Salmon, lingcod, halibut season underway in Brookings

BROOKINGS, Ore. - The 2018 salmon, halibut, lingcod and rockfish seasons are under way on the Southern Oregon Coast, and when the weather cooperates, fishing has been good.
Brookings Fishing Charters has been running trips daily out of the Port of Brookings, with good catches of lingcod and rockfish. Limits are common when the ocean is calm. During windy weather, the charters are still finding limits of rockfish.
Several dozen halibut have been landed in Brookings so far this season. In May, Capt. Andy took the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters on a halibut trip, and returned with two keepers in the 40-pound range, as well as 49 sanddabs and half a dozen petrale sole. The halibut were caught with Capt. Andy's custom halibut rigs fished with squid and whole herring.

Capt. Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters holds a 45-inch halibut caught by Mark Berry off the coast of Brookings in early May.

Salmon season opened May 19 and runs through Aug. 26. So far, fishing has been good 6 to 9 miles of Brookings, but the weather has been windy for much of the season so far, limiting the chance to get offshore. We expect very good fishing when the wind lets up and we can get to the salmon grounds.

Fishing for lingcod is great when the ocean is flat. Here are some nice lings from May 2018 for Brookings Fishing Charters.

Our lingcod and rockfish action has been great, with lots of topwater action on big snapper. Lingcod fishing has been solid, with limits on the calm days when we can get to Twin Rocks, House Rock or Mack Arch.

Deckhand Jason and Capt. Andy of Brookings Fishing Charters with a pair of nice Brookings halibut from the 2018 season.

In June, we will focus on salmon and halibut more, but also run lingcod and rockfish charters every day with at least one of our boats. Brookings Fishing Charters has two boats, and books two more six-pack charters.

To book a trip, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

Lingcod season off to good start off coast of Brookings

BROOKINGS, Ore. - After being closed since mid-September, lingcod and rockfish season re-opened Jan. 1 on the Oregon Coast, with very good fishing when ocean conditions have allowed boats to get out.

Limits of lingcod caught Jan. 1, 2018, off the coast of Brookings aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters. 

Capt. Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters said he had two boats out on Jan. 1 and 2, the first two days of the season, and both returned with easy limits of lingcod, as well as fish boxes full of rockfish.
"The lingcod fishing was even better than expected," Martin said. "We knew we were going to have good fishing for lingcod, but the bite was as wide open as I've ever seen. We actually let more lingcod go than we kept, and everyone got limits of lingcod. The first day, we had seven lingcod in the box in the first half hour. We returned with 24 keepers for our 12 customers on both boats, plus let a bunch go."
Brookings Fishing Charters ran another lingcod trip Jan. 7, once again getting easy limits.
Rough weather has prevented the Brookings charter fleet from running any trips since the first week of January. Big wells and strong winds have made the ocean too rough to fish.
The lingcod were biting copper jigs, whole herring, twin-tail scampies and flutter jigs.
Brookings Fishing Charters operates two six-pack boats out of Brookings, as well as booking charters for the other six-pack operators in Brookings, including Old Dog Sportfishing. The smaller, faster boats get to the fishing grounds quickly, and specialize in light-tackle lingcod and rockfish.
Charters will continue as soon as calm weather returns to the Oregon Coast.
Late winter and spring offer good opportunities for lingcod, which migrate to shallow water to spawn.
The limit is two lingcod per person, plus five rockfish, with any combination of black and blue snapper, canary rockfish, China, quillback, copper and vermilion.
For information, visit www.brookingsfishing.com.
Below are some photos from the first few trips of the 2018 season with Brookings Fishing Charters.

2018 Oregon bottom fishing regulations set

Lingcod season runs Jan. 1-Dec. 31 in 2018, with a two-fish limit for lingcod and five-fish limit for rockfish.

