Good coho runs on the Oregon coast have at least one guide wishing more waters were open this year for wild fish.
Eugene-based guide Todd Linklater tells Mike Stahlberg of the Register-Guard (in an article picked up by KGW TV) that 90 percent of this year’s “bonus, bonus” run of silvers up the Umpqua River is wild.
“There are more coho in the Umpqua than I’ve ever seen,” Linklater tells Stahlberg. “It wouldn’t hurt to let people keep one wild fish.”
While you can catch-and-release for native silvers on coastal rivers where steelhead or Chinook are open, the article states, retention fisheries are only currently allowed on the lower Coquille River and Siltcoos and Tahkenitch lakes.
The Yaquina, Nestucca and Coos were opened for wild-fish harvest as well under a federal permit, but their quotas were quickly filled in September. As of Oct. 11, the Coke’s quota was 44.5 percent filled, with around 833 more available for harvest. ODFW reports “best fishing between Bandon and Rocky Point boat ramp.”
The bad news is that this year’s strong runs may not repeat next year due to a poor adult class three years ago, according to an expert quoted by Stahlberg, but the future beyond that looks good.
