John Day Pool closes to sturgeon Jan. 30

Sunday, Jan. 29, is the last scheduled day to retain sturgeon in the John Day Pool.

The Dalles Pool closes to sturgeon Jan. 26

 Wednesday, Jan. 25, is the last scheduled day to retain sturgeon in The Dalles Pool.

Report your 2022 hunt by Jan. 31

If you bought a tag you must report, even if you weren't successful or didn't hunt.

South coast opens to crabbing

Recreational crabbing is now open coastwide.

Rogue-South Coast steelhead validation starts Jan. 1

Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, anglers in Rogue and South Coast rivers will need the new steelhead validation and harvest tag to fish for and harvest wild winter steelhead.

Razor clamming closed from Columbia River to CA border.

Due to high levels of domoic acid, razor clamming is closed along the entire Oregon coast.

Recreation Report

Marine Zone

Table of Contents

Recreation Report

Crabbing
Osprey Guide Crabbing, Waldport. -Photo by Tommy Lee-

Feb. 1, 2023

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.

Always check for closures at the ODA Shellfish Safety page before harvesting shellfish, which includes clams, crabs and mussels.

Announcements

Mark your crab buoys

Open-ocean and bay crabbers must mark their buoys. See details here.

Bay clams

During fall and winter, negative low tides suitable for clamming occur in the evenings. Clammers should be mindful of safety while clamming at dark. Safety measures include not clamming in unfamiliar areas, bringing a reliable light source and avoiding clamming alone. Monitor the weather forecast and the swell and surf advisories before going out to make sure you can safely clam.

Check out the Where to Clam articles for places to find bay clams. You can also get more clamming maps here.

Always call the ODA shellfish safety hotline at 1-800-448-2474 or ODA shellfish closures website before harvesting for the most current information about shellfish safety closures.

Razor clams

Razor clams are CLOSED from the Columbia River to the California border due to toxin levels. Always call the ODA shellfish safety hotline at 1-800-448-2474 or ODA shellfish closures website before harvesting for the most current information about shellfish safety closures.

Crabs

Crabbing (ocean, bay, estuaries, beaches, docks, piers) is open coastwide.

Ocean crabbing out of Depoe Bay has been good with 8-12 crabs per person. Bay crabbing in Newport and Waldport has been great with limits being reported. Crabbing out of Brookings remains slow.

In addition to Dungeness crab, another Oregon native present in some of Oregon’s estuaries is the red rock crab. Look for them in larger bays with jetties and other rocky habitats. Crabbers can retain 24 red rock crabs of any sex or size. There have also been higher numbers of Pacific rock crab in Yaquina Bay. This crab counts as your “Other” shellfish, which has a daily bag limit of 10 in aggregate with other species that fall in this category (see page 82 of the fishing synopsis for more details). While they look very similar to red rock crab, their long antennae and large claws distinguish them; they sometimes have spots on their abdomen.

Some crabbers in estuaries may also encounter non-native European green crab in their catch this year. While they look similar to Oregon’s native shore crabs, identify them by the three prominent bumps between the eyes and 5 spines down each side of their body (carapace). They are not always green and color is not a good identifying feature. The daily catch limit for European green crab has been increased to 35 per person per day. European green crab can be any size or sex. Learn more about this species.