Everything You Need to Know About Newport Oregon Coho Salmon Fishing

Newport Oregon is an all-around destination when you want to go off-shore fishing. You can find a ton of fish species in the area, including chinook and coho salmon throughout the different seasons. Besides this, Newport is known to be a safer ocean access point on the coast compared to others.

Whether you are going on a charter boat, fishing from the shore, or through other means, you have to be prepared. But what do you need to know about coho salmon fishing and how can you get a successful catch or two?

Read on to learn more about Newport Oregon Coho Salmon Fishing in this guide!

What is the Coho Salmon?

Before I get into how to fish for coho salmon, what is coho salmon in the first place?

Coho salmon is bluish-black in color and has silver sides when in saltwater. It also has black spots on its back and upper part of its caudal fins. They are smaller and slimmer compared to chinook salmon, reaching around 39 inches long and weighing only up to 31 pounds, though on average, they weigh 6-12 pounds.

Spawning will begin from November to January, the eggs hatching come springtime. The fry will stay in streams for more than a year. Cohos will return to spawning once they reach 3 years old, spawning in the same area chinook would.

Newport Oregon Coho Salmon Fishing

Now that you know what the Coho Salmon is, the next question is: How can you fish for them successfully? If you’re in Newport, Oregon, follow these effective tips to get more fishing opportunities and catches!

About Coho Salmon Fishing

When you want to fish for coho salmon, you have to know that they’re pretty tough and ready to fight. While smaller than chinook, they are challenging to catch, with less-experienced anglers feeling discouraged. Coho salmon would trash and pull, using all their force once hooked, so be prepared and stay strong as you try catching them.

While strong, this makes them easier to find. They are aggressive, splashy, and social fish that love rolling and jumping on the water surface. Be patient and don’t leave to find them, taking the time to let them show where they are.

When differentiating coho salmon from other species, look at their mouths. Coho salmon would have black mouths and white gums. They would also have a maroon kye and dark back.

Where to Fish in Newport

The best areas to fish when in Newport, Oregon is anywhere in lakes, rivers, inshore, and nearshore locations. To be more specific, consider visiting Depoe or Yaquina Bay.

Depoe Bay only has 6 acres of water, is known as the smallest harbor worldwide. Even if it is small, it’s home to a lot of fish and great reefs, suitable for bottom fishing species like coho salmon. Depoe Bay has around 5,000 coho salmon and 1,000-3,000 chinook salmon annually.

Yaquina Bay is best suited for anglers who are offshore fishing. In 2003-2004, there were over 12,000 coho salmon!

Baits to Use

When packing baits, salmon roe is optimum when catching most salmon species. Besides salmon roe, you can prepare anchovies, herring, shrimp, or sardines.

For those who want to catch chinook salmon, opt for cured roe or green and red-colored lures and plugs.

Common Techniques

When you are catching coho salmon in Newport, Oregon, these are the best techniques to use:

• Drift fishing
• Fly fishing
• Spinning
• Trolling

If you plan to use a single all-purpose rod, use one that is between 8’6 to 9’6 feet long with a 10-15 pound line and sensitive tip. For those who want heavier rods that can handle larger fish species, invest in a casting rod and reel. For heavier rods, use a 15-20 pound line.

When is Salmon Season?

It’s best to catch coho salmon in Newport, Oregon from June to November.

For chum salmon fishing, it’s best to fish from July to October. For chinook salmon, March to October is optimum.

As for the time of day, it’s better to do so early morning, if the area permits it. Many anglers opt to fish early in the morning, getting their lines in the water when you begin seeing light. That said, many anglers also have better success catching coho salmon when the sun is up and it’s become a few degrees warmer.

Think about the changes in weather as well, which can make or break your day out catching fish. As the weather gets colder, it also turns off the bite. If the weather is unstable, wait for a few days until the weather clears out and the weather forecast shows little to no chance of inclement weather.

Newport’s Salmon Fishing Regulations

Remember, when fishing anywhere, they have limits and regulations to follow. You need to follow such regulations, which are based on the local government rules. Failure to do can result in your license being revoked, a hefty fee, and the risk of never fishing again!

In Newport Oregon, you are limited to catching two salmon per angler a day. The coho salmon will need to be over 16 inches long when caught. As for chinook, it needs to be 24 inches, while chum has no minimum length requirement.