BROOKINGS, Ore. - Anglers fishing off the coast of Oregon will be allowed to keep seven bottom fish in 2018, including two lingcod and five rockfish.
The limits were set during the Dec. 8 Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Salem. While the limit of rockfish was reduced compared to 2017, Oregon remains the only state on the West Coast with a year-round rockfish and lingcod season. California, Washington and Alaska have winter closures for bottom fishing. Oregon's season will remain open January through December.
The 2018 limits do no include sub-bag-limits for rockfish, meaning anglers can keep any combination of black, blue, canary, vermilion, yellowtail, China, copper and quillback rockfish.
The lingcod limit remains two a day with a 22-inch minimum size.
"While we had hoped to keep a higher limit of rockfish, we are glad we will have a year-round fishery and anglers will still be able to leave with seven fish a day," said Capt. Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters.
Capt. Andy was one of the charter boat captains who testified before the Fish and Wildlife Commission, which had considered tighter limits of three or four rockfish a day.
Brookings has the safest bar crossing on the Oregon Coast. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, boats are able to cross the bar more days out of Brookings than any other port in Oregon or Washington.
"Since we have the greatest chance of being able to get out and fish during the winter months, this year-round season is very important for Brookings," Martin said. "Some of our best lingcod fishing takes place during the winter months, so we will be able to run charters in January, February and March, when the lingcod are close to shore and easier to catch."
Brookings Fishing Charters will begin its ocean charter season Jan. 1. Capt. Andy and Capt. Travis will be running trips daily, weather permitting.
Brookings Fishing Charters has opened a new booking office and tackle shop at the Port of Brookings, located at 16399 Lower Harbor Road, Suite B.
Visit www.brookingsfishing.com to book a trip, or call (541) 813-1082.

Brookings Fishing Charters specializes in lingcod

BROOKINGS, Ore. - With lingcod populations healthy on the Oregon Coast, most charters return to the docks with a few nice lingcod each day. Aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters, however, the goal each day is to get each customer into their limit of lingcod.
"We specifically target lingcod, which is something not all charter boats do," said Capt. Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters (www.brookingsfishing.com). "Because we run six-pack boats, we can spend time each day fishing specifically for lingcod. We use baits and lures that are intended to catch lingcod, not just rockfish."
Most Oregon Coast charter boats rig up with shrimp flies or small plastic grubs to catch rockfish (also known as snapper or rockcod), and while fishing for those fish they will encounter a few lingcod. "We use that same gear to catch rockfish, but we also use large baits and large jigs that will entice lingcod into biting," Martin said. "We also fish the pinnacles where lingcod hang out. We want our customers to catch limits of rockfish and lingcod."
It is common aboard the Miss Brooke and the other Brookings Fishing Charter boats to use light spinning rods to catch limits of rockfish, and then use slightly heavier rods rigged with bait with nothing but lingcod in mind.

Big lingcod like this, caught by customer Don Stroh, are a specialty of Brookings Fishing Charters.

Brookings Fishing Charters has a loyal following among anglers who want to catch lingcod because of the charter boat company's high success rate in catching lings. "We don't just catch lingcod by accident. Our crew works really hard to find lingcod and rig our customers with the gear to catch them," Martin said.

Capt. Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters has a well-earned reputation of being one of the most consistent charter boats captains on the Oregon Coast of getting customers into nice lingcod.

Big lingcod are caught regularly aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters.

Lingcod are abundant along the entire Oregon Coast. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the population is healthy and stable. Anglers are allowed two lingcod a day at least 22 inches long.
"We catch them all season, but the late winter and spring months are good because that's when the big fish move in close to spawn. August and September also is a good time to catch lings," Martin said.

Catching limits of lingcod was a memorable experience for this family.

Anglers of all skill levels catch lingcod with the Brookings Fishing Charters crew. Many families book charters so children can experience the thrill of catching lingcod, which are among the best-tasting fish on the Pacific Coast.

This group from Klamath Falls, Ore., left with full limits of lingcod while fishing aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters in 2017.

The filleting and bagging of the catch is included with each charter with Brookings Fishing Charters. Based at the Port of Brookings, the Miss Brooke and other Brookings charters operate from February through October. Brookings has the safest bar crossing on the Oregon Coast, and generally has the calmest ocean conditions on the coast.

A nice limit of lingcod made the trip to Brookings worthwhile for Jeff, a frequent customer of Brookings Fishing Charters.

"We can usually find a protected cove to fish in, even when the rest of the Oregon Coast is too windy or has too big of a swell to fish," Martin said.
To learn more about lingcod fishing with Brookings Fishing Charters, visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

Brookings Fishing Charters expands fleet

BROOKINGS, Ore. - Brookings Fishing Charters, a six-pack sportfishing charter serving the Oregon Coast from the Port of Brookings, has expanded its fleet and added another captain.
Already one of the most popular fishing charters on the Southern Oregon Coast, Brookings Fishing Charters had added a 26-foot bay boat to complement its 29-foot offshore charter boat, the Miss Brooke.

