The Oregon coast has more fall Chinook runs than spring Chinook, but it’s hard to beat fighting a mint-bright springer on a spring day.
And it’s impossible to beat spring salmon on the grill.
Like other salmon runs, coastal spring Chinook numbers tend to be cyclical. Some years are lean, others generous.
Coastwide, spring Chinook numbers vary according to periodic cycles closely tied to ocean productivity. It’s often good for a few years, then less productive for a few more, then goes back on the upswing.
The following handful of rivers and bays, listed north to south, offer the Oregon coast’s primary spring Chinook salmon fisheries.
Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay has a hatchery based run that returns fish primarily to the Trask River, with a modest hatchery run into the Wilson River.
Spring runs here are far smaller than the famous fall Chinook returns. Total annual harvest are often below 1,000 fish here.
Look for nearly all of the spring Chinook to be landed in May and June on Tillamook Bay. The bay is fished from the jetties up to the upper bay, where the Trask enters through the city of Tillamook on the southeastern side of the bay.
Trolling herring or spinners is popular for springers. Fresh roe, sometimes paired with sand shrimp, can be fished under bobbers in the tidewater areas.
For more on fishing here, read Tillamook Bay Fishing, Crabbing and Clamming.
Wilson River
This has been a very modest spring Chinook fishery, with about 100 spring Chinook, give or take, tagged during recent seasons, mostly in May and June.
The run is expected to further decline because the ODFW has ended spring smolt plants here, with the five-year-old fish due in 2018.
Some springers may still stray into the river, especially from the neighboring Trask River. Honestly, go to the Trask (or maybe Nestucca) instead if you’re looking for a river fishery for springers near Tillamook.
The Wilson is a very good fall Chinook salmon and steelhead fishing river, and also has good cutthroat trout angling.
For more detailed information about fishing both Chinook runs:
Wilson River Chinook Salmon Fishing
Trask River
The Trask River is Tillamook Bay’s primary spring Chinook destination.
The river can produce 2,000 spring Chinook in a good year and recently started receiving even more spring Chinook smolts (transferred from the Wilson River).
The most (and brightest) fish will be caught in the lower river, from the head of tidewater near Highway 101 up to the hatchery. Springers arrive in fishable numbers in May and the catch rate is often best in June.
The Trask River also has an excellent fall Chinook fishery.
For more detailed information about fishing both Chinook runs:
Trask River Chinook Salmon Fishing
Nestucca River
The Big Nestucca and its main angling tributary, Three Rivers (where the hatchery is located), can be very good spring Chinook fishing spots.
The main river can yield more than 1,000 springers in a decent year, and Three Rivers may produce several hundred or more, depending on annual cycles.
Spring Chinook are present and fished from May into July in the mainstem Nestucca, with the peak fishing usually in June.
June is the month to hit Three Rivers, which sees limited numbers of salmon before that time and then closes a bit earlier than the mainstem.
The mainstem, particularly below the mouth of Three Rivers, has limited bank access but excellent drift boat access. The mouth of Three Rivers near Hebo and farther up this tributary you’ll find several popular bank-fishing holes.
The Nestucca River also has an excellent fall Chinook and two steelhead fisheries.
For more detailed information about fishing both Chinook runs:
Nestucca River Chinook Salmon Fishing
Winchester Bay and Umpqua River
The large Umpqua River system and its estuary, Winchester Bay (Reedsport and several small coastal towns), can be fantastic for spring Chinook.
Combined, it’s also one of the top places for fall Chinook fishing in Southwest Oregon.
Some years the bay and river have ceded more than 5,000 spring Chinook, plus maybe another 2,000 from the North Umpqua. But fishing goes up and down and many years the catches are more modest.
The first significant numbers of spring salmon to enter the bay and lower Umpqua River arrive in March, but the better fishing is found in April and May.
Winchester Bay is loaded with services for boaters, and the river itself has good drift boat launches and plenty of bank access.
By May, a good number of these springers have turned into the colder waters of the North Umpqua River. A relatively high number of them likely will be below Winchester Dam in May.
Focus soon turns upstream to the stretch of main river below the hatchery on Rock Creek, where catches get going in May, peak in June and continue into July.
The Glide area has good bank access.
Rogue River
The Rogue River traditionally has a strong run of spring Chinook. The trick is finding them on this long river.
The river below Rainie Falls (below the take-out at Grave Creek) starts seeing fair numbers of fish in March, with good catches of bright spring Chinook usually coming in April and May (sometimes into June).
This area is fished by drifting from launches at Foster Bar, around Agness and several good put-in and take-out points from Quosatana to the bay.
In the upper river, east of Grants Pass, the best catches on the entire Rogue often come from the river above the former site of Gold Ray Dam and in particular closer to the deadline at the Cole Rivers Hatchery’s diversion dam (below Lost Creek Dam).
Although the springers up here aren’t always as bright as the lower-river fish, they remain good quality and this entire area has been known to produce more than 3,000 spring Chinook in a good year.
Expect catches in the upper river to begin in earnest in May. Peak fishing often occurs in June, with pretty good catches stretching into July in the higher reach.
There is plenty of bank and boat access in the upper river from parks and other public lands. Boaters will find good launches from McGregor Park to Shady Cove, as well as farther downriver.
The Rogue also has excellent summer steelhead fishing that overlaps the springer run.
For an overview of Rogue River fishing opportunities:
Rogue River Fishing for Salmon, Steelhead and Trout
Also on this website, more articles about spring chinook fishing around Oregon:
- Best Spring Chinook Salmon Fishing Near Portland
- The Willamette Valley’s Best Spring Chinook Salmon Fishing Rivers
- Spring Chinook Fishing in Central and Northeast Oregon
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