Limits of lingcod, rockfish out of Brookings (4-28-2015)

The lingcod and rockfish action out of the Port of Brookings Harbor on the Southern Oregon Coast remains very good. We took advantage of the very calm seas on Sunday and Monday to take customers offshore, and returned to the docks with full limits of lingcod and rockfish. Along with the usual assortment of black and blue rockfish (which are also known as sea bass, black snapper, rock cod or black bass) we got into some nice canary and vermilion  rockfish (which many refer to as red snapper). The lingcod fishing has been especially good, with quick limits of quality fish. Yesterday, we kept 10 lings and released at least half a dozen after limiting out. Customers who fish with me are well aware of the technique we use to catch lings, and how effective it is.

After a couple days of especially good weather, with light winds and swells down to 3 feet, we are going to have bigger swells for a few days, combined with those strong afternoon northwest winds. It looks like the ocean may lay down again this weekend.

The ocean salmon season out of Brookings opens on Friday. We are seeing a lot of bait, and the pelicans are already here, diving on bait balls. We are expecting a good salmon season, and although the peak is always late June and all of July, we could see good numbers of nice kings early on.
We have room on our rockfish/lingcod, salmon and combo salmon/bottom fishing charters throughout the season. Call (541) 813-1082 or visit www.brookingsfishing.com or www.wildriversfishing.com to book your trips.
Below are a few photos from the last couple of days.
- Capt. Andy Martin
Brookings Fishing
www.brookingsfishing.com

A tote full of lingcod.

Sunday's group with limits of lingcod.

We are getting a good grade of black rockfish. These are the same fish that sometimes are referred to as rock cod, sea bass, black snapper or black bass. They are very good for fish and chips, or fish tacos.

Shane with a keeper lingcod.

Liz with a nice lingcod.

Glenn with a very nice vermilion rockfish caught April 27 out of Brookings.

Another limit of lingcod with www.brookingsfishing.com out of the Port of Brookings Harbor on the Southern Oregon coast.

Lots of good eating here.

Ocean salmon season approved (4-15-2015)

130-day ocean salmon season approved for Southern Oregon Coast

Ocean salmon season opens May 1 out of Brookings

BROOKINGS, Ore. - Anglers fishing for king salmon on the Southern Oregon Coast will have a lengthy 130-day ocean season this year with a two-fish daily limit, federal fishery managers decided today (Wednesday, April 15).

A May 1-Sept. 7 ocean sport salmon season was approved for the the Klamath Management Zone, a 170-mile section of coast from Humbug Mountain, Ore., to Horse Mountain, Calif. The zone includes the ports of Brookings and Gold Beach in Oregon and Crescent City, Trinidad and Eureka in Northern California.

The season was approved during the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Rohnert Park, Calif. The council is a federal agency that regulates recreational and commercial salmon and bottom fish seasons in Oregon, California and Washington.

"This is a great season that will give anglers plenty of opportunity to catch salmon out of Brookings this summer," said Brookings fishing guide and charter boat owner Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. "This will be one of the longer seasons in recent memory and people will have plenty of chances to get in on what are expected to be big salmon runs on the Oregon Coast."

The long season also will be a boon to tourism-related businesses in Brookings and other coastal community, including motels, restaurants, tackle shops, RV parks and gift shops.

"The fact that we have this long season will be beneficiary to both people who come to fish, and the entire community," said Jim Carey, owner of the Chetco Outdoor Store in Brookings and Rogue Outdoor Store in Gold Beach. "Even though we can't get out to fish every day here on the South Coast with the winds, this summer-long season will bring additional people into the area to fish. They will be in the motels and local restaurants, allowing additional dollars to rotate through the community."

Sport fishing is one of the biggest draws to the Oregon Coast each summer.

With strong returns expected to the Sacramento and Klamath rivers this fall, the federal fishery managers approved the most generous of the three salmon sport season options they considered. According to federal biologists, nearly 650,000 king salmon from the Sacramento River, 420,000 from the Klamath River and 200,000 from the Rogue River are currently swimming off the Southern Oregon and Northern California coasts. The salmon from those rivers are the biggest contributor to ocean salmon seasons out of Brookings and other nearby harbors.

Anglers will be allowed to keep two king, or Chinook, salmon per day. Those fish can be wild or hatchery fish. From June 27 to Aug. 9, anglers can also include hatchery coho, or silver salmon, in the two-fish limit. The coho quota approved by the PFMC is 55,000 hatchery coho salmon. The king salmon season will remain open after the coho quota is reached.

Brookings is often the most productive port on the Oregon coast for king salmon, which average 12 to 20 pounds and can reach weights exceeding 50 pounds. Last year, Brookings sport anglers landed 6,817 kings, more than any other port on the Oregon Coast. Brookings sport fishermen accounted for 37 percent of the entire ocean king recreational salmon catch in Oregon. The port with the closest catch was Winchester Bay, where anglers landed 27 percent of the Chinook catch. Brookings anglers landed more kings in the ocean than the ports of Astoria, Coos Bay, Tillamook and Newport combined, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife figures. Brookings also had the highest catch rates, as it only accounted for 14 percent of the total ocean salmon angling effort.

