Marine Zone

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.

Saltwater News Bulletins

Be among the first to know about inseason 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.

Ocean salmon

Anglers are reminded of the following:

• Be sure of your species identification when retaining salmon. Our port samplers (fish checkers) have observed a disappointingly high number of illegal landings due to misidentification of species resulting in non-clipped coho or sub-legal Chinook salmon being landed. See these ID tips.
• No more than one line per angler and no more than 2 single point barbless hooks are allowed while fishing for salmon or when fishing for other species in ocean waters once a salmon has been retained.
• All retained salmon must meet the minimum legal lengths (Chinook 22 inches North of Cape Falcon and 24 inches South of Cape Falcon, coho 16 inches, and steelhead 20 inches).
• All retained salmon must immediately be recorded on the Combined Angling Tag, daily license catch record, or hatchery salmon may be recorded on a Hatchery Harvest Tag.
• All ocean coho salmon seasons are closed effective 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.

Leadbetter Pt., WA to Cape Falcon, OR

In the Columbia River Ocean Salmon Area from Leadbetter Pt., WA to Cape Falcon, OR the recreational ocean salmon season opened on June 25 and will continue through the earlier of the quota or Sept. 30. This season is closed to all salmon fishing effective 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30 through the remainder of 2022.

The 2023 salmon seasons will be set through the Pacific Fishery Management Council in April of 2023, and then must be approved by the Department of Commerce before final adoption.

• The daily limit is 2 adipose fin-clipped hatchery coho salmon (closed to Chinook salmon effective August 23).
• The Columbia River Control Zone at the mouth of the Columbia River is closed to all salmon fishing.

 Catch rates in this area dropped off substantially for the week of September 19-25. Dockside angler checks of 75 ocean salmon anglers during the most recent week yielded only 9 retained coho for an average catch rate of 0.12 salmon per angler. This area is closed to retention of Chinook salmon and closes to all salmon fishing effective 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.

Cape Falcon south to the Oregon/California border

The ocean recreational Chinook salmon season (all salmon except coho) from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt. opened on March 15 and will continue through Oct. 31.

The non-selective coho season from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt. opened on Saturday, Sept. 3 with a revised quota of 26,800 coho. This area closes to coho salmon retention effective 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept.30, but remains open for Chinook salmon fishing through Oct. 31.

This last week of September 19-25 saw lots of fishing activity throughout the open area due to favorable weather and ocean conditions for much of the week. Catch rates were highly variable along the coast, but overall there was a catch rate of 0.58 salmon per angler. Dockside sampling of salmon anglers for this past week yielded the following estimates:

• Garibaldi 0.48 salmon per angler. Estimated catch for the week was 394 coho and 91 Chinook.
• Pacific City 0.33 salmon per angler. Estimated catch for the week was 10 coho and 6 Chinook.
• Depoe Bay 0.52 salmon per angler. Estimated catch for the week was 80 coho and 3 Chinook.
• Newport 0.23 salmon per angler. Estimated catch for the week was 74 coho and 3 Chinook.
• Winchester Bay 0.75 salmon per angler. Estimated catch for the week was 1,322 coho and 64 Chinook.
• Charleston 0.24 salmon per angler. Estimated catch for the week was 57 coho and 4 Chinook.

Through Sept. 25, a total of 17,898 coho salmon have been landed out of the quota of 26,800 (66.8 percent).

The Humbug Mt. to the OR/CA border ocean recreational salmon season is closed for the remainder of 2022.

Albacore tuna

Last week, there was minimal tuna fishing activity due to marginal ocean conditions along the coast. For the week of Sept. 19-25 dockside observed catch rates were as follows:

• Depoe Bay 1.00 albacore per angler
• Charleston 0.00 albacore per angler
• Brookings  3.75 albacore per angler

Due to the seasonal availability of albacore, this season is rapidly approaching its end for the year. Albacore will soon be moving further away from shore on their annual migration and out of the range of most recreational boats.

Learn more about Tuna Fishing in Oregon.

