Coastal August Fishing Report: Coho, Halibut, and Tuna Opportunities along the Oregon Coast

Artificial Lure here with your Wednesday, August 20th Pacific Ocean, Oregon fishing report.

It’s a classic coastal August morning with fog rolling off and patchy sun expected by late morning. Temps are hanging cool in the mid-50s early, rising to the low 60s mid-day, with a light breeze off the ocean—almost ideal for time on the salt. Today’s sunrise was at 6:32am and sunset will be around 8:06pm, giving us a good long window for action. (Brookings, Chetco Cove tide and sun forecast)

Tides are working in our favor for much of the coast. Early risers saw negative low tides just about daybreak, bottoming out around -0.7 ft near Pacific City and Brookings not long after, with incoming highs mid-day peaking at about 6 ft or better—not a bad window for surfperch or launching small craft. If you’re chasing the evening bite, plan on working that falling tide after 5pm.

Moving up to the fish: Ocean coho continue to be the stars south of Cape Falcon, with boats still getting into decent numbers despite the season winding down, according to The Guide’s Forecast this week. Many boats are still seeing action, but remember regulations—some coho areas will close soon, so check your local zone before you run out.

Halibut, meanwhile, have been spotty but persistent. Fishing the North Coast reports the halibut bite remains hit and miss, but with the general marine species bag limit back up to four fish, folks are getting nice mixed bags—think halibut, rockfish, and a bonus lingcod if the stars align. Tuna have also made a showing offshore, with a few boats running out of Garibaldi or Depot Bay grabbing longfin albacore—if you can catch a weather window and spot the warm water break, it’s game on.

Rockfish are still reliable, especially over reefs outside Newport, Pacific City, and Gold Beach. Dark colored swimbaits and metal jigs bounced over rocky structure put big blacks and the odd canary or yellowtail in the box.

Best baits and lures today: For ocean coho and chinook, troll herring or anchovy behind a flasher, or try pink or chartreuse hoochies on a short leader. Tuna chasers are running cedar plugs and dark feather jigs at depth. Halibut are coming on herring or large white grub tails, fished right on the bottom with heavy lead. For rockfish, drop-shots with curly tail grubs, or metal jigs in the 2-4 oz. range, are outproducing bait right now. If you’re working the surf or jetties, sand shrimp and Gulp sandworms on a dropper are the go-tos.

Hot spots today:
- Garibaldi reef complex—great for mixed bottomfish and the outside chance at tuna on a long run.
- Chetco River mouth and jetty—solid for salmon, surfperch, and the off chance at a king if you’re persistent.
- Newport reef edges—reliable for rockfish and the occasional halibut bite on the incoming tide.

This is prime August—solid coho fishing south of Falcon, persistent bottomfish action, and tuna if you’re ambitious and watch the weather. Stay safe on the water, be sure to check those local regulations (especially coho closures), and don’t be shy about switching up lures if the bite slows.

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