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Features: Lingcod have an elongated body with a large mouth and sharp, canine-like teeth. They are generally mottled gray or brown but sometimes green or blue. A green-colored “ling” should not be confused with a greenling. Lingcod can get 5-feet long, but those caught in Oregon average between 2- and 3-feet. Habitat: Adults like to be near rocks, inshore and to 230-fathoms deep. Young lingcod prefer the sand or mud bottoms of bays and inshore areas. Technique: Bounce some bait along the bottom with 5/0 or 6/0 hooks, a 4- to 6-ounce sinker, and 20-pound line on a stout rod…

Features: Eulachon smelt ( Thaleichthys pacificus) grow to be 6-9 inches long and live 3-5 years. They have elongated bodies with relatively large mouths. They are blueish on top and silvery on their sides and bellies. Habitat: The Pacific smelt spends most of its life in the ocean, migrating up rivers, including the Columbia and its tributaries, to spawn. The eggs attach to gravelly, woody, or sandy substrate of the river bottoms, but upon hatching the juvenile smelt get swept downstream back to the ocean. Technique: Dip netting for smelt when they run in the Sandy River is a great…

Features: Rocky Mountain elk are one of two subspecies of elk found in Oregon, with a population estimate of more than 74,000 in the state. They are lighter in color and slightly smaller in size than Roosevelt elk, but their antlers are the largest of all elk and can weigh up to 40 pounds. Habitat: Rocky Mountain elk inhabit most of eastern Oregon with concentrations in the Blue Mountains and south-central Oregon. Techniques: Rocky Mountain elk live in much more open country that Roosevelts so try glassing, still hunting, spot and stalk and calling. Rifle, archery and muzzleloader seasons are…

Raccoons are found throughout the state, excluding high mountains and desert regions. They have adapted well to residential life because of their flexible diet and nocturnal nature. Raccoons are opportunistic feeders and have a diverse diet that includes insects, plants, and small animals—but also unnatural foods, like pet food and trash, when they have the chance. Raccoons are notorious for getting into garbage cans and eating pet food left on a porch or food left out at campsites. Raccoons that are fed by people often lose their fear of humans and may become aggressive. Do not attempt to feed or…

Features: Circular in shape and 1.5-2.5 inches across. Identified by concentric lines and radiating ridges. Longer lived and less abundant than cockles. Habitat: High salinity areas of sand, mud, gravel, or rock. Harvest them in Tillamook, Netarts, Yaquina, and Coos‌ bays. Techniques: These clams can be found in rocky nearshore areas within 6 inches of the surface. Using a rake for these clams is the best harvest method.‌ Learn more here before getting started clamming. ‌‌ See Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for information on the daily catch limits for bay clams.‌ How to dig for little neck clams (video)

Of several swans found in Oregon, the tundra swan is by far the most common during the non-breeding season. It is most readily distinguished from the similar-appearing trumpeter swan by voice, although subtle differences in physical appearance and behavior can separate the two with difficulty. It is a fairly common transient throughout the state but most abundant at large bodies of water and wetland complexes east of the Cascades including the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding Harney Basin, Summer Lake Wildlife Area and the Klamath Basin. Hear the call of the tundra swan Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW

Features: Plankton eaters, the American shad is the biggest of the herring species and averages 3 to 5 pounds. They are silver on the sides, and green to blue on top, with green shading on their fins. Habitat: Like other anadromous fish species, they spend most of their lives at sea and return to fresh water to spawn. Females release free-floating eggs that will be fertilized by later-arriving male, called buck shad, in a spawning frenzy. Eggs hatch in eight days and fry spend four to five years in salt water before returning to spawn. Shad often survive to spawn…

Features: California halibut are usually solid brown to black or mottled with light and dark patches on the eyed side and white underneath. They have the ability to change skin color patterns to blend in with the ocean floor. The eyes on a California halibut are most commonly on the left side but may be on the right side as they are on a Pacific halibut. The upper jaw in a California halibut extends to the rear of the lower eye, while on a Pacific halibut the upper jaw only extends to the front of the lower eye. In both…

Features: Mule deer are larger and lighter in color than black-tails. Mule deer have a thinner “ropelike” tail that is white with a black tip. Their antlers are forked, as opposed to having a main beam. And as their name implies, they have large ears, like a mule, that stand at an angle. Habitat: Mule deer occupy a wide range of habitat types; some live in desert shrub-steppe, some in woodlands, and some in conifer forests. In general, however, mule deer occupy the more open, rugged areas. Although mule deer commonly are considered “browsers," they consume a wide variety of…

Features: When in the ocean chum salmon are bluish green on their backs. Their tails lack spots but tend to have silver streaks like the coho. Their lower jaw will be dark at the gum line and white or pink both inside and outside of the gum line. Once in freshwater, chums become dark green to brown with red to purple marks going vertically down their sides. Habitat: Like other salmon species, chum spend most of their lives at sea and return to their natal streams to spawn. Most spawning runs are over a short distance. Adults are strong swimmers…

Features: There's no mistaking a sturgeon. This primitive looking fish has large bony plates running down its back, a long flat snout, and a deeply-forked tail. It's also covered in rough, scale-less skin, similar to a shark. Though they can reach lengths of 20 feet, most white sturgeon rarely get over 10-feet long, which seems plenty long to us. Some populations migrate between the ocean and freshwater, but not necessarily with the same consistency as salmon or steelhead. These prehistoric fish may live well over 100 years, and may not mature until they are 25-years-old. Habitat: White sturgeon are primarily…

Large and primarily white, the American white pelican has the longest wingspan of any bird in Oregon. It also has an enormous orange bill, and flies with neck withdrawn. During the breeding season the top of the bird's head becomes dusted with black and a horn grows on the upper mandible; this projection serves as a target for aggressive encounters to avoid injury to the essential bill pouch, but is shed after the eggs are laid. This pelican makes unusually long flights for feeding and migration, and at great distances, soaring flocks have been reported as UFOs. In Oregon, it…

Although quite common in the U.S., the Black-crowned night-heron's nocturnal and crepuscular feeding habits can make it difficult to locate. Its habitat consists of marshes, lakes, rivers, and other wetlands, where it feeds mostly on fish. It is a thick-billed, medium-sized, stocky heron with relatively short neck and legs. Adults have a black back and cap which contrast with the pale gray or whitish underparts. Immatures have brown backs with large pale spots and heavily streaked underparts. A distinctive choking squawk call is often heard at dusk. It is a fairly common summer resident east of the Cascades where it…