Idaho Fish Report

Fishing for rockfish inside the bay has been good near the submerged rock piles. Fishing is typically best near slacktide. Boat anglers are no longer able to harvest copper, quillback, or China rockfish for the remainder of the year because we reached our catch limit on these species. A jig with a twister tail can be a great bait for catching rockfish.

Chinook salmon are very spread out in tidewater from the last couple rain storms. Most Chinook anglers have been fishing from the Marshfield Channel to the forks of the Millicoma and South Fork Coos rivers. A few anglers are still fishing downstream of California Street Boat Ramp. The water is fairly dirty from last week’s rain near the forks of the Millicoma and South Fork Coos rivers.

Anglers have been catching wild coho downstream of California Street Boat Ramp. There is no harvest of wild coho this year in Coos Bay.

Temporary wild fall Chinook salmon regulations started on Aug. 1. Salmon anglers in Coos Bay will only be able to harvest 1 wild Chinook per day and 5 wild Chinook for the season in aggregate from all waters from Coos Basin, Coquille Basin, Sixes River, and Elk River, but no more than 2 adult Chinook salmon may be harvested from the Coquille Basin.

The South Fork Coos River will be closed to salmon fishing upstream of Myrtle Tree Boat Ramp, and the Millicoma River will be closed to salmon fishing upstream of Rooke Higgins Boat Ramp.   

Trout fishing in streams and rivers remain open through Oct. 31. Anglers may now use bait through the end of the trout season. Some anglers have had success catching sea-run cutthroat trout in the upper reaches of tidewater.