Darren Beadle of Henderson, Nev., holds a 52.4-pound fall Hawg caught on the Rogue River last Friday on a spinnerbait/anchovy rig, in a battle that lasted over 30 minutes. Darren was fishing with Brookings fishing enthusiast Paul LeFebvre. The Pilot/Larry Ellis

Fishing report for 

Sept. 16-22

Is it that time already? It’s time to start counting backward. Exactly one week from today, the 2011 Chetco River Fall Chinook State Waters Ocean Terminal Area Recreational Fishery will begin. Whew! That’s 12 words by my count. That’s the official name of the fishery. Here, we simply call it the Chetco Hawg season, or just the bubble fishery.

If you’ve never caught a Chinook over 40 pounds, this is probably your best bet at doing so. These fish will be milling outside the jaws of the Chetco River waiting for the first freshet to usher them upriver. Already I’ve got reports from several different reliable sources that folks have been marking some very large fish on their fish finders, fish that are hanging out in an area very close to Brookings simply known as salmon alley.

 This year, ODFW is projecting that the Chinook return to the Chetco should be 135-percent of the 20-year average. For the Chetco, 100-percent in any year usually means that there is going to be at least one salmon over 50 pounds caught. Increase that number by an additional 35-percent and you’ve got this year’s prediction.

But since last year’s bubble fishery was so spectacular, especially toward the end of the season, I would expect that there are going to be several fish over the 50-pound mark caught this year, possibly even a 60-pound hawg in the mix. The action really opened up toward the last few days of the season, after which the commercial boys started whackin’ and stackin’ plenty of fish over 40-pounds and larger.

“Last year the commercial fishermen’s lines weren’t able to hold onto some of these big fish,” says Mike Ramsay from Sporthaven Marina. “Their 200-pound lines were constantly being snapped by big fish. These are 40- and 50-pound fish that just don’t slow down when they grab the bait.”

According to ODFW, there should be some super hawgs in the mix this season.

“There were some pretty good numbers of 4-year-olds that were caught last year, so there should be some 5s around this year,” says ODFW district fisheries biologist, Todd Confer.

You can always manage to get in a 30-pounder using ordinary salmon tackle, but when Chinook start getting into the 40-, 50- and 60-pound category, they act like totally different animals. A lot of people just call these monsters “fall hawgs”.

So make sure that your reels have been recently serviced and they’re loaded to the max with new 40-pound Ande monofilament. A lot of folks are going to be using 65-pound braid as well. Just remember that if you go the braid route, braid always breaks lower than its rated pound-test. Sometimes with monofilament, you can sense when the line is reaching its maximum rated strength. With braid there’s no warning – it just snaps.

My personal preference is to use monofilament because of its stretch factor, which acts like a shock absorber. There is zero stretch in braid line, which means you’re usually going to get a good hook-set. But if your rod is stiff and unforgiving, each time a salmon shakes its head back and forth (and there will be plenty of those moments), it is putting a direct shock on those hooks.

Also, make sure you carry plenty of bait. Both Four M Tackle and the Chetco Outdoor Store in Harbor should have enough bait for the entire season, which lasts from October 1-12.

Also don’t forget about Sporthaven Marina’s 9th annual King Salmon Hawg Derby, put on by its owners Mike and Kathy Ramsay. This popular derby is one of the locals’ favorite events of the season.

A one-time, $35 entry fee entitles you to fish all 12 days of the derby and also gives you a ticket to their coveted barbecue on Oct. 12. This is an ocean derby only and all people on board the boat must be entered in the derby in order for anyone to qualify.

Every year there are people who catch a few 50-pounders who regretfully did not enter the derby. Mike and Kathy give almost a 100-percent payout of the derby entry fees for the cash prizes, minus a nominal fee that it costs to put on the barbecue. The derby is always limited to the first 200 entrants.

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Meanwhile, Chinook salmon still continue being caught in the Chetco Bay every day. Although it is not a wide-open bite, there have been some nice fish caught, and some nicer fish seen. There is a substantiated rumor that a seal or sea lion was shaking a 40-pounder back and forth while up at Morris Hole.

This is the early part of the season, when usually more jacks show up than adult fish, although the ratio of adult-to-jacks seems to be running 5:3. Jacks are 2-year-old males that show up early in the fall run, and usually usher in the big boys and girls in late September/early October.

Folks are trolling the bay now with regularity in the hopes of hooking up with one of the fall hawgs. Methods have been trolling spinnerbait/anchovy combos with a number 4 green on green, Oregon duck, a gold Hildebrandt blade. Some people are just trolling naked baits (whole anchovies or herring with no flashers), or are running plug-cut herring.

I strongly urge folks to use the new Big Al’s Fish Flash in-line flasher. On a recent trip to the Coquille, 7-year-old Alexandra Martin reeled in her very first Chinook salmon while fun-fishing with her father Andy Martin, his family, a friend of Alexandra’s and yours truly. The combination red/chartreuse Fish Flash did the trick for the youth, who was so excited, you could hear her screams of excitement all the way to Cucamonga.

This is the month when all the estuaries are going to be on fire, or at least the closest thing to fire that you can think of.

The Rogue River also had its good moments when Darren Beadle of Henderson, Nevada, caught a 52-pound monster Chinook on a spinnerbait/anchovy rig while fishing with his father Lloyd, Monty Moncrief and not-a-guide fishing enthusiast Paul LeFebvre. I predict more hawgs will be caught this week.

Tight lines!