How to Cook Newport, Oregon

If you caught chum and plan to take it home to cook, think of it as preparing any other salmon. There are so many ways to prepare salmon, such as:

• Canning
• Filleting
• Smoking
• Consuming raw
• As a burger patty

What Else Can You Catch?

Besides coho, chinook, or chum salmon, what else is there to catch?

You can also find cabezon, halibut, sea bass, lingcod, Dungeness crabs, and more!

Wrapping It Up

Newport is well known for coho salmon fishing, along with chum and chinook salmon. Numerous anglers visit the area as the salmon here offer nutritious and delicious meat. Plus, coho salmon makes for an excellent game, for all anglers to practice their fishing skills.

Hopefully, these tips on Newport Oregon Coho Salmon fishing gave you an idea of what they are and how to catch them!

Everything About Halibut Fishing in Oregon

Halibut may look like a flat, boring fish, but it’s quite famous among fishing enthusiasts. Halibut offers delicious meat packed with plenty of protein, omega-3, and certain vitamins and minerals.

Catching Halibut in Oregon

Curiously enough, halibut possesses a single eye on one of its sides. You’ll know where its eye is by checking its color on either the left or right side: the eyed side boasts a dark shade, while the blind side is often simply white.

In Oregon, halibut averages at 20 to 150 pounds, but you can find a halibut as big as 720 pounds. That would be at a staggering height of 7 feet. You’ll also notice that two halibut types reside in Oregon: the California halibut and the Pacific halibut.

You’ll see more Pacific halibut than California halibut on the coast. Pacific halibut feature a diamond shape and a right-sided eye, while California halibut possesses an oval shape, a left eye, and a mouth that reaches past its eye. 

Best Halibut Fishing Spots in Oregon

There’s no set best halibut fishing spot in Oregon – you’ll find them in any port. Stay away from sandy bottoms and opt for hard floors with contours. However, if you’re looking for specific places, check out this awesome map on ESPN.

Best Baits for Halibut in Oregon

Halibuts love herring the most. However, salmon bellies, salmon and mackerel heads, octopus, squids, jigs, artificial lures, and any kind of live bait works in attracting halibut, too.

Common Techniques for Halibut Fishing

You can capture halibut by deep sea fishing, bottom fishing, drift fishing, heavy tackling, light tackling, and spearfishing. 

Halibut Season in Oregon

Halibut fishing season in Oregon peaks from May to September, and closes from January to April and October to December.

Halibut Fishing Regulations in Oregon

You’re limited to bagging 1 Pacific halibut a day and 6 of them in a year on Oregon. Meanwhile, you can count California halibut as part of your daily 25 flatfish bag limit.

Cooking Oregon Halibut

Halibut is quire versatile with its firm white meat and mild, sweet-ish flavor. Some people compare its taste to tilapia. 

You can prepare an Oregon halibut by boiling, frying, baking, or steaming it. You can add it to chowders or soaps as well, and add it to sandwiches or salads. Likewise, you can simply allow it to stand on its own.

Some dishes you can make with halibut are coconut lime halibut cheeks, lemon pepper halibut, pan-seared marinated halibut, lemon butter-fried halibut, pumpkin halibut chowder, grilled halibut with salsa, and baked halibut with vegetables.

Hiring a Fishing Charter for Halibut Fishing

It’s always wise to charter a fishing guide. They ensure every part of your trip goes as well as possible, and provide you with everything you’ll need as you fish.

This includes a competent captain and an experienced local guide, excellent fishing gear, accommodations, and their fishing license. So, all you need to do is to prepare yourself for a great and memorable adventure.

If you’re thinking of hiring a fishing charter, check out Newport Oregon Fishing Charters. Alternatively, you can browse our blog for more guides about everything related to fishing, or contact us for any questions and inquiries.

Other Fish to Catch in Oregon

 Besides halibut, Oregon houses sea creatures like Dungeness crab, cabezon, lingcod, salmon, and sea bass. 

Everything About Salmon Fishing in Oregon

Oregon salmon are aplenty. Coho, chum, and chinook salmon reign over its waters and anglers flock there to get their hands on these fish. This article serves as your guide in salmon fishing in Oregon. It’ll talk about Oregon’s salmon species, best salmon fishing spots, best salmon baits, salmon fishing regulations, salmon season, and salmon meal ideas.

