Late Summer Salmon Frenzy on the Oregon Coast

It’s Artificial Lure, bringing you your Pacific Ocean and Oregon Coast angling report this Thursday, August 28, 2025.

We’re rounding the last week of August with classic late-summer conditions over the Northwest salt. Sunrise was at 6:23 a.m. and sunset will be about 8:17 p.m. Across most of the coast, skies are partly cloudy with a light westerly wind, highs pushing the mid-60s—a beautiful day to be out on the water. A mild marine layer in the morning gave way to excellent visibility and steady seas through afternoon.

Tides were moderate today and played into a productive bite for tidal species. Coos Bay posted a high tide at 5:23 a.m., bottomed out low at 11:01 a.m., then swelled again for the evening high at 5:20 p.m. Nestucca Bay, just north, saw its high tide roll in at 4:22 a.m., with a low at 10:15 a.m. and a second high close to sunset. These moving tides have kept bait stirring and fish actively feeding, especially within the first two hours of each shift. If you’re casting off jetties or drifting estuaries, time those tide changes—the fish sure do.

Reports from Buoy 10 in Astoria confirm that Chinook and coho action is “awesome” at the mouth of the Columbia, with boats bringing back limits on quality kings and silvers by midday. The early-morning bite remains intense, especially when the tidal flow pushes schools upriver[Buoy 10 / Astoria Daily Fishing Report]. Elsewhere along the Pacific ports, SportfishingReport.com highlights excellent yellowtail catches this morning and bluefin tuna are moving through, mostly targeting southern Oregon waters[Sportfishing Report]. Meanwhile, charter boats out of Newport and Garibaldi are tallying healthy numbers of rockfish, lingcod, and the occasional striper mixed in with boat limits being reached more often than not.

Species caught over the last 24 hours include:
- Chinook salmon (still running strong, best bites on the incoming tide)
- Coho (smaller but feisty and abundant)
- Rockfish: black and blue varieties
- Lingcod
- Striped bass milling around some estuary mouths
- Halibut and flounder—caught deeper with jigs

Best lures and baits for the day:
- For salmon: Flashers with herring (dead or alive), cut-plug baits, chartreuse hoochies, and spinners in silver and green.
- For bottom species like lingcod and rockfish: Lead jigs with white curly tails, live bait if you’ve got it, or swimbaits that mimic anchovy.
- Bass and stripers: Topwater poppers in the early morning, especially near reeds and rocky structure, and soft plastics or wacky-rig worms through the midday slowdowns as suggested by JP DeRose and BassForecast’s advisory for early fall feeding frenzies. Try Yamamoto 5” Senko Worms and translucent craw crankbaits if you’re mixing estuary and freshwater stops.
- Flounder and halibut: Use bounce-and-drag metal jigs tipped with squid strips or shrimp.

Top fishing hotspots:
- **Buoy 10/Columbia River Mouth**: Best for salmon runs, limits caught before lunch.
- **Coos Bay South Jetty**: Rockfish and lingcod are thick near the rocks on both the flood and ebb.
- **Nestucca Bay Entrance**: Early outgoing tide for stripers and coho, plus solid flounder action deeper.
- **Yaquina Reef, just west of Newport**: Hot for mixed bottom-fish and lingcod.
- **Tillamook Bay tidal flats**: Consistent estuary bass and perch when tides swing.

Fish activity has been high this week: “feeding frenzy” levels especially right near sunrise on cooler incoming tides, strongly influenced by a recent Canadian cold front moving down and chilling surface water. That shift has really turned on the bite for predatory species like lingcod, salmon, and late-summer striped bass.

Reminder—always check regulations before you head out; slot and bag limits can change quickly based on run sizes and local advisories.

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