Waterlands

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SurfperchShoulder season

Gut · Oregon

Red Slough

46.24°N · 123.46°W · Gut · Columbia River Bar

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Surfperch

69/100Great
Now
5710 PM PDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding5.4 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 PM · now

Time10PNOW
Score57Good
Tide5.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind4 kn WSWgusts 9 · steady
Air temp59°Mild
WeatherOvercast85% cloud
Water64°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Surfperch is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with ODFW before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Surfperch is best here

Shoulder season for Surfperch · 1 more week at shoulder

Surfperch season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Surfperch · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Surfperch in Oregon

Spot profile

Red Slough

Depth
Up to 3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSurfperch

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below the DEM vertical datum, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Red Slough

Red Slough is a gut in Columbia River Bar, Oregon. Depth is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are Chinook salmon, kelp greenling and surfperch. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, surfperch, Pacific halibut and lingcod. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Surfperch peak from April through June.

Tackle & technique

Surfperch
Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
Chinook salmon
Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.
Kelp greenling
Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Clifton Channel

    Channel · 1.6 mi

    63
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Pacific halibut 57
    • Lingcod 54

    4 kt WSWH 11:00 PM · 5.7 ftL 6:42 AM · 0.0 ft

  • Devils Elbow

    Bend · 4.0 mi

    63
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Kelp greenling 57
    • Surfperch 57

    4 kt WSWH 10:39 PM · 6.7 ftL 6:18 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 59
    • Chinook salmon 57
    • Kelp greenling 52

    4 kt WSWH 10:31 PM · 6.1 ftL 6:12 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Puget Bar

    Bar · 2.4 mi

    58
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 58
    • Chinook salmon 55
    • Kelp greenling 49

    4 kt WSWH 11:18 PM · 5.1 ftL 7:08 AM · -0.1 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with ODFW before you keep a fish.