You can tell it's deer season when...

[SmallStreams]

... nobody is fishing the North Fork Nehalem. Coho were running all weekend, like clockwork after Friday night's small deluges, and I think I saw only two cars at the hatchery parking and another two along the road at fishing holes.

Same number of fish running two weekends ago, before deer season, and there were dozens of people fishing.

Yes, river is low and the coho are swimming fast to the hatchery. About 1/3 have a little color showing now; only saw one pair that were very colored.

 

[sapo]

Did you catch any? Also, how long will they still be running up the river? I might head down there this weekend, but I need some tips of what works, etc.

 

[bagold53]

man should have though about the NF Nehalem. we will have to see what the rains do by thurs.

 

[montym]

man should have though about the NF Nehalem. we will have to see what the rains do by thurs.

Which one would that be?

Cheers
M

 

[bagold53]

Which one would that be?

Cheers
M

Hwy
I think either of the top two. I normally hit it from the clatsop county side. Take 26 to Hwy 53 and that will take you towards Tillamook. This will take you by the above mentioned hatchery.

 

[SmallStreams]

Did you catch any? Also, how long will they still be running up the river? I might head down there this weekend, but I need some tips of what works, etc.

Yes, I caught a 7 lb hen on Saturday at the end of the run (whew... 30+ fish passed me between 10am and 3:30pm) and an 11 lb hen on Sunday. Both caught with spinners.

Every technique will work somewhere, sometime. The hatchery is primarily a bobber & bait show.

 

[sapo]

Thanks! How is the bank access? From the pictures I've seen online (but there aren't many), there isn't much bank access...which is fine, but is there bank access where I can just stand on the bank and toss spinners? (I don't really like to wade while spin fishing) thx

 

[bagold53]

Theirs bank access at the hatchery, but the rest of the river is a mistery to me. I have seen cars parked down 53 along the river but have stayed away, dont want to go to jail because I missed a sign. Almost happened to me on the main stem.

 

[halibuthitman]

I was there... and I,ll be on that "other" river tomorrow... gonna be good.

 

[sapo]

So much for "nobody" at North Fork Nehalem...Hatchery parking lot was full (minus one spot) at 7:00 AM today, right at legal fishing time. Other holes along the road were full as well. River was somewhat blown out, rose a foot in less than 24 hours yesterday. Lots of debris floating down the river, visibility was probably a foot. There wasn't any spot for me to fish the river, so I headed down to Nehalem bay and did some bank fishing. Accidentally hooked (and safely released) a smolt, but that was it. It was fun to get out, but kind of a disappointing day for me. I know it's the weekend, but it was shoulder to shoulder on the North Fork Nehalem. However, I did hear from a hatchery worker that they killed about 1,500 fish at the hatchery yesterday. Pretty good numbers of coho running through there right now!

 

[SmallStreams]

There's a difference between going to the hatchery after a week of rain (this weekend) and going to the hatchery after a shower (last weekend). As you found out, EVERYONE goes there after the week of rain because EVERYONE knows the fish come upstream when it rains.

What isn't as obvious is that those 1,500 fish didn't arrive just this past week... they've been arriving for the past three weeks! So keep your vacation days handy so you can take a day off during the week.

 

[sapo]

Yeah, I expected people there, should've known better. Thanks for the info!