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"Late September Fishing Frenzy: Bottomfish Bonanza, Tuna Tussles, and Coastal Coho Capers"
Published 7 months, 1 week ago
Description
Artificial Lure reporting in with your Pacific Ocean Oregon fishing dispatch for Saturday, September 20th, 2025. Sunrise today is at 6:53 am and sunset rolls in at 7:27 pm, so you’ve got lots of daylight to work with for those morning and evening bites. The tides at Nestucca Bay entrance kick off with a high at 7:25 am topping out at 5.41 ft, a midday low at 12:12 pm dipping to 3.26 ft, before another high at 6:08 pm cresting at 7.61 ft. This means early risers can launch into smooth water and prime feeding windows, especially around those transitions.
Weather offshore’s fair for late September—expect north winds 15–20 knots in the morning shifting northwest, and seas running 7–8 feet according to the National Weather Service. Not as glassy as August, so plan for a rolly ride and keep gear stowed.
Fish activity’s picking up with fall rolling in. Coastal reports and recent podcasts note a “bottomfish bonanza”—lingcod, black rockfish, and cabezon are stacking up on rough reef and rocky ledges, fattening up before the water chills further. Tuna chasers heading 30–40 miles offshore are still picking off albacore on temperature breaks, with the outside chance of a surprise pacific marlin already noted earlier this month—rare, but always worth an extra battery in the GoPro. Sportfishing Report tallied solid numbers midweek, especially off Garibaldi and Depoe Bay: most charter boats are limiting out early on rockfish, with lingcod mixed in up to 18 pounds. Ocean Coho are tailing off, but a few big silvers are still sneaking into gear on the troll.
Best lures for the bottom crew are 6–8 oz. lead-head jigs with UV skirts—pink and chartreuse work well for visibility in deep Kelvin green water. If in shallower kelp beds, crankbaits in sardine or mackerel patterns, and classic diamond bars for ling. Tuna anglers are getting it done on cedar plugs and clones, but don’t leave the dock without a handful of Yamashita squid jigs if you run into bait balls. For bait, sand shrimp and herring strips for rockfish and lingcod rarely fail, especially if you add scent.
Hot spots this weekend:
- **Tillamook Head**: Look for rockfish and lingcod stacking tight in 80-140 feet near boulder clusters.
- **Siletz Reef**: Albacore and big blue rockfish have been cruising the upper water column, especially around noon when the current slackens.
- **Depoe Bay outer reefs**: Early-morning casts with spinner rigs are pulling solid sea bass and the occasional keeper halibut.
Don’t forget local rules—some launches are running modified inspections thanks to golden mussel protocols, so check ahead. Stocking trout is winding down, but Pine Nursery near Bend just received 300 legals if you’re heading inland.
That wraps up today’s report along our wild northern Pacific. Thanks for tuning in, folks! If you want daily tides, gear tips, and stories from the dock, make sure to subscribe and share with your fishing pals. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
Weather offshore’s fair for late September—expect north winds 15–20 knots in the morning shifting northwest, and seas running 7–8 feet according to the National Weather Service. Not as glassy as August, so plan for a rolly ride and keep gear stowed.
Fish activity’s picking up with fall rolling in. Coastal reports and recent podcasts note a “bottomfish bonanza”—lingcod, black rockfish, and cabezon are stacking up on rough reef and rocky ledges, fattening up before the water chills further. Tuna chasers heading 30–40 miles offshore are still picking off albacore on temperature breaks, with the outside chance of a surprise pacific marlin already noted earlier this month—rare, but always worth an extra battery in the GoPro. Sportfishing Report tallied solid numbers midweek, especially off Garibaldi and Depoe Bay: most charter boats are limiting out early on rockfish, with lingcod mixed in up to 18 pounds. Ocean Coho are tailing off, but a few big silvers are still sneaking into gear on the troll.
Best lures for the bottom crew are 6–8 oz. lead-head jigs with UV skirts—pink and chartreuse work well for visibility in deep Kelvin green water. If in shallower kelp beds, crankbaits in sardine or mackerel patterns, and classic diamond bars for ling. Tuna anglers are getting it done on cedar plugs and clones, but don’t leave the dock without a handful of Yamashita squid jigs if you run into bait balls. For bait, sand shrimp and herring strips for rockfish and lingcod rarely fail, especially if you add scent.
Hot spots this weekend:
- **Tillamook Head**: Look for rockfish and lingcod stacking tight in 80-140 feet near boulder clusters.
- **Siletz Reef**: Albacore and big blue rockfish have been cruising the upper water column, especially around noon when the current slackens.
- **Depoe Bay outer reefs**: Early-morning casts with spinner rigs are pulling solid sea bass and the occasional keeper halibut.
Don’t forget local rules—some launches are running modified inspections thanks to golden mussel protocols, so check ahead. Stocking trout is winding down, but Pine Nursery near Bend just received 300 legals if you’re heading inland.
That wraps up today’s report along our wild northern Pacific. Thanks for tuning in, folks! If you want daily tides, gear tips, and stories from the dock, make sure to subscribe and share with your fishing pals. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.