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June 30, 2025

Fall coastal salmon management

Fall salmon fishing seasons in rivers along Oregon’s coast from Necanicum River to the Winchuck River depend on the outlook for wild Chinook and coho. Management of wild fall Chinook fisheries are guided by the Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) and the Rogue Fall Chinook Conservation Plan (RFCCP). ‌‌‌

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News Topics

2025 wild fall Chinook regulations have been posted online at the in-season regulations updates page. Proposals for 2025 wild coho seasons are posted below.‌‌

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to adopt regulations for coastal coho this fall at their Aug. 15 meeting in Salem. See a summary of proposals below; more information will be posted on the Commission page closer to the meeting. Comment on the proposals via the rulemaking page. The proposed fisheries also require federal approval from the National Marine Fisheries Service which is expected before Aug. 15.

The 2025 forecasted ocean abundance of Oregon coast natural coho is 289,000 fish, up from about 232,000 last year and the largest forecast since 2012. Proposed wild coho fisheries for 2025 are similar to 2024, with additional fishing days in some rivers due to the strong forecast. One exception is the Umpqua River, where no wild coho fishery is being proposed. The Umpqua Basin had a very low coho return in 2022 (the parents of adults returning this year), particularly in the South Umpqua population where no adult coho were observed during ODFW spawning ground surveys. Juvenile coho abundance in the Umpqua Basin the following summer was the lowest observed since the late 1990s. As a result, ODFW is expecting a low return of adults in 2025, especially in the South Umpqua. In addition, ODFW is not expecting any adult returns from the South Umpqua hatchery coho program this fall. This is a continuing effect of the Archie Creek fire in 2020, which resulted in the loss of nearly an entire hatchery coho generation which ODFW is still working to restore. The fish loss in 2020 resulted in severely reduced numbers of hatchery adults returning in 2022, the parent generation of adult coho expected to return to spawning grounds in 2025. Therefore, ODFW proposes to close all salmon angling in the Umpqua River (mainstem) for the remainder of the year once the wild Chinook quota is reached.

Proposed 2025 wild coho regulations:

The coastwide season limit is five (5) wild adult coho salmon across all open areas in the NW and SW zones, regardless of where they are harvested.
Harvest of one (1) wild jack coho salmon per day is allowed in areas and dates open for wild adult coho harvest. There is no season limit on wild jack coho salmon.
All other areas and dates remain closed to harvest of wild coho salmon (adult or jack).

Basin

Dates open

Wild Adult Bag Limit

(# per day/ # per season)

Open Area

Nehalem, N. Fk. Nehalem

9/10-10/26

(Wed., Sat., & Sun. only)

1 / 3

Nehalem Bay from the tips of the jetties upstream to the Miami-Foley Road Bridge.

North Fork Nehalem River from the mouth upstream to the North Fork Road Bridge at Aldervale.

Tillamook Bay & River

9/10-10/26

(Wed., Sat., & Sun. only)

1 / 3

Tillamook Bay from the tips of the jetties upstream to the HWY 101 bridges on the Miami, Kilchis, Wilson, and Trask rivers, and on the Tillamook River from the mouth upstream to the Burton Bridge.
Nestucca & Little Nestucca

9/10-10/26

(Wed., Sat., & Sun. only)

1 / 3

Nestucca Bay and River from the mouth upstream to the Cloverdale Bridge.

Little Nestucca River from the mouth upstream to the HWY 130 Bridge (MP 1.2).

Siletz, Drift Cr., & Schooner Cr.

9/13-11/14

1 / 3

Sep.13-Oct.7: Siletz River from the mouth upstream to an ODFW marker sign approximately 1,200 feet upstream of the Ojalla Bridge.

Oct.8-Nov.14: Siletz River from the mouth upstream to the Illahee Boat Ramp.

Drift Creek from the mouth upstream to the steel bridge entering Mennonite Camp.

Schooner Creek from the mouth upstream to the confluence with Erickson Creek.

Yaquina & Big Elk Creek

9/13-10/10

1 / 3

Yaquina Bay & River upstream to the confluence with Simpson Creek.

Big Elk Creek from the mouth upstream to the confluence with Bear Creek.

Beaver Creek

11/1-30

1 / 3

Beaver Creek from the walking bridge at Ona Beach State Park upstream to the confluence with South Fork Beaver Creek.
Alsea & Drift Creek

9/13-10/12 and

10/25-11/7

1 / 3

Alsea Bay and River from the mouth upstream to the USFS River Edge Boat Landing.

Drift Creek from the mouth upstream to the lower Wilderness Boundary.

Siuslaw, N. Fk. Siuslaw, & Sweet Cr.

9/13-10/14

1 / 3

Siuslaw River from the mouth upstream to the confluence with Lake Creek.

North Fork Siuslaw River from the mouth upstream to Meadows Bridge.

Sweet Creek from the mouth upstream to the head of tidewater.

Umpqua, Smith, & N. Fk. Smith

Closed

 

Closed to salmon fishing when 500 adult wild Chinook Salmon quota is reached.
Coos, S. Coos, & Millicoma R.

9/13-10/10

1 / 3

Coos Bay and Coos River mainstem from the visible tips of the jetties upstream to head of tidewater or other landmarks (see 2025 permanent regulation exceptions, page 36, for details).

South Fork Coos River from the mouth upstream to head of tidewater at Dellwood (RM10).

Millicoma River mainstem from the mouth upstream to the confluence of the East Fork and the West Fork Millicoma River.