"Brookings is the best port on the Oregon Coast for king salmon fishing because it is located right in the middle of the ocean feeding area for fish from the Sacramento and Klamath rivers, which contribute a huge portion of the salmon off the Oregon and Northern California coast," Martin said. "Brookings also has higher catch rates because it generally has calmer water than the rest of the coast and more fishable days."

The fishery council also approved shorter commercial salmon fishing seasons for the Oregon and Northern California coasts.

For more information, visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

Simple but delicious deep fried lingcod and rockfish (4-14-2015)

One of the questions I get asked almost everyday during my ocean charters is what's my favorite way to prepare lingcod and rockfish. While there are countless ways to cook rockfish and lingcod, it's really hard to beat deep frying it with a simple breading.

I have tried panko, bread crumbs, crackers, crushed corn flakes and other types of breading, but my favorite is a simple mixture of bisquick with a little Old Bay seasoning and sea salt. If you want a little kick to it, add some creole seasoning.

The end result with the bisquick breading is a golden brown deep fried fish that doesn't come out greasy and tastes great.

The recipe is quick and easy. Cut the fish into small chunks so they cook evenly and quickly. Three to four inches long and a couple inches wide. 

To make cleanup quick and easy, I use three zip lock bags, and add a cup of flower to the first, three or four beaten eggs (egg wash) in the second and the mixture of two to three cups of dry bisquick (we don't use any water or milk with this recipe), salt and a couple table spoons of Old Bay. For spicy deep fried fish, add a couple table spoons (or more) of creole seasoning.

Place several pieces of the fish in the bag with flour and shake, then add them to the bag with the beaten eggs and make sure all the fish is coated. The egg coating will ensure the bisquick sticks to the fish. Place the fish in the dry bisquick and shake again.

The key to good deep fried fish is hot oil. I set my deep fryer at 400 degrees and once the oil is hot, add the fish that is covered with the dry bisquick. It only takes two to four minutes to cook the small pieces of fish. They will quickly turn golden brown, and the fish is done.

Place the fish on a couple paper towels and allow any remaining oil to drip off, salt, and after allowing the fish to cool for a few minutes, serve with a squeeze of lemon and homemade cocktail sauce (a tablespoon hot horseradish, 1/2 cup ketchup and 1 tablespoon lemon juice).

- Capt. Andy Martin

brookingsfishing.com and wildriversfishing.com

Lingcod fishing heats up again (4-14-2015)

As the ocean conditions out of the Port of Brookings Harbor improved last week, so did the lingcod and rockfish action. We were back to catching limits of lingcod and rockfish last Wednesday through Friday before a big swell and strong winds returned over the weekend.
On Friday, I had six anglers, and we kept 12 lingcod and 42 rockfish, while also releasing several lingcod. We also limited on lingcod on Wednesday and Thursday, getting eight each day with four anglers.
Some of the lingcod have been in the 20-pound range.
The ocean salmon season opens in May, and with the abundance of bait off the Southern Oregon Coast, we could have some great early season action. The lingcod we caught last week hadn't spawned yet, so it looks like a fresh group of fish have moved into shallow water, a great sign for fishing the rest of April and into May.
On another note, there are quote a few charters to choose from right now out of Brookings, both the smaller boats with six passengers or less, and the bigger boats that fish up to 20 people. There are a few things that makes Brookings Fishing and Wild Rivers Fishing unique. I am one of the very few charter captains and fishing guides who actually grew up in Brookings and have strong local ties. I've been fishing the waters off of Brookings my whole life, and that experience comes in handy when we face rough water, slow bites, or heavy fishing pressure. I also specialize in smaller groups, so you can focus on quality limits of fish - especially lingcod and when in season, king salmon. It's hard to troll for salmon with 15 people on the boat, and I usually fish groups between four and six anglers.
I also love what I do (taking people fishing) and have top-quality gear. That's not always the case with charter boats in Brookings.
Here are some photos from last week's trips. We also did a whale watching trip for a family from Reno, and saw lots of whales and sea lions.
- Capt. Andy Martin
BrookingsFishing.com and wildriversfishing.com

Brookings ocean, Rogue salmon update (4-6-2015)

We've had a week of big swell out of Brookings, along with a pretty big storm that hit over the weekend, including a gale warning today. The ocean is expected to lay down by mid-week and it looks like Wednesday will have prime conditions with swells less than 5 feet and light winds.
We got out one day last week and found decent fishing for lingcod, as well as some rockfish. The lings have started to move off the spawning beds back to deeper water, but we are still finding some nice lings in 60 to 80 feet of water.
The grade of rockfish has been nice, with some black rockfish (sometimes called rock cod, black snapper or sea bass) close to 4 or 5 pounds.

I've also been running some spring king salmon trips on the lower Rogue River, and although it is still a little early in the season, we have found a few fish. Below is a photo of our biggest springer so far this year, a 28-pounder.

Ocean salmon season out of Brookings begins in May. We are seeing a lot of bait offshore right now, and marks in the Bird Island and Twin Rocks areas that look like salmon. 

It's not too early to get on the calendar for this summer's salmon season. Call me at (541) 813-1082 or visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

- Capt. Andy Martin

Brookings Fishing