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.

Chetco Bay salmon season under way

While the low, clear water up the Chetco and lack of rain so far this fall make salmon fishing tough above tidewater, it creates prime conditions in the Chetco Bay and estuary, where we have been fishing almost daily for big king salmon.
The ocean off the mouth of the Chetco was open Oct. 1-11, and fishing was generally good. Rough weather took a couple of days away from us at the end of the season.
We are now trolling the estuary, where fresh salmon are coming in daily.
The estuary, which is the lower portion of the Chetco, basically from just above the Highway 101 bridge to the tips of the jetties, will continue to fish until we get a big rain. Then we'll focus solely upriver out of the drift boats.
While trolling the estuary, we also spend a little time jigging up rockfish when the ocean is flat.
The salmon we have been catching are prime fish. Here are some photos from the last three weeks at the mouth of the Chetco.

To book a trip, visit www.wildriversfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082 or (206) 388-8988.

Salmon starting to show off Brookings (July 23, 2015)

Two and a half months into this year's ocean salmon season out of the Port of Brookings Harbor, we are finally starting to see some decent salmon fishing. In fact, we've had a couple of days this week of double-digit or near double-digit hookups, with a mix of kings, hatchery silvers and wild silvers.

Yesterday we hooked several salmon, releasing wild coho, with one keeper king and another keeper silver. We also lost several salmon. On Sunday, we had a good day salmon fishing, catching a handful of keeper hatchery silvers while losing several more.

There are pockets of cooler water within a few miles of Brookings now, and lots of bait, including krill and schools of anchovies.

We also have been getting a good grade of rockfish and lingcod, although some days, such as today, we had to work real hard before limiting on rockfish and catching a few lingcod.

Today I saw a few boats come in with halibut, the best catches so far this season. Albacore also are showing 20 miles out of Brookings.

It appears this season's best salmon fishing will be late in the season, from now through August.

We will continue to fish for salmon out of Brookings through Labor Day, then switch over to the Coos River and upper Coos Bay in September, before returning for the trophy king salmon season in the ocean at the mouth of the Chetco River in October.

Below are some photos from the past week.

Capt. Andy Martin'

www.brookingsfishing.com

(541) 813-1082

Super easy Salmon Cake recipe (July 22, 2015)

People tend to think fishing guides get an unlimited supply of salmon and other fish to fill their freezers and cram their smokers. In reality, guides seldom get a chance to take fish home. Their customers catch, and keep the fish, and in some areas, such as Alaska, guides aren't even allowed to fish themselves with clients on the boat, and they certainly are not allowed to keep a limit for themselves.

To enjoy salmon myself, I have a favorite recipe that utilizes the scraps of meat left on the carcass that most people throw away. After filleting my customers' catch, I put the carcasses back in my fish box (unless of course they want them), and after seeing my guests off, I use a spoon to scrape the bits of meat left along the backbone. The small bits of salmon flesh are perfect for salmon cakes.

Below is a recipe for salmon cakes, made with the carcass scraps from my customers' catch today out of the Port of Brookings Harbor on the Southern Oregon Coast.

Salmon cakes are a mixture of fresh (or smoked, or canned) salmon, chopped onion, raw egg, bread crumbs, dill weed, salt and pepper, and if desired, a little cream cheese. Easy to make, and delicious, the salmon cakes are a meal in themselves, or a great way to utilize leftover grilled salmon.

Small pieces of salmon, scraped from the backbone and carcass, are the main ingredient in salmon cakes. Left overs from grilled salmon also work great, as does smoked or canned salmon.

In a large bowl, combine the salmon, chopped onion, bread crumbs, egg, dill weed, salt and pepper. Use roughly 1/8 cup onion, one or two eggs, 1/2 cup bread crumbs and 1 cup salmon.

Mix well.

Shape the salmon mixture in small patties, or "cakes." I like to add cream cheese to some of the cakes.

Cook the cakes in a skillet over medium high heat with butter or olive oil. After cooking one side, turn the cake and firmly press with a spatula. The cakes are done in just a few minutes.

Serve with fresh lemon, and homemade tarter sauce for a delicious meal or snack.

If you would like to catch a fresh salmon to try this recipe, give me a call, or visit www.brookingsfishing.com or www.wildriversfishing.com. 

- Capt. Andy Martin

(541) 813-1082

wildriversfishing@yahoo.com

Salmon fishing improving out of Brookings (June 27, 2015)

Since the ocean salmon season opened in early May out of the Port of Brookings Harbor, fishing has been rather slow. This week, we finally started to see some major improvements.
On Wednesday, the commercial trollers out of Brookings had their best day of the season. Most boats returned to the harbor with their 30-fish daily limits. On Thursday, the sport boats began to find better numbers of fish.
Salmon fishing improved again today, with a couple dozen kings reported. We ventured several miles offshore and had two take downs, catching a really nice hatchery king. It was caught in 300 feet of water, trolling 135 feet down on the downrigger. We were right in the middle of the big shrimp net boats.
Some boats that went further out got limits of kings and hatchery silvers. We had a combo trip today, so we only spent a few hours trolling, then ran back toward shore to limit out on rockfish and catch half a dozen nice lingcod, as well as a bunch of crab.
For the past week, we've continued to enjoy good action for lingcod and rockfish. We also are doing well on crab, and the quality of the crab has improved, with the majority now hard shell.
July is the peak month for kings out of Brookings. Remember, we specialize in light tackle, small groups and offer lingcod/rockfish trips, salmon charters and combos where we troll for salmon and jig for lings and rockfish. We also are checking crab pots each day on our way back to the dock.

To book a trip, call (541) 813-1082 or (206) 388-8988, or visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

Below are a few photos from the past week.