Bandon Fishing

Bandon fishing is a great way to spend a day on the Coquille River for Chinook Salmon (King Salmon), Chinook Salmon (Silver Salmon) and Stripped Bass. Bandon was founded in 1873 by an Irish man that came from the town of Bandon, Ireland. Bandon fishing is not the only thing of note in this Oregon coastal town. Cranberries have been grown in Bandon since 1885 and for over 70 years, the Bandon Chamber of Commerce has put on the Cranberry Carnival. Another draw are the multiple award winning golf courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and Bandon Crossings Golf Course.

Silver Salmon or Coho Salmon – fishing for either can be really exhilarating - just hang on and reel! Silvers, some in excess of 20 pounds enter the river on their annual migration which can number in the hundreds of thousands. These hard fighting acrobatic fish make for great table fare, averaging 10 to 12 pounds. During our Fall Silver Salmon Season, that can last right on through the the end of December, it is not at all uncommon to catch fish in the high teens to mid twenties on a daily basis.

Striped bass are another transplant introduced on the West Coast in 1878 when 132 fry were released in San Francisco Bay. Additional releases and the fish’s migratory urge brought “stripers” to Oregon’s Coos River system by the late 1800s. Today, most striped bass are found in the Coquille and Umpqua/Smith rivers.

We have two salmon seasons in Oregon, the spring run, and the fall run. The Fall Salmon run begins in Mid August but is very reliable in September and October. I fish the Fall run in the tidal portion of the Siuslaw River, near the coastal town of Florence and on the Umpqua River near Reedsport. These fish are still in tidewater and are as fresh as they will ever be. This fishery holds up through September thru October being peak times.