Catching Salmon in Oregon

Generally, fishing enthusiasts seek salmon for both game and meat. Coho salmon are pretty great fighters, while chinook salmon are humungous and fulfilling to catch. Both fish yield excellent-tasting meat.

On the other hand, anglers typically ignore chum salmon and even find them bothersome. This is because they don’t fight when hooked and their meat doesn’t taste as good as coho or chinook salmon meat.

Coho Salmon

Coho salmon are also called silver salmon, and they’re highly-admired fighters. They’re not that big, weighing only 2 to 6 pounds on average. They’re undersized when compared to chinook salmon.

However, coho salmon is the toughest, wildest, and best fighting salmon. They’re a challenge to catch to the point that some fishing enthusiasts are even dissuaded from attempting to bag them.

You can identify the coho salmon by checking its mouth. A coho salmon’s mouth is black and features white gums.

Chinook Salmon

Chinook salmon reigns among all salmon as the king. They’re labeled as king salmon due to their size, which averages at 10 to 50 pounds. However, the largest recorded salmon catch in Oregon was more than 100 pounds and 5 feet long.

This is what convinces anglers to fish for this salmon species in the first place. If you seek out chinook salmon, you’re bound to have a great sport session and a hearty meal afterward. 

The best way to identify chinook salmon is to check its size and mouth. Of course, the chinook salmon is huge. Meanwhile, its mouth features a black hue with black gums.

Chum Salmon

Chum salmon in Oregon isn’t really any fishing enthusiast’s favorite. They don’t taste good compared to other salmon species, and they barely even fight when they’re hooked. 

These fish weigh 4 to 10 pounds on average and display a white mouth and white gums. They have green bodies with purple stripes, and males of this species tend to have large teeth.

Despite being disliked by many anglers, however, chum salmon produces large and flavorful roe. Their eggs are larger than other salmon, and that’s the only thing that makes them stand out from the rest. us and enormous compared to the others.

Best Salmon Fishing Spots in Oregon

Salmon in Oregon are typically found within the rivers and lakes or inshore and nearshore. However, if you’re looking for specific salmon fishing spots in Oregon, check out Rogue River, Umpqua River, Nestucca River, Trask River, McKenzie River, Santiam River, Middle Fork River, Imnaha River, Tillamook River, Deschutes River, or Chetco River.

Alternatively, you can head on to Depoe Bay or Yaquina Bay. Both bays yield high salmon catch numbers yearly.

Best Baits for Salmon in Oregon

Salmon roe perfectly serves as salmon bait for any salmon species. However, small fish such as herring, sand shrimp, sardine, or anchovy works fine as well. Alternatively, you can opt for green-colored or red-hued plugs and lures.

Common Techniques for Salmon Fishing

Salmon fishing in Oregon isn’t complicated. The best techniques utilized for salmon fishing are spinning, trolling, drift fishing, and fly fishing.

Salmon Season in Oregon

Chinook salmon fishing in Oregon succeeds best when you fish from August to September and July to October. Meanwhile, coho salmon fishing yields positive results when you fish from October to November and July to September.  Lastly, chum salmon fishing provides you with plenty of chum salmon when done from August to September and July to October.

If you’d like more details about this, read Take Me Fishing’s post about salmon fishing in Oregon.

Salmon Fishing Regulations in Oregon

Two salmon per person can be bagged in a day. Likewise, you can only take home coho salmon that’s at least 16 inches long, while chinook needs a length of 24 inches, and chum possesses can be any length.

Cooking Oregon Salmon

Salmon can be prepared in countless ways. It can be canned, smoked, filleted, consumed raw, or turned into patties. Similarly, you can grill it, bake it, fry it, steam it, or boil it.

Any flavoring and spice can complement salmon, but non-overwhelming flavors are the wisest choice for cooking salmon.

Hiring a Fishing Charter for Salmon Fishing

Hiring a fishing charter like Oregon Coast Salmon Fishing Charters or Newport Salmon Charters guarantees memorable, safe, and successful fishing adventures for you and your companions. Charters provide you with the best fishing equipment, boat, and guides, so you don’t have to worry about anything while fishing.

