Recreational anglers will see their most liberal ocean salmon season in at least three years under newly crafted rules meant to take advantage of a strong chinook salmon presence in the sea.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted a set of recreational chinook and fin-clipped coho salmon seasons Friday that will bring four months of uninterrupted salmon fishing off Southern Oregon and Northern California.
In recent years, low chinook numbers caused shut-downs through most of July and August — the two most productive months for Southern Oregon ocean anglers.
But a record estimate of maturing Klamath River fall chinook allowed the PFMC to stretch out a recreational season that council salmon advisor Chuck Tracy called "as much fishing time as possible."
Seasons for anglers launching from the ports of Brookings and Gold Beach fall under the so-called Klamath Management Zone, which runs from Humbug Mountain near Port Orford south to Horse Mountain near Manzanita in Northern California.
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Southern Oregon's recreational coho fishing is part of the Oregon coastal coho season. That opens June 23 and runs until Sept. 4 in the Oregon part of the Klamath Management Zone. However, coho fishing will close earlier if Oregon anglers catch the entire 50,000-coho quota before that date.
Only coho with a clipped adipose fin — the small, fleshy fin on the back near the tail — can be kept. All wild coho must be released unharmed.
Only two legal salmon can be kept a day, whether they are both coho, chinook or one of each.
Northern California again will not have a coho season.
The ink hadn't dried on the final vote tally before smiles began popping on the faces of Brookings business owners who rely on liberal seasons to lure in tourists from the Rogue Valley and beyond.
"Oh, man, that's great news," said Mike Ramsay, owner of Sporthaven Marina at Brookings-Harbor, where half the recreational boat launches come from the Rogue Valley. "That means a lot of Medford-ites will be coming over to fish."
Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com.