Anglers generally want to focus their effort in areas where the chlorophyll level is approximately 0.25 mg. and sea surface temperatures are 58^oF or higher. Chlorophyll and sea surface temperature data is available from the Oregon Coastal Ocean Observing System (OrCOOS).

Bottomfish

As of Sept. 6, the daily general marine fish bag limit is reduced to four fish, and when fishing from a boat, retention of China rockfish, copper rockfish and cabezon is prohibited. Lingcod remains a two-fish bag limit. Yelloweye and quillback rockfish remain prohibited.

As of Sept. 1, fishing for bottomfish is open at all depths.

The offshore longleader fishery gives anglers an opportunity to fish for rockfish year-round. The daily bag limit is double the general marine species limit, at ten in aggregate, and helps distribute effort away from nearshore species.

When participating in the longleader fishery, only certain species may be retained, and in September-October, offshore longleader gear fishing cannot be combined with halibut. We invite you to learn more about the gear and the fishery by clicking the link. 

This past week in Garibaldi anglers brought back 2 to 3 bottomfish from the ocean. The most common species were black rockfish with some canary, yellowtail, tiger, and deacon rockfishes. Lingcod were few and far between on offshore and nearshore fishing trips.  

In Depoe Bay, the ocean was nice in the beginning of the week but got rough as the week went on. There were some general marine species bag limits (4) that came in, but most anglers got 2 to 3 bottomfish. Most of the fish brought in were black rockfish with some canary and deacon rockfishes throughout. There were not many lingcod observed for the week.

Fishing in Newport was slow last week. Anglers were able to bring back 2 to 3 bottomfish but it did not come easy. The bite was slow for most but there were a few general marine bag limits (4) that came in. Most of the fish were black rockfish with some canary and deacon rockfishes. There was still about one lingcod per angler on average.

In Brookings last week there was moderate bottomfish fishing activity. Anglers were getting their general marine species limit (4) and there was a strong grade of black rockfish with many blue and deacon rockfishes in the mix. Lingcod came in sporadically and there was not much size to them (minimum of 22 inches).

Bottomfish fishing resources:

• Know what you’ve caught with some helpful rockfish identification tips (including online quizzes and video).
• What can I keep and how many? Keep up with in-season regulation changes.
• Waypoints for fathom lines and other restricted areas.

Pacific halibut

Reminders for September and October:

• Bottomfish species may be combined with halibut on days open to all-depth halibut.
• Longleader gear fishing cannot be combined with halibut fishing.

There was some halibut effort in the beginning of the week last week but slowed during the weekend.

• On the central coast, the halibut were 28 inches on average with the largest being 58 inches. There were a few incidental halibut brought in while anglers were deep reef fishing in Depoe Bay.
• On the south coast, the average size was 40 inches.

In the Central Coast subarea (Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt.), as of Sept. 1, halibut is open daily at all depths until the quota is reached or Oct. 31 with a two-fish daily bag limit. The annual limit of six remains.

In addition, as of Sept. 1, the recreational bottomfish fishery is open at all depths, so anglers may retain halibut and bottomfish on the same trip. However, longleader gear fishing cannot be combined with halibut fishing.

Southern Oregon subarea (Humbug Mountain to California border). As of Sept. 1, anglers may retain two halibut per day; the annual limit remains six fish. This subarea will be open daily through Oct. 31 because there are plenty of pounds remaining in other Oregon subareas, and those pounds can be used to cover any overage in the Southern Oregon subarea.

In addition, as of Sept. 1, the recreational bottomfish fishery is open at all depths, so anglers may retain halibut and bottomfish on the same trip. However, longleader gear fishing cannot be combined with halibut fishing.

Weekly landing estimates are typically posted no later than Friday of the following week. Halibut seasons and numbers

Shore and estuary fishing

Beginning Sept. 6, the general marine fish daily bag limit is reduced to four fish. Lingcod remains a two-fish daily bag limit. Shore-based anglers may continue to retain cabezon, China rockfish and copper rockfish. Yelloweye rockfish and quillback rockfish remain prohibited to everyone.

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.

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.