Coquille

9/13-10/15

1 / 3

Coquille River from HWY 101 bridge upstream to the HWY 42S Sturdivant Park Bridge near the town of Coquille.
Floras Cr. & New River

11/1-30

1 / 3

From the BLM New River boat ramp at Storm Ranch upstream to the confluence of Floras Creek and the Floras Lake outlet.
Siltcoos, Tahkenitch, and Tenmile lakes

10/1-12/31

(permanent

rules)

1 / 5

(permanent

rules)

Permanent rules; see 2025 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations

 

2025 Wild Chinook seasons adopted and regulations posted online

Check the fishing regulations updates page for the SW and NW region to see wild Chinook salmon seasons. 

Anglers should be aware of the special rules for the Umpqua, Smith and North Fork Smith Rivers this year. The Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a limited season, rather than a complete closure, after receiving many public comments and hearing testimony from a Douglas County Commissioner, business owners and local anglers concerned about a proposed closure.

The Umpqua, Smith and North Fork Smith Rivers are open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays starting July 1. The season runs through the earlier of Nov. 30 or until the 500 wild Chinook quota is reached. The bag limit is one Chinook (either hatchery or wild) per day and per season. 

All Chinook fishing including catch-and-release and fishing for jacks is prohibited on the Umpqua, Smith and North Fork Smith Rivers on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and after bag limit is caught. Other fishing seasons remain open under permanent regulations.

The days-per-week approach will allow ODFW to better evaluate when the wild Chinook quota is reached. Any closure will be announced via news release, on this page and on the in-season updates page. 

Boundaries for the three rivers remain as in permanent regulations (e.g. allowed where Chinook fishing is allowed in permanent regulation).

More about the Umpqua River wild Chinook Decision

This year is the first time the Umpqua River has dropped below the Critical Abundance Threshold (CAT) since the Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) was adopted in 2014. Last year's return of fall Chinook to the Umpqua was the lowest on record since 1980. The CMP calls for discontinuing wild harvest when populations fall below CAT, but allows for adaptive management such as the approach in the Umpqua River this year.

"We have talked for a couple years now about how conditions in the Umpqua River are very concerning for salmon and steelhead due to impacts from wildfire, drought, warming streams and non-native predators," said Tom Stahl, ODFW Deputy Fish Administrator for Inland Fisheries. "The outcomes from these conditions are now being felt with last year's extremely low return and discussions over how this affects the fishery are difficult for everyone."

"It's very hard to realize such an iconic river as the Umpqua is struggling," said Commissioner Hatfield Hyde. "I am very thankful ODFW staff have come up with some options, and we ask the public to hang in there with us and help us figure out how to look toward the future."

Table 1. 2025 Wild Fall Chinook regulations adopted by Commission

This is a summary of regulations. Anglers should check the in-season updates page for more information.

Population

Bag Limit

(per day/season)

Other Changes

Necanicum

1 / 2

 

Nehalem

1 / 2

 

Tillamook

1 / 2

 

Nestucca

1 / 5

 

Salmon

2 / 10

 

Siletz

2 / 10

 

Yaquina

2 / 10

 

Alsea

2 / 10

 

Yachats

1 / 2

 

Siuslaw

1 / 2

 

Umpqua

1 / 1 (for all Chinook)

Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until quota of 500 wild Chinook is reached

Coos

2 / 10

 

Coquille

Closed

 

Floras/New R.

1 / 2

 

Sixes

1 / 10

Oct. 1 through Nov. 3 low flow closure from the Hughes House Boat Ramp upstream to the mouth of Crystal Creek

Elk

Closed

 

Rogue Aggregate

SW Zone rules

 

L. Rogue

SW Zone rules

 

Hunter

1/2

 

Pistol

1 / 5

 

Chetco

1 / 5

 

Winchuck

1 / 5

 

Background‌‌

Wild Chinook‌‌

Management of fisheries for wild fall Chinook in Oregon coastal rivers is guided by the Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) for rivers from the Elk River northward and the Rogue Fall Chinook Conservation Plan (RFCCP) for rivers south of the Elk River. ‌‌‌

The CMP established a tiered sliding scale approach for managing Chinook fisheries. Based upon the prior year's return and the current year's forecast, daily and seasonal bag limits may be reduced or increased for a set of rivers within the same geographic area—or fishing may be closed entirely at a certain critical threshold. Likewise, the RFCCP specifies management objectives and regulatory measures based on abundance though some provisions differ from the CMP. ‌‌‌

The Plans recognized that adaptive management would be necessary due to unavoidable uncertainty. In recent years, rapid climate and ocean change is undermining assumptions and increasing forecast uncertainty for wild Chinook. Populations on neighboring rivers, despite similar freshwater and marine conditions, are performing substantially differently in some cases. Spawner abundance has shown large variations, with 11 of 14 monitored populations at or below the critical threshold for one or more years since the CMP was adopted. Finally, a generally increasing freshwater harvest rate in some rivers (vs. generally decreasing ocean harvest rate) may indicate increasing vulnerability to harvest. ‌‌‌

Due to these factors, more conservative management and restrictive bag limits and seasons than what the Plans' original sliding scales called for will be necessary during some years, as they were in 2023 and 2024.‌‌‌

The following tables show the fall Chinook estimates, forecasts, and criteria used to develop the 2025 proposed coastal wild Chinook regulations.

CMP Sliding Scale
Rogue Fall Chinook Conservation Plan