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  FISHING

Fishing Boats , Newport - Photo by Kathy Munsel -

Saltwater News Bulletins
You can subscribe to receive e-mails and text message alerts for marine topics you are interested in. To sign up go to http://dfw.state.or.us/MRP/bulletins/index.asp and enter your phone for text alerts and e-mail information to subscribe to email updates. It’s easy to unsubscribe at any time. Your phone and e-mail information will remain confidential. Six different lists of interest to ocean enthusiasts are available: Bottomfish (recreational), Halibut (recreational), Ocean Salmon (recreational), Ocean Salmon (commercial troll), Commercial Nearshore Groundfish, and Marine Reserves.

Send us your fishing report
We’d love to hear about your recent fishing experience. Send us your own fishing report through ODFW Fishing Reports -- the information will be forwarded to the local biologist who may use it to update various ODFW resources such as the Weekly Recreation Report.

Marine Reserves

Prohibitions at Oregon’s marine reserves at Redfish Rocks and Otter Rock are in effect. Fishing, crabbing, clamming, hunting and gathering seaweed are all prohibited. Beach walking, surfing, bird watching, diving and other non-extractive uses continue to be allowed. See complete details and a map of the boundaries of the reserves:

• Otter Rock Marine Reserve
• Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve and Marine Protected Area

Quillback Rockfish - Photo by Bob Swingle, ODFW -

Bottom Fishing

Most ports sampled reported near limits of rockfish. Lingcod were back on the bite as well with the average catch per angler more than one fish.

Fishing for groundfish is closed offshore of the 30-fathom line defined by latitude and longitude.
 
Cabezon retention is prohibited by all anglers until July 1. Retention of cabezon is allowed July 1 through Sept. 30. Under the federal cabezon quota, there is only enough cabezon to be open for two to three months during the busy summer period. When ODFW asked for public input in the fall, many people said they preferred a later season (July-September) over an earlier season. The daily bag and size limits remain the same (one-fish sublimit, 16-inch minimum length).

The marine fish daily bag limit is seven fish (of which no more than one may be a cabezon during the cabezon season). There are separate daily limits for lingcod (two) and flatfish other than Pacific halibut (25).

Remember: yelloweye rockfish and canary rockfish may not be retained.

The Stonewall Bank Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area, approximately 15 miles west of Newport, is closed to the harvest of rockfish, lingcod, flatfish and other species in the groundfish group.

Calab holding his first ever salmon. - Photo by Rick Gallahon-

Ocean Salmon

Better than half the anglers out of Astoria landed chinook salmon last week. Coho catches were much lower – only about one for every 10 anglers. On the rest of the coast there were no reported coho landings. One in 10 anglers caught chinook south of Astoria. The exception was Winchester Bay where about four in 10 anglers caught a chinook.

Fishing for chinook salmon from Leadbetter Point, WA, to Cape Falcon is open June 8 through the earlier of June 21 or quota. All retained chinook must have a healed adipose fin clip.

Fishing for chinook salmon from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain is open from March 15 through Oct. 31.
 
Anglers fishing in ocean waters adjacent to Tillamook Bay between Twin Rocks and Pyramid Rock and within the 15-fathom depth contour are reminded that only adipose fin clipped chinook salmon may be retained.

Fishing for chinook salmon from Humbug Mountain to the Ore./Calif. border is open through Sept. 8.

Retained chinook salmon statewide must be 24 inches or larger.

Pacific Halibut

Columbia River Subarea
Through June 22, anglers have landed 3,100 pounds. This leaves 6,300 pounds (67 percent) of the spring quota remaining. Average weight this season is 16 pounds. The spring all-depth season is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the quota is reached or the start of the summer season on Aug. 2.

Central Oregon Coast Subarea
Through the June 6-8 opener, the total landings are 85,512 pounds. The weather on Friday and Saturday of the last opening was windy and kept many anglers off the water. Effort last week was less than half that of the previous two weeks. Those who did go fishing had some success; the average fish per angler for private vessels was 0.7 and 0.8 for charter anglers. Landings last week were just over 10,000 pounds. This leaves 35,435 pounds or 29 percent of the spring all-depth quota remaining. Therefore, the first set of back-up dates, June 20-22, will be open. An announcement will be made by noon on Friday, June 28, if enough quota remains for any further back-up dates. The season average is 16 pounds. 

Nearshore Season—Through June 9 nearshore landings are 1,139 pounds, leaving 21,899 pounds or 95 percent of the nearshore quota remaining. Average weight this season is 19 pounds. The nearshore halibut fishery will next be open June 13-15.

South of Humbug Mountain
Open through Oct. 31, seven days per week.
 
For the most up-to-date Pacific halibut information visit: http://dfw.state.or.us/mrp/finfish/halibut/index.asp

SHELLFISH

Razor clams

Clam Digging -Oregon Fish and Wildlife-

The next minus tide series is June 20 through 28 in the morning. The entire Oregon coast is open to razor clam harvest.

During the previous tide series in late May, clamming success was again the best at the Seaside beach areas; Sunset Beach was also quite productive. Clammers averaged more than 13 clams per person in these areas while other beach areas averaged almost 12 clams per person. Many large clams (>5 inches) were taken during the beginning of the previous tide series in the Seaside area. These larger clams are from large sets that occurred in 2009 and 2011. Natural mortality from storms and erosion, as well as less than expected harvest, allowed these clams to continue to survive in greater numbers than normal.

