As we head into September the fishing conditions that you will encounter in our region are generally consistent with the calendar. Which is prime for multiple angling opportunities across Lane County. Pushed east by a cold front that brought a little rain to western Lane County, last week’s sweltering heat has left us for now. Leaving nothing but sunny days and mild temperatures in the mid 80s, in the 10-day forecast for the southern valley. Over on the coast it will be about 10 degrees cooler but there, too, sunny weather is in the forecast. Offshore, the next week will see a series of small-craft advisories as the same high-pressure system that is bringing the sunny days will also kick up the wind.
One other condition that you should consider particularly over on the coast is that the crowds have been overwhelming. Tami and I headed a bit north of Florence to Lincoln County in hopes of surf fishing a couple of beaches in the southern part of that county’s coast. We literally could not find a safe place to park our truck. Full parking lots at all the day-use areas had many people parked in the narrow shoulders along the highway that in all honesty is just not safe. Typically the crowds diminish after Labor Day but few can remember a recent summer that has seen so many visitors on the coast. Fortunately most visitors are sightseeing and not fishing, but it has made getting to the water a bit of a trick.
On a more positive note – and something that just about everyone can participate in – is crabbing opportunities are improving. In many coastal bays including Winchester, Siuslaw and Newport there are wheelchair-accessible public crabbing piers and the recreational crabbing has been fair but should improve in September. Along the central coast the large tidal exchange is likely the reason for the modest catch. The swings have been considerable in the last few weeks, which push the crabs in and out of the estuaries and cause the crabbing to be good one day but not so good on others. But in the next week we will see those tidal exchanges moderate to only a few feet, a condition that really works in favor of bay crabbers. Chicken is the bait of choice, but Umpqua shad from the spring run is also popular for those who have it or who can get it. On the weekends the public docks at Newport, at the south jetty on the Siuslaw and at Winchester harbor, have been crowded; weekdays see a lot less pressure.
Don’t forget that if you drop your crab pot from a boat, your float needs to have one the following: 1) Your name and phone number, 2) Your name and address, 3) Your ODFW ID number from your license, 4) Your boat‘s identification number.
Also, please keep in mind, when crabbing or collecting other shellfish in the bays you always need to be aware of the toxic potentials that can develop in bay waters. Oregon runs a wonderful monitoring program that regularly tests for shellfish toxins. So before you head out call 800-448-2474 or check the ODA website.
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Remaining at sea … the coho salmon selective season (fin-clipped fish only) is closed, leaving only chinook and steelhead to chase at sea and in the bays. A rough ocean limited the number of good ocean fishing days this summer and at the selective season’s end, there was about 40% of the 2020 coho allotment remaining. The ODFW decided Aug. 26 (after our press deadline) whether to add those fish to the non-selective season (two salmon of any type) that has a quota of 3,000 cohos. The outcome should be posted on the ODFW website. Regardless of the ruling, the non-selective coho fishery starts on Sept. 4 and continues on Friday and Saturday until the 3,000-fish quota is filled. Fishing for chinook remains open on all days, allowing retention of one wild fall salmon per season.
Far offshore, the tuna fishing has been good but the warm water bubble that brings the tuna northward in mid-summer has shifted to the west in the last couple of weeks. The 60-degree water that tuna captains seek is now between 60-80 miles offshore. Which sadly is beyond the reach of most recreational boaters. This weather anomaly will likely put a dent in the tuna catch for the season.
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In the valley, reservoir levels are dropping fast and the best game in town continues to be the McKenzie River. The salmon season is over and the steelhead run has been meager but the trout fishing has been good. Fly anglers have done exceptionally well but so have spin fishers and those that prefer baits. Historically there have been hatchery trout planted in the McKenzie before and after Labor Day. Although it hasn’t been published all season I would expect the 2020 schedule to be consistent with schedules from past seasons. Hatchery trout are planted in the McKenzie from Hendricks Wayside up river to Forest Glenn Park and boat landing in the hamlet of Blue River.
Lastly, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission released the 2021 regulations last week. For the Southern Willamette District the changes are modest. On the Santiam River, in order to protect recovering wild steelhead runs, there will be less bait fishing. On Detroit Reservoir, you will be able to add five kokanee to your trout limit. On the McKenzie River there will be a clarification of the angling sections, better defining the parts of the river managed for wild trout and catch and release fishing only. See ODFW’s website.
