Northwest Oregon bays: fall Chinook fair, wild coho Wed/Sat/Sun

Northwest tidewater is in early fall Chinook. ODFW’s Sept. 10, 2026 Northwest Zone Recreation Report says Nehalem Bay has been fair and consistent the past couple of weeks, with multiple fish a day in the bay and tidewater. Wild adult Chinook there is one a day and five for the season (July 1–Nov. 30) as part of the overall daily bag. A few hatchery coho have shown near the jaws. Nestucca and Tillamook bays are starting to produce fall Chinook — early, but fish are being caught.

Wild adult coho is open Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Oct. 28 in the Nehalem, Tillamook, and Nestucca basins. That fish counts as part of the two adult salmon/steelhead daily bag, and only one wild adult coho may be kept per day. Season caps: no more than three wild adult coho per basin, and no more than five wild adult coho per year in the Northwest and Southwest Zones combined. Alsea wild coho retention stays closed for all of 2026 — NMFS did not authorize a season.

Cape Meares Lake and Town Lake got 2–3 pound trophy trout last week. Siletz summer steelhead have been slow; recycled fish wear a colored tag at the dorsal base — report date, color, and location to caleb.w.yann@odfw.oregon.gov. The Siuslaw, Alsea, Siletz, and Yaquina are starting to produce some fall Chinook lower in the systems.

Photo: Justin Robert Jahn / ODFW (summer steelhead on the Siletz).

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: ODFW — Northwest Zone Fishing Report (Sept. 10, 2026). Also: ODFW — Alsea wild coho closed for 2026.