Water temperatures have risen to above the spawning temperature threshold, and there is still a fair amount of food in the surf. This has made the clams show quite readily but has also initiated spawning in some of the larger clams. Once spawning becomes widespread, larger clams will not show as readily as they have during past low tides.

There was a significant set of clams in 2012, and those clams are yet less than 3½ inches, considered small by many. Because clammers must keep the first 15 razor clams they dig regardless of size or condition, clammers should choose to dig the largest shows in order to limit the chances of digging a small clam.

For best results, clammers should pay close attention to surf forecasts and be on the beach one to two hours before low tide. If the forecast calls for combined seas over 8 or 10 feet, razor clam harvesting can be difficult because the clams tend to show much less in those conditions. When referencing tide tables, Clatsop beach razor clam harvesters should use the tide gauge at the Columbia River entrance.

Recreational shellfish safety status as of June 18:

• Shellfish harvesting is open along the entire Oregon coast.
• The consumption of whole recreationally harvested scallops is not recommended, however. Coastal scallops are not affected by toxin closures when only the adductor muscle is eaten.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture's shellfish safety hotline is toll free and provides the most current information regarding shellfish safety closures. Please call the hotline before harvesting: 1-800-448-2474.

Check out the recreational shellfish pages on the ODFW website. The pages contain everything you need to know for identifying and harvesting Oregon’s clams, including maps of individual estuaries that show where to crab and clam.

Dungeness Crab caught off of the dock in Newport, August 2009 - Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW -

Crabs

Bay crabbing is slow, with very few legal-sized male Dungeness crab caught. However, bay crabbing success should continue to improve over the next few months. May and June are transitional months when male crabs molt, increasing the availability of legal-sized crab. Newly-molted crabs are lighter in weight and have softer shells.

Ocean crabbing has been good. Recreational crabbing in the ocean is open along the entire Oregon coast.

The ODFW crabbing report shows average number of legal-sized Dungeness crab per person in various bays by month over the past year: check it out.

Some sport crabbers have difficulty correctly measuring the minimum size for Dungeness crab, which is 5 3⁄4 inches measured in a straight line across the back immediately in front of, but not including, the points. See an illustration showing the correct measurement.

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  VIEWING

A family of tree swallows in a nest box at the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge. - Photo by Ram Papish- Event: NestWatch at Nestucca Bay, June 29 Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge participates in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project NestWatch Program. Join refuge volunteer Lee Sliman on Saturday, June 29, from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. while she actively open nest boxes and monitors the progress of the refuge's avian families. Meet in the lower parking lot of Nestucca Bay Refuge. Nestwatch is a citizen science program where volunteers place and care for artificial nest boxes; monitor them; and then record nesting results in a nationwide database. For more information contact the refuge volunteer at 503-392-9047.

Seabird nesting in full swing

From mainland areas that overlook coastal rocks and islands, you can see bald eagles attack nesting common murres. Around 600,000 common murres return to each spring to Oregon’s wind-blown islands to raise their single chick.

Bald Eagles regularly fly out to these islands to kill a murre to feed their own chicks creating panic in the common murre colony. As the murres flee to avoid the eagles, ravens, crows and gulls often swoop in to make a meal of murre eggs and chicks.

Great places to view this wildlife spectacle are: Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area – the deck behind the lighthouse; Heceta Head State Park – the viewing area in front of the lighthouse; Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint – the north deck by the parking lot, and Ecola State Park – the westernmost viewing platform at Ecola Point overlook.

Peregrine Falcons

You can see nests with peregrine falcon chicks at both the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area and at Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint.

Tufted Puffin -Wikipedia-

Puffins

April, May, June, July best time to see Puffins. Best Place is Haystack Rock because it’s so close to shore.

Tufted puffins are back on the Oregon Coast to nest for the summer and most of them are found on Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge. This sanctuary about two miles south of Cape Meares and one-half mile offshore west of Oceanside in Tillamook County. The three large rocks and six smaller ones make up the refuge, which is home to 12 species of seabirds breed here totaling 226,093 birds. This includes 30 percent of the Common murres breeding in Oregon and 21 percent of all common murres breeding in the eastern Pacific south of Alaska. This site also harbors 60 percent of the tufted puffin breeding population in Oregon. More than 800 brown pelicans have been seen here roosting and up to 13 bald eagles have been observed preying on seabirds.

Three Arch Rocks NWR can best be viewed from the mainland at Cape Meares and at Oceanside. To prevent disturbance to extremely sensitive seabirds, Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge is closed to public entry year-round and waters within 500 feet of the refuge are closed to all watercraft from May 1 through September 15.

Tidepooling

There will be minus tides June 5-13 and again June 20-29. A minus tide is an excellent time to visit tide pools and watch the life that was just a few hours ago under as much as 10 feet of water.

Look for green anemones, hermit crabs, sea urchins, small fish, jellyfish, sea stars, pinkish corraline algae, lime green anemone, dark green sea lettuce, barnacles and other animals of the intertidal region.

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