Ocean salmon seasons out of Brookings set (April 14, 2016)

This year's ocean salmon seasons out of the Port of Brookings Harbor have been adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Anglers out of Brookings will have a 75-day season, which will run from May 28-Aug. 7 and Sept. 3-5 with a two-king-salmon-a-day limit. The season will be open seven days a week.
The coho season will run June 25-Aug. 7 with a 26,000 hatchery coho quota.
Typically out of Brookings the best ocean salmon fishing during the summer occurs in June and July.
Brookings Fishing Charters will be offering its lingcod/rockfish/crab combos all summer, but also will be running salmon only and salmon/rockfish combo trips during the season. The 29-foot Miss Brooke is equipped with electric downriggers and the finest G.Loomis salmon rods with Shimano Tekota reels.
We will begin the season with El Nino conditions, which generally means warmer ocean temperatures, but the latest NOAA forecasts now indicate we will quickly switch into a La Nina pattern early this summer, which will result in cooler, more favorable temperatures for salmon fishing.
To book your ocean salmon charters, please visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

Below are a few of the salmon we caught on our charters last summer out of Brookings.

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

Brookings lingcod and rockfish action remains very good (May 22, 2015)

We are now beginning to see more salmon show up out of the Port of Brookings, as conditions are coning together nicely for good king fishing on the Southern Oregon Coast. The water temperature is close to 50 degrees, and there is a lot of bait, both herring and krill. The pelicans are here. The rockfish are stuffed full of small shrimp and krill. And we are actually snagging herring on our shrimp flies while fishing the baitballs for rockfish. We will start focusing on salmon more now, but for the past week have enjoyed more great lingcod and rockfish action out of Brookings.

Ocean conditions have been perfect. Small swell, light winds and no rain. 

The light tackle rockfish action is great right now. Several days this past week we found schools of rockfish suspended off the bottom and hammered them on small jigs and grubs in 30 to 50 feet of water. These fish are great fighters on light tackle, especially when hooked in shallow water.

The lingcod fishing has been fair one day, then wide open the next. We are enjoying an exceptional lingcod season this year, with limits or near limits on many days. The grade of rockfish is also very nice now, with big black rockfish (also known as sea bass, snapper, rock cod and black bass). 

We offer three kinds of trips this time of year. Rockfish and lingcod charters are $100 a person and include all bait and tackle and the filleting and bagging of your catch. You will be fishing with a local, experienced captain in small groups (up to 6 on my boat, up to four with Capt. Scott). On my charters Joey is helping out as a deckhand. He is a local kid who is done with college for the summer and is gaining experience to be a guide, both on the ocean and the rivers he grew up fishing. Salmon charters are $150 a person. This is a longer trip, which allows us to venture further offshore to find the kings. Salmon/botton fishing combos are $175 a person and are a great way to fill the freezer with prime fillets. 

To book a trip, call (541) 813-1082 or my cell, (206) 388-8988, or click the book a trip link at brookingsfishing.com.

Below are a bunch of photos from the past week on my boat.

- Capt. Andy Martin

brookingsfishing.com

wildriversfishing.com

(541) 813-1082 or (206) 388-8988

Catching rockfish two at a time.