What are the expectations?

[kwikfisher]

Will the Salmon move in a large wave en masse after substantial rain, or will there be a steady flow of fish for weeks? This question is based on the assumption that the rainy season has begun in earnest....Will be fishing the Siuslaw Monday, and I'm hoping for more action than the last couple times out. I caught some this season, but have been skunked more than I care to admit...

 

[rogerdodger]

that is the magic of tidewater salmon fishing, predicting where the fish will be and how to get them to bite. I think the big question for the Slaw is how much of the run is still out in the ocean, did the fish in close come in early and the rest of the run stay out further due to the warm water blob, if so we should be in for a bunch more fish coming in over the next few weeks. or do we just have stragglers left to come in low and the main run is upriver...

its like always being the underdog and fighting hard to stay close and just have a chance to get that win into the net. sorry, I mean get that fish into the net...

 

[plumb2fish]

The warm water did not seem to discourage the fish from coming. I would say we are nearing the backend of the Chinook on the Siuslaw this year. There are always fish that continue well into December, but the bulk of the run has passed the jaws...imo

 

[eugene1]

The warm water did not seem to discourage the fish from coming. I would say we are nearing the backend of the Chinook on the Siuslaw this year. There are always fish that continue well into December, but the bulk of the run has passed the jaws...imo

+1

fish come up even without rain as long is there is a little bit of flow.

Get out when you can and try to get into them.

Best,

 

[kwikfisher]

The warm water did not seem to discourage the fish from coming. I would say we are nearing the backend of the Chinook on the Siuslaw this year. There are always fish that continue well into December, but the bulk of the run has passed the jaws...imo

I don't disagree with your assessment, but the Salmon might be more a tune to environmental conditions then our historical calendar. The cues that motivate the fish like water levels, and events are certainly occuring later, so why not the bulk of the run?
Like with deer and elk, would the rut still happen in December if it was 75°?
Does another month in the ocean cause them harm? This unsatisfied fisherman says, I hope not! I will predict good numbers of Coho are still on tap.

 

[plumb2fish]

Whether or not the coho show up, the season closes for them on the 15. If I hadn't been out on the water fishing the siuslaw every weekend since August, I would have thought the run timing may have been effected by the weather.
However, the fish showed up when they always have, the numbers followed past seasons(as far as my catch rate goes)and even if this is a banner year, we are at least in recent history, past the bulk of the Chinook run on the Siuslaw by the middle of October. That is traditionally when you start to see mainly Coho with smaller pulses of late Chinook coming into the river on the tide

 

[rogerdodger]

Will the Salmon move in a large wave en masse after substantial rain, or will there be a steady flow of fish for weeks? This question is based on the assumption that the rainy season has begun in earnest....Will be fishing the Siuslaw Monday, and I'm hoping for more action than the last couple times out. I caught some this season, but have been skunked more than I care to admit...

I just checked the forecast for the central/northern coast and unfortunately it looks dry all week...also, Florence got just over 0.25" of rain over the weekend and the Slaw at Mapleton is up just 0.2' (from 2.7' to a roaring 2.9')...

http://graphical.weather.gov/sectors/pqrWeek.php#tabs

http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/river/station/flowplot/flowplot.cgi?MPLO3