Other Fish You Can Catch in Oregon

Besides salmon, Oregon features incredible fish like cabezon, sea bass, lingcod, halibut, and Dungeness crab. Check out our blog for more handy guides about catching fish in Oregon.

6 Things to do in Depoe Bay, Oregon

Portland Day Trip Ideas: 9 Places to Visit

You’ll love the Columbia River Maritime Museum if you’re someone who enjoys appreciating the past. Besides featuring a vast collection of maritime artifacts, it also showcases the events that passed.

One of the things you’ll see here is a map of the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” Shipwrecks in the Columbia River since 1792 amounts to a total of 2000, and the map there marks the spots where the ships have fallen.

Alternatively, you can stroll around and marvel at the U.S.S. shark cannons or wander the Brix Maritime Hall. All of the exhibits here showcase Oregon’s rich maritime history, so you’ll have plenty of things to keep you busy.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum is an almost two-hour drive from Portland, but it’s worth taking the trip if you’re in love with historic things. It’s open everyday from 9:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. except on Christmas and Thanksgiving. The current admission fee for children 6 years old and above is $5, while adults are charged $14, and seniors need to pay $12.

Columbia River Highway State Trail

If you’re already in Columbia River, visit the historic highway state trail. It’s a long road without any cars; just bikes, skateboards, or joggers and walkers.

Columbia River Trail offers everyone a chance to have a peaceful, scenic day. Here, you can just go on and on as you take in the marvelous sights before you.

Astoria and the Surrounding Area

Just northwest of the Columbia River lies Astoria. It’s a two-hour drive from Portland, Oregon as well, but it’s worth the drive if you’re aiming to experience and witness more historical things.

Astoria is among the oldest American settlements in the U.S., and it features quite a number of well-preserved Craftsmand and Victorian homes. Likewise, forested views, numerous parks, hiking trails, and art galleries surround the area. Hence, you can do pretty much most of anything in Astoria depending on your mood.

Sea Lion Caves

You haven’t fully enjoyed Oregon until you’ve been to the Sea Lion Caves. It’s a three-hour drive from Portland, but your efforts will prove to be fruitful once you see the sea lions.

The sea lions here are free and wild, and they consider this cave as one of their safe shelters. The best time to visit the Sea Lion Caves is during winter, where hundreds of sea lions are present. Then, from spring to summer, you’ll find the sea lions by the rocky areas in front of the cave.

Brigham Fish Market

Now, if you’re in Oregon in search for fresh seafood, Brigham Fish Market is hands-down the best place you can pick. It’s a 45-minute drive from Portland, and it’s worth the trip.

You’ll know you made the right choice as soon as you spot the stout, cozy building that houses this restaurant. It’s run by a local family of fishermen, so they stand by the quality of the food they serve.

Bringham Fish Market’s main highlights are fresh fish cooked for you, market fish, and world-class service. Its best sellers are smoked fish, chowders, quesadillas, and fish and chips. However, they also sell fresh vegetables.

Willamette Valley

There’s no other well-known wine place in Oregon besides Willamette Valley. If you’re aiming to spend a relaxing day with your partner, try travelling around this valley to taste its wine offerings.

Willamette Valley is riddled with wineries, so anywhere you go will prove to be fruitful. Likewise, the roads to the valley itself are quite a sight to behold. Besides spoiling your tongue with excellent wine, you’ll spoil your eyes with great views, too.

Mount Hood

If you’re up for an adventure, you can opt to hike Mount Hood. Alternatively, you can come there just to see the scenic views it offers from various angles.

You can go for a relaxed walk by Mount Hood’s foot, hike its foothills and forests, meditate by its rivers, or hop around the restaurants surrounding it. Likewise, you can ski its snow-capped peaks during winter.

From here, you can also head to the Mount Hood National Forest, Timberline Lodge, Multnomah Falls, Hood River, Bagby Hot Springs, and Trillium Lake.

Bagby Hot Springs

If you’re already in Mount Hood, check out Bagby Hot Springs. It’s inside Mount Hood National Forest, and you need to pay $5 to enter.

Bagby Hot Springs was discovered in 1880, but it wasn’t open to the public until 1920. Here, you can choose to hang out in the public deck, upper deck, or private deck.

