Episode Details

This is Artificial Lure with your Pacific Ocean, Oregon coastal fishing report.

We’re sitting on a big morning flood tide up and down the north and central coast. Tide-Forecast shows Barview in Tillamook Bay topping out around an 8.1‑foot high at 6:56 a.m., dropping to a mid‑day low before building again this evening. Newport’s Yaquina River station shows a similar pattern, with a strong morning high just after 7 a.m. According to Seaside tide tables, sunrise is right around 7:55–8:00 a.m. with sunset just before 4:40 p.m., so your best windows are that dawn high and the last couple hours of afternoon ebb.

Weather along the north and central coast this morning is classic winter steel gray: cool, light offshore to variable winds early, building onshore breeze and swell through the afternoon. Clouds and scattered showers are the norm, with sea conditions fair enough for nearshore rockfish when the bar is green‑lighted but bumpy for smaller craft later in the day. Dress for wet, and plan to be off the exposed stuff before the afternoon wind line shows.

Fish activity has been surprisingly steady for late December. The Guide’s Forecast recent coastal overview notes good nearshore bottom fishing when seas allow, with mixed limits of rockfish and a few lingcod out of ports like Garibaldi and Newport. Party boat reports from farther south on the NorCalFishReports and SportfishingReport networks back that up: heavy rockfish scores with a light sprinkle of lings whenever folks can get outside. Expect black rockfish to chew hardest on the flood and early ebb, then taper off when the current goes slack.

For lures, think winter comfort food. Nearshore and jetty:
- Metal: 2–4 oz chrome or glow jigs, Norwegian‑style or diamond, hopped near bottom for lings and rockfish.
- Plastics: 4‑ to 6‑inch curly‑tail grubs or paddle‑tail swimbaits in root beer, motor‑oil, or black/white on 2–4 oz leadheads.
- Hardware: Smaller jointed swimbaits and sand‑dab imitations can tempt better lings in 40–80 feet.

For bait, locals are leaning on:
- Fresh sand shrimp or small herring strips on hi‑lo rigs off the jetties.
- Squid strips and clam necks for rockfish and lings on the reefs.
- In the surf, 2‑inch Gulp sandworms in camo and motor‑oil, or small sand‑shrimp pieces, are outfishing most everything for surfperch.

Surf fishing is worth your time today. On a dropping tide after that morning high, hit the first and second troughs for redtail surfperch. A light surf setup with a 1–2 oz pyramid and a two‑hook leader baited with Gulp worms or sand shrimp will keep you busy if the swell stays moderate.

A couple of local hot spots to circle on your map:

- South Jetty, Tillamook Bay (Barview): On this big morning high, work the inside for black rockfish with 3‑inch swimbaits and 1‑oz jigs, then slide toward the tip as the tide starts out. Keep one rod ready with a heavier jig for a bonus ling near the rocks when the current picks up.

- North Reef off Newport (Yaquina area): If the bar is open, that 60–100‑foot band just north of Yaquina Head has been giving up mixed‑bag rockfish and a few keeper lings on shrimp flies tipped with squid and 5‑inch paddle‑tails. Get out on the morning high, fish through the turn, and head back before the afternoon weather stacks it up.

Inside the bays, crabbing remains decent where effort is lightest, and bycatch rockfish around deeper pilings will eat small soft plastics and baited Sabikis on the slower parts of the tide.

That’s the word from the Pacific side this morning. This is Artificial Lure wishing you tight lines and safe crossings.

Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a tide.

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