Ocean fishing for salmon

[madoc]

Howdy all,

Kind of a technical question - for the upcoming ocean season one for Coho and Chinook, how far out does one have to go? Are we talking 20 miles offshore, 3 miles offshore, or in the estuaries?

I'm asking because (fingers crossed) I may have my kayak by then. If they are as close in as the estuaries, then I may have a chance.

Cheers,
Madoc

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

The ocean Salmon targeting usually does not happen from 'yaks. Normally they are too far out to safely be able to paddle one. But the fish do come up rivers, and they will have to pass the bays, and estuarian areas at some point. So your chances are good, but I do not know the regs regarding Ocean Caught Salmon at the moment. So you could either be screwd out of it, or get lucky, and be able to target Salmon just offshore.

 

[Kodiak]

Most estuaries open the may 23rd for salmon type critters..springers whatever. I know between the coastguard station and the green bouy in yaquina bay gets its fair share of feeder chinook starting in mid june. They come in chasing the schools of herring so there is a good chance mooching one could pay OFF.

 

[Irishrover]

Here is what the Pacific Fisheries Management folks have proposed for the Ocean season.



Leadbetter Point, WA to Cape Falcon, OR
Season: June 28 through Sept. 30, or until catch quotas are reached
Catch quotas: 88,200 adipose fin-clipped coho, 5,400 chinook
Daily bag limit: two salmon but no more than one chinook
Length limits: chinook – 24”, coho – 16”

Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain
Season #1: June 20 through Aug. 31 or until coho quota is reached
Catch quota: 110,000 adipose fin-clipped coho from Cape Falcon to CA/OR border
Daily bag limit: three salmon, except closed to retention of chinook
Length limits: coho – 16”

Season #2: Sept. 1 through Sept. 30 or until coho quota is reached
Catch quota: 7,000 adipose fin-clipped coho
Daily bag limits: two salmon, except closed to retention of chinook
Length limits: coho – 16”

I usually find good fishing right around five mile out. The fish move around quite a bit but I usually try to run out NW to about 180-220' of water. I start out by putting lines out at 16 pulls and work them until I find the right depth. This year I'm fishing out of Newport. In past year we have caught them as close as the first green can but that is not usual. Some days they will be near the whistle buoy but most often you need to be in the five mile plus range at least that is what I've found to work for me. The reason why I run out NW is because when the winds pick up they usually blow from that direction. So when you head back in the ride is better and you have a following sea with a SE heading. It is the same method I use out of Garibaldi. Out of Astoria it's a different story. I head south of the CR buoy and end up pounding against the wind coming back north. The reports are 1.3 million coho as good as 1992 so this year it's down to Newport.

Eventually they come into the estuaries but that is not until later (late August-September) That ocean can be a ruff place for a kayaks be safe and good luck.

Here are some 1992 Newport coho! There were lot of days like this one with quick limits.

 

[FishHooker]

How far out do you need to go?

I have seen the salmon so close you could throw rocks at them and then the next day I would have to run sixteen miles out. It all depends on water temp, up welling, where they move from day to day. Watch for the birds feeding on bait fish.



Depoe Bay is my home port, but I will also be launching out of Newport.
19 ft Alumaweld running downriggers so I can easily target the depth the fish are in. Will be having open seats, so look for the posts. 110,000 Coho this year is the quota and 3 a day limit.

 

[FreshMoneyFisher]

Trolling direction with tides?

Trolling direction with tides?

Hey dudes...

I'm new to the world of trolling and had a question about how the tides effect the fish and which way they are pointed.

In general, I guess I've only thought of these guys as pointed up stream, tail to the ocean. But I came to thinking, what happens when the salmon are stacking up in a bay, or the tidewater of some river over the period of a couple days or weeks?

Obviously they'll have tides to deal with, do the fish actually turn around and point back towards the ocean when the tide is on the way out? Or do they remain pointed up stream and just let the current slowly take them back out?

My question would be more geared toward trolling, is it productive to troll in both directions of the water? Would I be trolling against the grain if I was heading towards the ocean?

Perhaps this is not even a factor, and perhaps it affects the fish differently depending upon whether they're in the bay or in tidewater.

Sorry for the long winded question, any help is much appreciated.

 

[FishHooker]

I like trolling with the tide, a incoming tide.
But to tell the truth I have seen fish caught trolling againest the tide, going up or going down. I guess if you hit them in the nose they will bite!

 

[Fish Fight]

There's a guy that fishes the B-10 fishery out of a kayak and does ok.

Link to the ODFW release for the salmon season
ODFW - News Release - ODFW to host youth angling event at Canby Pond