South Coast closed to crabbing

Recreational bay crabbing is closed from Cape Blanco to the CA border. Closure includes Dungeness crab and red rock crab harvested from bays and estuaries in this area.

Winter steelhead restrictions on Illinois, Rogue rivers

Beginning Dec. 1, temporary wild winter steelhead harvest restrictions will be in affect on Illinois, Rogue rivers.

Razor clamming closed Cascade Head to CA border

Razor clam harvesting is now closed from Cascade Head to the California border the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today.

Parts of Eagle Creek closed to fishing

The lowest reach of Eagle Creek on Clackamas River closed to angling Sept. 27 through Oct. 31

Recreation Report

Marine Zone

Recreation Report Regulation Updates

Table of Contents

Recreation Report

Alsea Bay Chinook
"First ever salmon" Alsea Bay Chinook
-Photo by Christopher Jones-

Nov. 13, 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.

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:

Port by port reports:

Poor weather and ocean conditions across the Oregon coast kept anglers off the water for the majority of last week.

  • Depoe Bay: Only a few good days allowed boats to cross the bar with moderate success of 3 fish per angler. Mostly black and deacon rockfishes were observed, but there were also a small number of canary, copper, China, brown, and tiger rockfishes. Lingcod were about 0.9 fish per angler, which was an improvement compared to recent weeks.
  • Newport: A small number of boats were able to fish last week, with a moderate success of 2.5 fish per angler. Lingcod fishing was slow.
  • Charleston: Anglers had moderate success on the days they were able to get out with a catch rate of 3 fish per angler. The catch was mostly black and blue rockfishes, with a peppering of deacon, canary, and yellowtail rockfishes. Lingcod was slow with just above 0.5 fish per angler.
  • Brookings: Anglers landed an average of 4 fish per angler last week, mostly black, blue, and deacon rockfishes. Lingcod was hit or miss with 0.5 fish per angler.

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

NEW for 2024: The daily bag limit for the longleader fishery is 12-fish per angler. 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.