SALEM, Ore. – Wild coho seasons in four coastal river basins (Tillamook, Nestucca, Siletz, and Coos) will be open beginning Sept. 15 through mid-October.
This will be the first opportunity in five years for wild coho retention in coastal rivers. Retention has been closed from 2016-2020 in response to effects of poor ocean conditions reducing abundance of coastal coho populations.
While wild coho abundance is projected to be higher than the last few years, it is still less than the high returns seen from 2008-2014. So managers are proceeding cautiously with re-initiating these fisheries.
“When we announced wild coho fisheries in 2015, we asked anglers to be prepared for smaller returns and reduced opportunity in upcoming years, based on observations of poor ocean conditions at that time”, said Chris Kern, ODFW fish division deputy administrator. “Unfortunately, that is exactly what we observed.”
Ocean conditions affecting these populations have since improved. Anglers also encountered substantial numbers of wild coho in the summer recreational fishery off the Oregon coast.
Conservative harvest opportunities will be allowed within the Tillamook, Nestucca, Siletz, and Coos river basins. Basin-specific seasons, quotas, bag limits and other regulations can be found on the MyODFW website at https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/northwest-zone and https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/southwest-zone .
Wild coho seasons in Siltcoos, Tahkenitch, and Tenmile lakes open Oct. 1 under permanent regulations.