Fishing Forum

This is Dennis Dobson at Oregon Outdoors with your north coast fishing report for the week beginning Thursday, May 16, 2002. General Conditions Although river levels are a bit low, steelhead fishing is still good to excellent. Salmon Springer catch numbers in Tillamook Bay continue to remain low. A good shot of rain will help move fish into the bay. Your best chance is along Tillamook’s North Jetty during the four hours or so bracketing high tide. Trolled plug cut herring is the bait of choice. Run a seven to nine foot leader with a 30” to 48” dropper for your trolling weight. Drop your line until you feel the weight hit the bottom, reel in a crank or two and get ready for the bite. Steelhead There are still good numbers of steelies in local rivers. Both the Wilson and Nestucca are producing consistent catches. The lower Nestucca is seeing some summer fish headed for the Cedar Creek hatchery on Three Rivers. Your best bet for a chance to find a keeper steelie this time of year is the Wilson River or in Three Rivers. The stretch of Three Rivers just upstream from the mouth, behind the water treatment plant, has been producing well. The area between the bridge and Cedar Creek Hatchery, about two miles east of Hebo on Highway 22, has also been producing. The Trask, Wilson, Nestucca and North Fork Nehalem (opens May 25) will all produce steady catches well into July, weather and water conditions permitting. The Nestucca in particular sees a late run of large native fish that has just now started to show up. Sturgeon Both Tillamook and Nehalem bays are producing good catches of sturgeon. While tides this week aren’t really great, there are a lot of fish to catch. Sturgeon have already started congregating in the bays, gorging themselves on food as they prepare to make their spawning runs later this spring and early summer. Best time to catch sturgeon is the couple of hours bracketing a low tide. Your best baits are mud and sand shrimp and smelt. The minus tides that start next week, on the 24th, should see catch numbers go up. If you want to wet a line this coming week I’d suggest you call either Ron Byrd at Nestucca Valley Sporting Goods (503-392-4269) for up-to-date info on the Nestucca and Three Rivers or Dennis and Marie Will at Tillamook Bait Company (503-842-5031) for the latest word on the Trask, Wilson and Tillamook Bay. Kelly and Janice at The Jetty Fishery can give you all of the up-to-date info you need on the fishing at Nehalem. They can be reached at 503-368-5746. Trout Trout fishing in most coastal streams will open on May 25. The stocking schedule is now available on the internet at www.dfw.or.us. AND at www.localfishermannews.com. Ocean Bottom fishing has been excellent when boats can get across the bar. Jetty fishing in Tillamook Bay for lings and rock bass as well as greenling is still good to excellent. Two and three-ounce lead head jigs with a spiral tail soft plastic body jigged among the rocks and along the drop off on North Jetty have been producing well. Black or dark purple have the been the colors of choice. Crabbing and Shellfish Crabbing ranged from good to excellent all week. Wind and weather permitting all local bays should continue to produce good catches of crab. The minus tides on tap for next week will likely slow the crab catch. On the other hand they will improve the clamming. For the latest info on beach closures, call the Shellfish Hotline at 503-986-4728 or go to www.oda.state.or.us on the web for updates. Spring Chinook season is coming. As in past years we are offering our annual sturgeon and springer special on Tillamook Bay through the end of May. Book all four seats for just $125 per person per day and fish for both sturgeon and springers at no additional cost. Although we have already begun booking seats for this summer’s sturgeon and salmon fishing on the lower Columbia River, seats are filling fast. In an attempt to fill the remaining seats as soon as possible we are offering the following discount: Fill all four seats for just $125 per seat. This is a $25 per seat savings over the regular price. This discount only applies if you fill all four seats and you must book your seats and pay the deposit before June 1. Sturgeon season: June 1 through August 1 (primetime is June 1 through July 15). Chinook and Coho (Silver) season at Buoy 10: August 1 through the second or third week of September (we don’t know yet when ODFW will close the season). Primetime is the second week of August through the middle of September. Remember, the sooner you email or call us the better your chances of getting the date(s) you want. Our new subscription-only website, Oregon Outdoors Fishing Report is now up and running. Simply go to www.oregonoutdoors.org and click on the appropriate hotlink. You will find a sample publication, complete with a weekly report, monthly forecast, an “Ask The Pro’s” section and discounts on bait, tackle, guides, charters and motels. To subscribe, simply fill out the subscription form and email it to us or call 503-815-2766. Ask Us If you’d like to ask about local river conditions or book a trip you can reach us by phone at 503-815-2766 or via e-mail at oreoutdd@pacifier.com And be sure to visit our web site at oregonoutdoors.org. Just follow the link to the homepage. Please sign our Guest Book … we always enjoy seeing who is visiting us. GIFT CERTIFICATES for the angler in your life (you?) are always available. CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS: We can now accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express credit cards and any major bank debit card for payment. Please call us to complete the transaction. We choose to do this over the phone so you won’t have to send important personal financial information over the internet. Until next week, have a great time and go catch some fish.

Hooker_Sean