Fishing Articles

AFTER CHASING SALMON along the southern Oregon coast for 48 years, commercial fisher Duncan MacLean has developed a strong sense of who’s who at the end of his hook. This year, he says, most of the Chinook salmon he’s catching are likely from the Rogue River, where the state of Oregon and conservation groups have worked for years on one of...
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San Francisco Bay is considered the most invaded estuary in the world, in part due to its heavy ship traffic that transports species from other places. One unassuming but costly invader that has hitchhiked into San Francisco Bay is the European green crab (Carcinus maenas). Considered one of the world’s worst invasive species, these crabs feed voraciously on native invertebrates such as young...
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I had fished the same stretch of beach twice already over the past six days and yet I return a third time.  I’m not at Ocean Beach, my usual haunt, but 5-10 miles south, somewhere along the San Mateo County coastline. Dozens of boats are being regularly seen offshore around here--most, if not all, are trying to catch salmon (zoom...
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My brother Don and I enjoyed great salmon fishing earlier on June 4 when over 80 percent of our fish fell for anchovies trolled behind chartreuse Bechhold baitholders. This was not a competition. We were trolling two different rigs and alternated picking up a rod when we got a strike. However, when it was all over, both of us knew...
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When deciphering the legal mumbo jumbo in the Oregon Fishing Regulations pamphlet it is akin to becoming a rocket scientist who practices law. For instance, in the ocean, anglers are only allowed to use two barbless hooks when fishing for salmon. But in certain waterbodies such as the lower Rogue River and bay, the aforementioned 2-hook, barbless rule can be thrown out...
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