» Fishing report

By Tony Roszkowski
Thursday, November 19, 2009 | No comments posted. Local lakes: John from Turman Tackle in Reedsport recently told me about the good coho salmon fishing in Siltcoos Lake just south of Florence. Coho salmon enter the lake each fall from the Siltcoos River and travel through the lake to tributaries where they spawn. Anglers have been having success trolling bright-colored Hot Shot plugs. The lake is open for coho from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. The bag limit is one adult salmon and one jack salmon per day, and five total per year. Siltcoos Lake also produces rainbow trout weighing up to 10 pounds, and currently holds the state record for sea-run cutthroat trout (6 pounds, 4 ounces) and coho salmon (25 pounds, 5.25 ounces). Located just east of U.S. Highway 101 about six miles south of Florence, Siltcoos Lake can be an easy road trip from the South Coast.

Local rivers: As of Monday, the Chetco River at Brookings remains closed above Highway 101 due to lack of rainfall. Dave from the Chetco Outdoor Store told me they need some more rain inland so the salmon can enter the river’s tributaries to get to their spawning grounds. With this week’s rainy forecast, look for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to open the Chetco above Highway 101 soon. Fishing for fall Chinook in the bay at Brookings has been tough due to the large ocean swells. Salmon fishing remains very slow on the lower Rogue River near Gold Beach. Look for winter steelhead to start entering the river in the next couple of weeks.

Salmon fishing on the Elk and Sixes rivers was good last week. By last weekend, both rivers had dropped to low-and-clear conditions, which made for tough fishing conditions. This week’s rains should finally open both rivers up, and salmon fishing should remain strong. There was very little salmon fishing pressure on the Coquille River last weekend. Look for most of the fish to move upriver near and above the forks. Remember, this year salmon fishing is closed above the state Highway 42S bridge at Coquille. Anglers fishing the Coos River system are reporting a surge of bright Chinook entering the system. Anglers are reporting catching the fresh fish in the Dellwood area and at the mouth of Daniels Creek. Some bright Chinook also are being caught in the lower Umpqua River. Anglers are reporting bright Chinook with sea lice being taken at the mouth of Mill Creek, which is part of the Umpqua River STEP hatchery program.

Area shellfish: First-time crabbers Daniel Chase and family had a great time on Weber’s Pier in Bandon last weekend. The family caught seven nice Dungeness crab, which we cooked and served them for lunch. Look for this week’s rains to possibly slow down the crabbing in Bandon. We are still receiving great crabbing reports from the Charleston area. Because the bay there is so large, look for crabbing to remain good in the coming winter months.

(Tony Roszkowski has owned and operated Port O’ Call — Tony’sCrabShack.com — on the Bandon waterfront since 1989. Many South Coast anglers rely on his fish and shellfish reports. Hear more from Tony on ‘Oregon Outdoors’ Thursdays on KWRO 630 AM.)