The Best Fish to Catch in Depoe Bay Oregon

Depoe Bay is the world’s smallest bay, attracting thousands of visitors yearly. It’s mere minutes from productive fishing for nearshore and deepwater rockfish species on the Oregon Coast, among other types of species. Just like in other places around Oregon, you can surely get a bite and reel in a lot of fish to either bring home for their delicious meat or release after a quick picture.

But if you’re a first-timer or beginner to fishing, especially in Depoe Bay, this might have you wonder: What’s the best fish to catch in Depoe Bay? What can you expect when spending the day fishing in the area?

We share popular fish species to expect and some tips on when to catch them for more success. Read on!

The Best Fish to Catch in Depoe Bay Oregon

Before getting into the best type of fish to catch, let’s also talk about the times to catch fish in Depoe Bay. If you’re keen on catching salmon, lingcod, and flounder, you’ll want to go fishing from June to September. Summer is a great season as the waters are warm and the fish are abundant, enjoying the temperatures.

Fall is great as well, with chum salmon fishing being the best in the area from October to December. However, the temperatures are cooler with fish in deeper waters for warmth. Spring is also suitable for fish biting but fewer people than summer.

Now, let’s get on to the fish you can catch when in Depoe Bay!

Halibut

Halibut is one of the most popular species on the west coast for great reasons. These fish will put up an astounding fight, weigh a few hundred points, and taste delicious! If you’re looking for a fish that will give you a challenge and have you bring delicious meat home, then halibut is an excellent choice.

We recommend you target halibut anytime from May to September. Note that their season is closed from January to April and October to December.

As for the best time to catch halibut, it will depend on the tides. If the tides move, then it may be challenging to keep the bait on the bottom because of the currents. You can catch halibut at low tide, but it’s best to do so during high tide.

Also, do note that halibut are bottom feeders that usually hide in sand and silt, ambushing prey. The most common bait for halibut is squid, herring, and at times, salmon scraps after cleaning them. You’ll want to use bait with a lot of weight so it can reach the bottom and stay there until you get a bite.

Halibut like hanging around offshore reefs and wrecks, though you may find them in open waters, too. Since halibut is like hiding under the sand to feed, so you’ll want to try fishing the edge of reefs where sand meets it.

Salmon

The most common types of salmon in the area are coho, chum, and chinook salmon. For most of Oregon, all salmon except coho are open from mid-March to the end of October. Coho season is open from mid-June to the end of September.

If you’re wondering what time to catch coho, opt for the morning, since salmon are more active when the sun isn’t as harsh.

Salmon like feeding on baitfish and eggs. You can also try using imitation plastics on a jig or inline spinners, usually, one that’s either silver or brightly colored.

If you plan to fish from a boat, you can use trolling as your chosen fishing technique, using crankbaits, spoons, inline spinners, or live bait.

Salmon from Oregon, including Depoe Bay, are ocean-run, so they would live in the ocean most of their lives and then head to rivers during the spawning season. When in the ocean, salmon is found near islands, structures, or underwater currents. In rivers, spot salmon in eddies or deep holes.

Trout

Brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout are the most common species in Oregon, with their season open year-round in lakes. It’s best to target them from late May to the end of October and to fish for them in the morning since the sun isn’t as harsh and predators, like birds, can’t see through the water to catch them.

Trout is similar to salmon, from their bait to the technique used. Trout can bite on small spoons, inline spinners, flies, and live bait. You can opt for trolling in lakes or to fish in deeper spots as you go jigging spoons or live bait. If you will fish in streams, common baits include flies and inline spinners.

Trout is also like deep and cold water, so opt for areas deeper than the surrounding water. In streams, you can check for dark patches of water, some with edits that surround a dropoff. As for lakes, fish along shelves leading to deeper waters where you can cast or jig.

Lingcod and Rockfish

These two fish species are available all year long with the high seasons from December to May. These fish aren’t sensitive to the time of day but are more affected by tides. It’s best to fish right before high tide so your bait stays on the bottom.

You can use herring as bait for rockfish and lingcod, as well as other oily and silvery baitfish. Go for larger bait or jigs since these species are larger than other species on reefs, so bigger baits keep the other species from trying to bite.

Wrapping It Up

Depoe Bay is filled with wonderful species giving anglers a challenge and delicious meat to bring home. We hope that this article on the best fish to catch in Depoe Bay helped you out! Just remember that there’s also more to a fishing trip than planning what fish to catch though, it also depends on the weather, water conditions, and if you plan to get a reputable fishing charter.