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Oregon Coast Fishing Report: Fall Chinook, Coho, and Bottomfish Bonanza
Published 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Artificial Lure here, bringing you today’s fishing report for the Oregon coast and the nearby Pacific, October 10, 2025.
The morning started crisp and cool with cloud cover rolling in across the North Coast, and a light onshore breeze giving a salty tang to the air. Tides are a factor today—Nestucca Bay saw an early morning high at 3:43 a.m. at 6.7 feet, followed by a low at 9:09 a.m. around 2.4 feet. We’ll have another good incoming tide peaking at 2:54 p.m. just under 9 feet. The sun rose at 7:25 a.m. and will duck behind the hills at 6:38 p.m., with a nearly full moon coming up tonight at 8:37—expect more intense tidal swings, great for stirring up bait and riling the fish up according to Tide-Forecast.com and Surfline.
Fishing activity is strong across the bays and lower estuaries. Fall Chinook are showing up reliably in Tillamook Bay—fish are being hooked consistently from the lower bay up into the tidewater stretches. Coho catches are picking up steam too, both wild and hatchery, with more pushing in each day. Remember, wild coho are allowed on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays only right now, so today you’ll want to target hatchery fish. Salmon limits have seen some strategic increases—three in aggregate daily in the Coos River Basin, but double-check for local wild Chinook bag updates. Tillamook’s wild Chinook limit this season is down to one per day and just two on the season as part of your salmon/steelhead limit, says the ODFW Northwest and Southwest Zone Reports.
Anglers working near the jetties in Coos Bay reported solid bottom fishing—plenty of rockfish and decent-sized lingcod. According to the SW Zone, you’re allowed three general marine fish plus two lingcod, with special sub-bag limits for canary rockfish and cabezon. Lingcod numbers are holding steady, and several boats have tallied limits early. For baits, big swimbaits, large curly-tail jigs, and herring strips on a dropper loop have been deadly this week near the rocky structure and fast water near the tide change.
Surf and estuary action is fair for sea perch and occasional flounder, especially when working the softer water near incoming tide. Soft plastics imitating sand shrimp or cut bait close to the bottom produce well in these pockets. Trout lakes just inland, like Bradley and Willow, were stocked last week—if the surf is too rough, these lakes are putting out nice rainbows with PowerBait or nightcrawlers.
For the saltwater, fall Chinook remain the headline act. The hot setup has been plug-cut herring or anchovy behind a chartreuse flasher, trolled slow against the current in the lower bays, especially around the main channels or channel edges near a tide change. Hardware fans are also lining up behind Brads Super Baits, Pro Trolls, or SpinFish in green, blue, or chrome, especially on cloudy mornings.
To maximize your chances, the best fishing windows line right up with those tide changes—fish activity spikes as the water moves, so plan to be on your spot an hour before and after the swing for the best shot. Look for birds working, nervous bait balls, or tide lines that mark where freshwater meets the salt.
Top hot spots for today:
- Tillamook Bay—upper tidewater for the migratory push of salmon, especially where the Wilson and Trask dump in.
- Coos Bay South Jetty—the rock piles and drop-offs are loaded with bottomfish.
- The mouth of the Nestucca—on the incoming afternoon tide for coho and Chinook intercepting bait on the shallows.
Today’s best baits and lures:
- For salmon: plug-cut herring or anchovy, green and chrome flasher setups, Pro Trolls or Brads Super Baits.
- For bottomfish: 4-8 oz jigheads with curly-tail plastics, swimbaits, or baited shrimp flies.
- For surf and estuary: Gulp sandworms, curly-tail grubs, or cut shrimp.
Thanks for tuning in with Artificial Lure—don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date o
The morning started crisp and cool with cloud cover rolling in across the North Coast, and a light onshore breeze giving a salty tang to the air. Tides are a factor today—Nestucca Bay saw an early morning high at 3:43 a.m. at 6.7 feet, followed by a low at 9:09 a.m. around 2.4 feet. We’ll have another good incoming tide peaking at 2:54 p.m. just under 9 feet. The sun rose at 7:25 a.m. and will duck behind the hills at 6:38 p.m., with a nearly full moon coming up tonight at 8:37—expect more intense tidal swings, great for stirring up bait and riling the fish up according to Tide-Forecast.com and Surfline.
Fishing activity is strong across the bays and lower estuaries. Fall Chinook are showing up reliably in Tillamook Bay—fish are being hooked consistently from the lower bay up into the tidewater stretches. Coho catches are picking up steam too, both wild and hatchery, with more pushing in each day. Remember, wild coho are allowed on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays only right now, so today you’ll want to target hatchery fish. Salmon limits have seen some strategic increases—three in aggregate daily in the Coos River Basin, but double-check for local wild Chinook bag updates. Tillamook’s wild Chinook limit this season is down to one per day and just two on the season as part of your salmon/steelhead limit, says the ODFW Northwest and Southwest Zone Reports.
Anglers working near the jetties in Coos Bay reported solid bottom fishing—plenty of rockfish and decent-sized lingcod. According to the SW Zone, you’re allowed three general marine fish plus two lingcod, with special sub-bag limits for canary rockfish and cabezon. Lingcod numbers are holding steady, and several boats have tallied limits early. For baits, big swimbaits, large curly-tail jigs, and herring strips on a dropper loop have been deadly this week near the rocky structure and fast water near the tide change.
Surf and estuary action is fair for sea perch and occasional flounder, especially when working the softer water near incoming tide. Soft plastics imitating sand shrimp or cut bait close to the bottom produce well in these pockets. Trout lakes just inland, like Bradley and Willow, were stocked last week—if the surf is too rough, these lakes are putting out nice rainbows with PowerBait or nightcrawlers.
For the saltwater, fall Chinook remain the headline act. The hot setup has been plug-cut herring or anchovy behind a chartreuse flasher, trolled slow against the current in the lower bays, especially around the main channels or channel edges near a tide change. Hardware fans are also lining up behind Brads Super Baits, Pro Trolls, or SpinFish in green, blue, or chrome, especially on cloudy mornings.
To maximize your chances, the best fishing windows line right up with those tide changes—fish activity spikes as the water moves, so plan to be on your spot an hour before and after the swing for the best shot. Look for birds working, nervous bait balls, or tide lines that mark where freshwater meets the salt.
Top hot spots for today:
- Tillamook Bay—upper tidewater for the migratory push of salmon, especially where the Wilson and Trask dump in.
- Coos Bay South Jetty—the rock piles and drop-offs are loaded with bottomfish.
- The mouth of the Nestucca—on the incoming afternoon tide for coho and Chinook intercepting bait on the shallows.
Today’s best baits and lures:
- For salmon: plug-cut herring or anchovy, green and chrome flasher setups, Pro Trolls or Brads Super Baits.
- For bottomfish: 4-8 oz jigheads with curly-tail plastics, swimbaits, or baited shrimp flies.
- For surf and estuary: Gulp sandworms, curly-tail grubs, or cut shrimp.
Thanks for tuning in with Artificial Lure—don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date o