-hard.

Update 7/01/2009 - Local Report  Sturgeon are still not biting below the forks on the Coos River.  There have been several boats there fishing that area over the last two days and no one has reported any landings.   Wind and chop continue to slow the recreational fishing.

Update 6/30/2009 - Local Report  The weather conditions continue to slow down the recreational fishing.  The water is very choppy and the winds are high.  Dock crabbing has been very slow with most of the catching being juvenile or female crabs.  There has been a bit of luck in the bay crabbing, but no one seems to be reaching their limits.  The shells are being reported as still firm enough to eat.  Although the tides weren't the best in front of the Portside Restaurant in Charleston Oregon yesterday, there were a handful of diggers that got their limits on gapers.  Several of them also raked in enough cockle clams to fill their buckets.

Update 6/29/2009 - Local Report  Due to extreme wind and the inability for anglers to cross the bar, there has been no recently reported fishing activity.   There has been some successful bay crabbing reported over the weekend.  The Dungeness crab shells are reported being semi-firm. 

Update 6/26/2009 - Local Report Sturgeon Fishing has nearly come to a standstill below the forks on the Coos River over the last two days.  The bait being used is squid and shrimp tied in bait bags (due to the bullheads making off with bait not secured) and it has not enticed the sturgeon to bite.   The Shad are starting to come in and the sturgeon usually follow the shad this time of year.  There are also many reports of sea lions attacking and eating the 7-8 foot sturgeon.  Clamming is great today and the Martha Washington's are in abundance on clam island (north spit area)!  Halibut fishing will be open for three days - July 2, 3 & 4 - according to local reports.  Windy conditions are slowing down local anglers from accessing the ocean.  Please check the weather and water page of this website for links and information on the latest conditions.

Recreational Fishing Update 6/25/2009 - Local Angler Report  Yesterday it was reported that salmon were being caught about five miles out, due west, of the Charleston Oregon bar.  The lures being reported are; pink hoochies down about 15 ft. in 250 ft. waters, and watermelon hoochies down about 100 ft. in 300 ft. waters.    It was also reported that NW on 270° 4-5 miles out in 200-350 ft. waters that salmon are being caught 30 ft. down and the hot lure being used is the watermelon hoochie.  An angler stated that they caught 10 wild salmon before catching three clipped fin salmon - and they are biting!

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