Great ocean coho season presages good fishing inland. Wild coho seasons on many coastal rivers and bays open Sept. 15 and, judging from the number of ocean coho being caught off the Oregon coast, fishery managers are anticipating a great season. “The forecasts for both coastal fall Chinook and coho were strong for 2014 and ocean fisheries so far have lived up to expectations,” said Chris Kern, ODFW manager for Columbia and Marine Programs. “Fishing for coho and Chinook in coastal rivers should be outstanding.” Managers are predicting 175,000 wild coho will enter Oregon coastal basins and have set wild coho seasons in 13 of those basins: Nehalem, Tillamook, Nestucca, Siletz, Yaquina, Alsea, Siuslaw, Umpqua, Coos and Coquille rivers, Tenmile lakes and Beaver and Floras/New creeks. Most seasons begin on Sept. 15 and continue through November, but there are exceptions. Also, some basins are only open certain days of the week, and seasonal wild coho bag limits vary. River-specific seasons, quotas, bag limits and closed areas are described on the ODFW Web site. This year only three basins – Umpqua, Beaver Creek and Floras/New River – will have quotas, down from six in 2013. This continues the trend away from expensive and labor intensive creels and quotas to fixed season structures, according to Mike Gray, ODFW fish biologist in Charleston. With the wild coho season scheduled to open next Monday, Chris Knutsen, ODFW biologist in Tillamook, says wild coho already are being caught and released in Tillamook, Nehalem and Nestucca bays. “All indications are that the run on the North Coast will be stronger than in recent years,” he said. Wild coho also have moved into southern Oregon basins like the Coos and Umpqua.
