Wild coho fishing regulations for coastal rivers posted More rivers can support wild coho harvest as populations improve


by ODFW
8-18-2023
Website

SALEM, Ore.—Wild coho fishing regulations in rivers along Oregon's coast were posted online at MyODFW.com today.

See regulations at the Recreation Report / Fishing Report / Regulation Updates tab for the SW Zone and NW Zone https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report.

With the third consecutive year of good coho returns forecast, several rivers will be open for wild coho fishing this year that weren't last year, including the Siuslaw, Coquille and Floras/New. Most seasons start in mid-September with few opening in November.

The Umpqua River will be closed to wild coho fishing due to exceptionally low coho returns to the South Umpqua River last year.

The aggregate bag limit for the entire coast is five wild coho for the season. In addition to adult bag limits listed, anglers may take one wild jack coho per day when wild coho fisheries are open.

These regulations are only for wild coho. Anglers may retain hatchery coho as part of the adult and jack salmon daily bag limit in areas currently open to angling for Chinook salmon or steelhead.

Since Oregon coast coho were first listed as Threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1998, habitat restoration and careful hatchery and harvest management have helped recover the population. A five-year review completed by NOAA in 2022 says that risk of extinction for most wild coho runs has declined since the last review in 2016, though some still need further improvement.