The 29-foot Miss Brooke is one of the newest, fastest charter boats on the Oregon Coast and comfortably fishes six customers. It is pictured fishing for lingcod near Arch Rock off the coast of Brookings, Oregon.

The Miss Brooke will continue to run trips for lingcod, rockfish, crab and salmon, but also will be offering albacore tuna and halibut trips in 2018.
The Miss Brooke, new to the fleet in 2016, is captained by owner Capt. Andy Martin, as well as Capt. Travis Sallander.

The new 26-foot Alumaweld Columbia is Brookings Fishing Charters' new bay boat, and can fish six customers for salmon, lingcod and rockfish. It is equipped to fish the coastal bays as well as near-shore reefs.

New this year is the 26-foot bay boat, a custom-made Alumaweld Columbia, with extra high sides and a deeper vee for saltwater use. The bay boat is mainly used for ocean and bay salmon, as well as lingcod and rockfish trips.
Both boats comfortably seat six anglers, along with the crew. The bay boat is especially popular because of its comfortable seats with arm rests. Anglers get to fish while sitting instead of having to stand on the back deck to fish.

Capt. Andy Martin grew up in Brookings, Ore., and is the owner of Brookings Fishing Charters.

Capt. Andy has run charters in Oregon and Alaska for more than 12 years. He grew up in Brookings and has been fishing the productive ocean waters between the mouths of the Chetco and Rogue rivers his entire life. He fondly remembers fishing the coast of Brookings with his family at an early age. His father worked at a local plywood mill, often taking the overnight graveyard shift. When he got off work each morning, he would wake his children up, including Andy, and take them fishing  before going to bed.
Andy earned his Coast Guard near-coastal captain's license, and ran big party boats out of Seward, Alaska, as well as six-pack charter boats in Southeast Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park before dedicating all his time to ocean and river charters in Brookings, Ore.

Capt. Travis Sallander grew up in Brookings and has a decade experience of guiding in Oregon and Alaska.

Capt. Travis also is a native of Brookings. He and Andy have known each other since grade school. Travis spent 10 years guiding on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers in Alaska, as well as working on halibut and salmon charter boats in Deep Creek, Alaska, and Homer, Alaska. He earned his Coast Guard captain's license and now skippers the Miss Brooke when Capt. Andy runs the new Alumaweld Columbia.

The crew of Brookings Fishing Charters also run drift boat trips on the coastal rivers near Brookings during the fall and winter. Here, Capt. Travis Sallander fishes a group on the Smith River.

During the fall and winter months, both Capt. Andy and Capt. Travis are full-time river guides, taking customers down the Chetco and Smith rivers in drift boats. Both have special-use permits from the Forest Service for the Upper Chetco and the Forks area of the Smith River. They also guide on the Elk and Sixes rivers. Fall salmon season runs October through early December, while steelhead are in the rivers from December through March.

Capt. Shane Brookes works on the Brookings Fishing Charters crew.

Capt. Shane Brookes works on the Brookings Fishing Charters crew. He mainly works on the Miss Brooke, and has spent time working on charter boats in Alaska. He also is a river guide during the fall and winter months on the Chetco River.

The Miss Brooke is a six-pack charter boat and one of the fastest boats in the fleet. It gets to the fishing grounds quickly and has plenty of room for six anglers.

Our ocean charter season runs February through October. We focus on the rivers the rest of the year. The Miss Brooke is usually the first charter in the Brookings fleet to begin running ocean trips, as soon as we get a break in the weather in late winter to allow fishing offshore.
All of our captains hold U.S. Coast Guard near-coastal captains licenses, are first aid and CPR certified, are licensed fishing guides through the state of Oregon and California. Our boats have the latest safety equipment. The Miss Brooke is the only six-pack charter in the Brookings fleet with a self-inflating life raft, radar and EPIRB, items normally required only for much larger inspected party boats.

To learn more about Brookings Fishing Charters, visit www.brookingsfishing.com. Call (541) 813-1082 to book a trip.