Species guide · Oregon
Chinook salmon fishing in Oregon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, a sea-run species also called king salmon, king and blackmouth. Listed for the Pacific Northwest region. Peak season, about 1 more week.
Right now it scores best in Coastal waters from Florence to Cape Blanco OR out 10 nm at 78, one of 5 Oregon bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.
Season now
Peak seasonSeason by month
From the Waterlands saltwater species research: when the fish are present and biting, not whether retention is open.
Pacific Northwest
Peak season, about 1 more week- Jan: Shoulder season
- Feb: Shoulder season
- Mar: Shoulder season
- Apr: Shoulder season
- May: Shoulder season
- Jun: Shoulder season
- Jul: Peak season
- Aug: Peak season
- Sep: Peak season
- Oct: Shoulder season
- Nov: Off season
- Dec: Shoulder season
Peak: Jul to Sep. In season (shoulder or peak): Dec to Oct.
Research notes, Pacific Northwest region
Winter and early spring blackmouth (resident immature Chinook) in Puget Sound Nov to Apr. Ocean and Puget Sound summer Chinook July and August. Buoy 10 at the Columbia mouth opens Aug 1 with Chinook peaking through late August. Oregon coastal bay fall Chinook (Tillamook, Nehalem and others) run August through October. Seasons are set each spring through North of Falcon and PFMC.
Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.
Where it's scoring now · 5
Oregon bay systems ranked by the Waterlands engine's chinook salmon score this hour.
Best window today 7-10 PM (78) · Best day Sat, Sep 19 at 7 AM (83) · 9 named spots
Best window today 7-10 PM (77) · Best day Sun, Sep 20 at 9 AM (79) · 17 named spots
Best window today 7-10 PM (77) · Best day Mon, Sep 21 at 9 AM (78) · 71 named spots
Best window today 7-9 PM (77) · Best day Fri, Sep 18 at 7 AM (80) · 18 named spots
Best window today 7-10 PM (76) · Best day Sun, Sep 20 at 8 AM (81) · 32 named spots
How and where it feeds
- Water temperature
- Feeds from 42°F to 60°F, best between 46°F and 54°F.
- Water depth
- 10 to 300 ft of water.
- Structure
- Point, rip, kelp, channel, open water, estuary and bay, in that order of preference.
- Tide and current
- Prefers incoming tide, high tide and moving water, with moderate current.In Puget Sound and Southeast Alaska, Chinook gather where tidal current runs past points and over underwater ridges, forming rips that stack herring and needlefish. At estuary mouths like Buoy 10 the incoming tide brings cooler ocean water, bait and salmon in, and ODFW names the first hour after high slack as the tide starts out as a prime window. Ocean trolling is less tide driven than inside waters.
- Light
- Bites best around dawn and dusk.
- Pressure
- Little response to pressure changes.
- Wind and sea limits
- 20 kt of wind and 7 ft of sea. The Waterlands engine scores hours down as conditions pass them.
Tackle and technique
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.
- Methods
- downrigger trolling, trolling with flasher, mooching, motor mooching, casting from shore
- Lures
- 11-inch flasher with hoochie, trolling spoons, plugs, bucktail flies, large spinners and spoons from shore
- Bait
- plug-cut herring, whole herring, herring strip, anchovy
Regulations
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Synced with ODFW Sep 16, 2026.
No reviewed chinook salmon rule for Oregon is on file yet. Check with ODFW before you keep one.