It takes two to hoist a hawg. Haw Tan (left) of Anaheim Hills, Calif., caught this 47-pound Chinook in the Chetco bay while fishing with guide Andy Martin. The Pilot/Larry Ellis

Fishing report for 

October 14-20

There is something about a salmon suddenly breaking the surface of the water that turns me on every time; I think it does for every angler. That’s exactly what anglers trolling in the Chetco bay, and folks from the bank experienced last week. It’s an incredible spectacle – something that people who have never fished would gladly pay admission for.

These splashes seem to occur for no apparent reason. These are violent whitewater events erupting from the surface of the water caused by 30-, 40, and 50-pound kings, pushing water as vigorously as Duke Kahanamoku would execute a flipper kick.

Why do they perform these activities? Ask 10 people and you’re likely to get 10 different answers. The bottom line is that there are fish in the estuary, and plenty of them.

 About every 20 minutes an angler would hook up with one of these beasts, either from a boat or from the bank.

Boaters were predominately trolling cut-plug herring and Rogue Bait Rigs, while bank fishermen were throwing 1-ounce Krocodiles and three-quarter-ounce Kastmasters.

Bobber fishermen also got into the act and were lined up on the rocky peninsula that separates the boat basin from the river proper. I watched several anglers on the point of this structure land and lose some very large salmon.

In the beginning of the week, shore anglers who were throwing three-quarter to 1-ounce Kastmasters at first legal light were hooking into these massive kings. Later during the day, Kastmasters seem to fall out of favor and bobber fishing picked up the slack.

Part of the fun of being a salmon fisherman is being able to spot the very first moment an angler hooks up. To do this you want to look for a boat that has turned sideways, something that looks out of place in the ordinary lineup and has broken away from the regular trolling fleet. A person getting a net out is a dead giveaway.

The other obvious sign that fish are being hooked are the “Yee-haws” being screamed at the top of anglers’ lungs. Those blood-curdling shouts are not ever made when hooking a rockfish or a surfperch. These strong vocalizations are always salmon oriented. Look in the direction of these hoots and hollers and you’ll spot a boat turned sideways with a passenger getting out the net.

I would honestly say that the action in the Chetco bay last week was about as good as it ever has been, including the early ’80s when I first landed on Brookings terra firma.

Every day about 20 boats are trolling the Chetco bay in the hopes of hooking up with one of these gargantuan Chinook. I would estimate that about 30 fish are being hooked a day. If you are not hooking up, you’re definitely watching someone who is, and that is enough to keep fishermen trolling the entire day.

Like Haw Tan of Anaheim Hills, Calif., who found Andy Martin’s name on the Internet and decided to give the Chetco a chance. Haw had already fished Alaska several times, but to tell you the truth, I don’t think he was nearly as impressed as with our Chetco fish.

I got a call from Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing on Tuesday saying that he had caught a rather large fish. Rather large was an understatement. As today’s photo clearly shows, this fish nearly pushed the 50-pound mark. With both anglers holding the fish, it still looked like a monster ’nook.

Andy told me that he had been throwing these Chinook a curve – make that a changeup. According to Martin, many of these fish have seen the same baits and lures day in and day out, so they are ready for a change in scenery.

On this particular day, when most anglers were predominantly trolling cut-plug herring and Rogue Bait Rigs, Martin took off all the fancy jewelry and just trolled a naked bait: a big ol’ green-label herring. Most of the salmon in the bay had not seen this particular presentation for a while, so one decided it was about time to inhale his offering.

“At first I thought we hooked the bottom,” Martin said. “Then the bottom started moving and we knew we had a really big one.”

Tan said the battle lasted about 45 minutes. It was hooked at the number 9 green buoy; the beast towed the boat all over the bay, from the jaws well up into the main river.

Just remember, these fish have seen every lure and bait known to man, so give them something a little different. It could really pay off.

On Wednesday’s monthly meeting of the Oregon South Coast Fishermen, members reported seeing Chinook stacking up in all three staging areas: Morris Hole, Tide Rock and Social Security Bar, all of which are of course, illegal to fish in at this very moment, until the river opens up above river mile 2.2 on Nov. 5.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife predicted that this year’s run was going to be 135-percent of the 20-year average. I think that their prediction was way off. When everything is tallied up at the end of the year, I believe that number will be much higher.

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ODFW will be seining salmon for the Chetco Brood Stock Program at Social Security Bar on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 10 a.m. If they aren’t at SSB, they will be at Tide Rock. I would hazard a guess that there will be lots of adult Chinook weighing between 30 and 50 pounds.

Everyone is welcome to participate in pulling the nets. Right now there are so many splashes at SSB it’s absolutely ridiculous. If you’ve never experienced this activity, by all means, do yourself a big favor and check it out.

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It has been called to my attention that reports of snagging activity and/or illegal fishing activity is going on at Social Security Bar in the Chetco River and in the Winchuck main stem.

Right now, it is absolutely illegal to fish the Chetco mainstem above river mile 2.2, or to fish in any part of the Winchuck mainstem until Nov. 5.

On page 10 of the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations pamphlet, it clearly states that it is unlawful to “snag or attempt to snag gamefish.”

Page 9 defines snagging as “hooking or attempting to hook fish other than inside the mouth.”

A Chinook salmon is a gamefish. With this many fish in the river, it is inevitable that a salmon will eventually become accidentally snagged. So if you accidentally snag a salmon, it must be immediately released unharmed. Don’t even think about taking it out of the water for a picture – just let it go.

As for one, I am quite excited to see salmon returning to the Chetco in such robust numbers again. Let’s all do our part to ensure that they will keep coming back.

Tight lines!