However, the main highlight of Bagby Hot Springs is the trail that leads to the hot spring and then the hot spring itself. The trail is brimming with life and great sceneries, so it’s quite worth the travel efforts even if you choose not to soak in the water.

Trillium Lake

Lastly, among our Portland day trip ideas is a picnic on Trillium Lake. The lake is on the bottom of Mount Hood, so it’s on quite a perfect location if you don’t feel like hiking.

Here, you can set up a camp or meditate, stroll around, and even swim or kayak. However, if you’re planning on swimming or kayaking, bring your own equipment since this isn’t a commercial place.

Portland Day Trips and Fishing Charters

Of course, the list wouldn’t be complete if fishing as a Portland day trip idea hadn’t been suggested. If you don’t want to go far from Portland, you always have the option to go for a fishing trip instead.

To make things smoother, book a fishing charter for your fishing adventure. 

On the other hand, if you’re trying to stay out of water for a while, use our Portland day trip ideas as a guide for places to visit and a few things to do.

Preparing Fresh Oregon Dungeness Crab

How to Cook Fresh Crab

Preparing a fresh Oregon Dungeness crab is simple. For the initial phase, all you need is a pot, some salt, and water. Mix the salt and water in your pot, and wait for it to boil. As soon as it boils, add the live crab inside. Then, boil it for some minutes. The length of the crab’s boiling time will depend on its weight. For every pound, 8 minutes of heating time needs to be allotted in cooking the crab.

A surefire way to know your seafood is done will be to look at its color. Once its shell turns bright orange, that means it’s been heated well enough and ready to be eaten.

How to Clean Boiled Crab

Once the Dungeness crab is done with the first phase of cooking, run it under cool water or soak it in cold water. You can immediately crack the crab’s shell afterwards, or place it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat it. If you opt for the latter, you can choose to serve it chilled or heat it up by steaming it before serving it.

If you’re serving it without shelling it first, be sure to remove the Dungeness crab’s innards and gills first. To do this, start by removing the crab’s back. Separate the crab’s back by holding onto its base with one hand and then pulling off its shell by prying it with your thumb. Note that you need to position your thumb on the middle of the shell.

Once you see the gills, remove them using your thumb or something firm enough. Then, place the crab under running water to remove its innards.

How to Shell Dungeness Crab

Cracking Dungeness crab is easy. First, twist off its legs on the part connected to the body. You’ll notice that it has pincers, and of course, they’re not edible, so simply remove those. Then, snap the crab’s large claws into two, and crack it. You can use a mallet or a nut cracker, or be creative and invent your own shell-breaker.

When you’re done with the big claws, turn your attention to the next largest piece of the crab. Those will be the leg joints. You have three choices for this part. First, you can use a mallet or a nutcracker to access the juicy meat inside this part. Second, you can decide on sucking the meat out. Third, you can pluck the meat using a fork.

Shelling the other leg parts of the Dungeness crab requires you to repeat the same process mentioned above. Likewise, you can just snap the smaller leg joints with your fingers and then suck or pick the meat out.

Lastly, breaking the crab’s body needs you to firmly grip its body with both hands and then snap it. You can then choose between repeatedly striking the crab with a mallet or something firm enough to get access to its meat, or plucking the meat with your fingers.

How to Store Cooked Crab

If you didn’t eat your freshly-prepared crab as your cracked it, you’ll need to know how to properly store it for later consumption. The best place to store cooked crab is in the refrigerator. However, make sure the crab is thoroughly covered. Likewise, remember to store it in a good container if you plan on keeping it for a few days, and ensure that no air enters the container by wrapping it in a plastic wrap or some foil.

How to Catch Oregon Crabs

There are plenty of ways to catch Dungeness crabs, but the most common instrument used are crab pots. If you want to learn more or have people guide you into catching Oregon crabs, you can contact a charter like the Newport, Oregon Fishing Charter for support.

Alternatively, you can check out some of our pages for helpful videos and articles. You can also contact us if you’re unsure about something, or figure out more information about us.

Our goal is to make fishing fun for everyone. That includes giving you tips on preparing Oregon Dungeness crab, catching different fish species, and connecting you with the best guided fishing services in the Pacific Northwest.