Marine Zone

Dec. 18, 2024‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌

‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌If there’s not a photo, it didn’t happen

Submit your fishing photo  to ODFW and we might use it here or elsewhere on MyODFW.com.

Announcements

For the latest regulations, including in-season changes

See the fishing regulations update page.

Recreation Report holiday break

Due to the upcoming holidays, we'll be taking a break from the Recreation Report the weeks of Dec. 23 and 30. The Rec Report will resume publication the week of Jan. 6, 2025.

Saltwater News Bulletins

Be among the first to know about in-season changes! You can subscribe to receive emails and text message alerts for marine topics that interest you. It's easy to unsubscribe at any time. Your contact information will remain confidential. Three different lists of interest to ocean enthusiasts are available: bottomfish, halibut and ocean salmon.

Bottomfish ‌

A few reminders:

• Cabezon opened on July 1, 2024, with a daily sub-bag limit of one fish and a minimum length of 16 inches. Cabezon will again be prohibited beginning January 1, 2025.
• Retention of quillback rockfish and yelloweye rockfish remains prohibited.
• Click ‘Regulation Updates' above to see what's new for 2024 or visit the sport bottomfish seasons page.

Upcoming bag limits for 2025:

• General Marine Species:
  • 4-fish bag limit January 1 through June 30
  • 5-fish bag limit July 1 through December 31
  • Canary rockfish: 1-fish sub-bag limit
  • Cabezon: 1-fish sub-bag limit
    • Opens July 1, 2024
    • 16-inch minimum size limit
• Lingcod: 2-fish bag limit
  • 22-inch minimum size limit
• Flatfish: 25-fish bag limit
• Sablefish: 10-fish bag limit
• Longleader gear fishery: 10-fish bag limit
  • Canary rockfish: 1-fish sub-bag limit
  • For a 10-fish bag limit to apply, longleader gear must be used outside (seaward) of the 40-fathom regulatory line
• 10 midwater rockfish species only
• Visit the sport bottomfish seasons page for the ‘2025 What can I keep?'.

Port by port reports:

• Depoe Bay: Only one day last week presented favorable conditions to get out on the water and the fishing was pretty fair with about 2 fish per angler. Lingcod was good with an average of 1.5 fish per angler.
• Newport: Fishing was good early last week with catch rates around 4 fish per angler. Lingcod landings were close to 1 fish per angler.
• Charleston: Effort was very low last week with challenging ocean conditions. The boats that made it out saw limits of rockfish and half limits of lingcod.
• Brookings: Anglers had moderate ocean conditions early last week with moderate success of about 3 fish per angler. Lingcod landings were low.

The offshore longleader fishery gives anglers an opportunity to catch more fish and to distribute effort away from nearshore species. Learn more about the gear and the fishery. 

Bottomfish fishing resources:

What can I keep and how many? Keep up with in-season regulation changes.

Know what you've caught with some helpful rockfish identification tips (including online quizzes and video).

Waypoints for fathom lines and other restricted areas.

Shore and estuary fishing

Daily bag limits, seasons and licensing requirements for shore-based anglers are the same as for boat-based anglers.

There are plenty of rocky or sandy fishing sites up and down the coast where shore anglers can drop a line for saltwater fish. Read about how and where

Lingcod and many other bottomfish species are available year-round to shore anglers fishing in rocky areas. A common setup for lingcod is a jig head with a rubber swim bait – it's simple but effective. Also pack a measuring device for lingcod: the minimum legal size is 22 inches.

Surfperch are available in the surf year-round along sandy beaches and rocky shores, with the best fishing (and safest fishing) occurring when swells are small. Learn about ocean surfperch fishing.

Want more opportunities that don't include a boat? Check out the crabbing and clamming recreation report for updates on crabs, clams, mussels and more!

When fishing from shore or inside estuaries and bays, it is important to check the tide. Many fish that swim into estuaries and bays, including salmon, surfperch, and Pacific herring, tend to come in with the tide. Catch of these species is more likely to occur closer to slack tide. Additionally, the accessibility of some areas can be completely dependent on the tide. Do not allow the incoming tide to become a safety issue.

Ocean salmon

The ocean recreational salmon fishing season is closed. Season options for 2025 will be proposed in March.

Pacific halibut

The Pacific halibut fishing season is now closed for the remainder of 2024. Season options for 2025 will be proposed in mid-February.