Expanded Coastal Salmon Opportunities this Fall

The Oregon coast is the land of opportunity for anglers. For half the year, there is a river open for salmon somewhere on the coast. That huge window means a couple of things for anglers: lots of opportunity to bring home fresh fish and the ability to fish in any kind of conditions you want.

The stars of the show are Oregon's two most famous salmon species—the giant Chinook and the acrobatic coho. These fish have the ability to entice people into the hot sun, pouring rain and even occasional snow flurry because they offer sport, tradition and great eating. You can fish from the bank or almost any boat depending on location. Gear needs to be somewhat stout but not expensive.

When the season opens in some river basins on July 1, you could easily find yourself in shorts and sandals. It might even be too hot to fish during midday. And by the time the season closes in several basins on New Year's Eve, you might be all bundled up and have ice on your reel. In between the start and the finish, there should be plenty of rain to get the fish moving upstream.

Anglers have a lot to look forward to this fall: many coastal basins will see expanded opportunity for wild fall Chinook harvest compared to last year, and wild coho fisheries will continue across much of the coast, offering a strong season ahead.

Wild Chinook retention will be open in 18 coastal basins, with increased bag limits in the Necanicum, Nehalem, Tillamook, Siuslaw, and Umpqua basins—providing more opportunity than in 2025. The Nestucca Basin will see a decrease, and the Coquille and Elk rivers will remain open only for hatchery Chinook retention due to conservation considerations. Anglers can also continue to target hatchery Chinook and hatchery coho in many basins, with those seasons set separately in the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations.

Wild coho opportunity also remains strong. In 2026, retention will be open in 10 coastal basins, along with the Siltcoos, Tahkenitch, and Tenmile lake populations. Nearly all basins open to wild coho retention last year are proposed to remain open in 2026, with the exception of the Alsea Basin, which did not meet the criteria this year. The opportunity for wild coho harvest is thanks to decades long effort to address limiting factors paired with a world class monitoring program.

Overall, the 2026 seasons offer more wild fall Chinook opportunity than last year and maintain broad access to wild coho fisheries where sustainable—great news for anglers gearing up for the fall salmon season.

Visit the Fall Coastal Salmon Management Page for more details on proposed bag limits and season dates and subscribe to the page for updates.

Bag limits and season dates are variable, so consult MyODFW.com for the latest on your favorite stream. Fishery managers have structured the seasons to provide extensive opportunity while ensuring sustainable populations for future years. This means the regulations may vary from stream to stream and basin to basin. Variation does not mean complexity. As with all sport fishing, start by choosing a specific spot you want to fish and look up the regulations by water body, basin and species. Then look for differences in the seasons or regulations for wild vs hatchery fish.

When you consult the regulation updates you'll see that bag limits are expressed per day/per season in that basin. So if a stream has a bag limit of 1/5 that means one per day and five for the entire season in that basin. The good news is that of the six bag limit changes from last year, five are increases and only one is a decrease.

Hatchery Chinook programs exist in the Necanicum, Tillamook, Nestucca, Salmon, Umpqua, Coos, Coquille, Elk, Rogue and Chetco basins. Check MyODFW.com for regulations related to hatchery fish. Season limits generally only apply to wild fish as long as the angler purchases hatchery harvest cards as needed. See the 2026 regulations for hatchery coho bag limits and seasons. The Nehalem, Tillamook, Umpqua and Rogue basins have hatchery coho programs.

In most coastal basins, the three main tactics are trolling, bobber fishing and drift fishing/casting lures, depending on how high up the river you are. Throw in some flyfishing and plunking here and there and you can see that almost any technique can bring home the fillets.

The bays and tidewater sections of coastal rivers are primarily (but not exclusively) a boat show, with people trolling their favorite lures or bait from just about any type of boat that can navigate the river current and tides. A typical setup consists of a stout rod with a main line of at least 20-pound test. Terminal tackle is often a several-ounce weight and a flasher or dodger followed by a lure or bait. The terminal tackle alone would wear out a lightweight rod and reel, let alone the rod-bending strike of a 25-pound salmon. So make sure your gear is up to the stress.

As you move upriver from the bays and wide lower tidewater sections, most rivers have a narrower upper tidewater stretch of some length. Some people do troll as high as they can in tidewater, but the upper ends are often ideal for bobber fishers. Depending on public access, there are thriving bobber fisheries on the bank from the bay to the head of tidewater. In places where private property lines the shore, you are likely to see boats anchored near the middle of the stream, casting bobbers and bait toward the bank.

As with trolling, your bobber rod and reel need to be relatively stout. You can certainly use the same rod for trolling and bobber fishing, especially if your reel is spooled with floating braided line. Some people have a dedicated bobber rod because they prefer a certain length and action to help with casting and hook setting, which are not important in trolling. A typical bobber setup consists of a floating main line running through a big cylindrical foam bobber and one-ounce weight a little sliding knot and bead allow depth adjustment. A barrel swivel is tied to the main line to hold the weight and bobber in place. On the other end of the swivel, a leader runs to a hook which carries a glob of cured salmon eggs often tipped with a live sand shrimp and/or a sugar cube sized piece of tuna belly.

Once you get up above tidewater into the river proper, you'll see people in drift boats, back bouncing and drift fishing salmon egg clusters. And that's where you find a lot more bank fishermen, casting a variety of lures and bait. Upriver bait fishermen use bobbers or drift fish a lot like they do for steelhead, only with heavier line. Twitching jigs are becoming more common for coho and spinners work well for all salmon in the rivers.

The only thing wrong with fall salmon season might be the name. Can you really call it a fall fishery when opportunity is open from July 1 to past Christmas? Whatever you call the season, get out and enjoy it.