Spring Fishing on the Central Oregon Coast: Bottomfish, Salmon, and More

Good morning anglers this is Artificial Lure with your Pacific Ocean, Oregon fishing report for April 16th 2025.

Today’s weather on the central coast is looking beautiful with mild spring temperatures, light winds, and calm seas—the kind of day locals hope for when heading out. Sunrise came at 6:28am and sunset will be around 8:03pm. Tides today at Pacific City are as follows: high tide at 2:25am (7.3 ft), low tide at 9:47am (-0.2 ft), another high at 4:12pm (5.5 ft), and low tide again at 9:17pm (2.9 ft). The mid-morning outgoing tide and mid-afternoon incoming are both prime for fish activity, especially near the mouths and jetties where moving water stirs bait and offers great ambush spots for predators[6][9].

Fishing has been great for bottomfish. Reports the past weekend and into this week show boats coming back with limits or near-limits of rockfish and strong catches of lingcod. Most rockfish are hitting well on rubber-tailed jigs in white, pink, and motor oil colors. For lingcod, a big swimbait or a herring-tipped jig head bounced near the rocky bottom has been deadly. If you’re fishing from a charter or have access to a boat, target reefs and rocky structure between 60 and 120 feet of water for the best bite. Cabezon remains closed until July but plenty of other tasty species are taking bait[5].

Chinook salmon season is open from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain and there’s been a steady but light bite off Newport, Depoe Bay, and Garibaldi. Catches have been decent with the best numbers reported out of Newport, where anglers are finding about 1.2 Chinooks per rod—solid for this time of year. Trolling herring behind a flasher or anchovy rigs, especially early in the morning on the outgoing tide, is producing. Just remember the bag limit: two salmon per person, no coho retention, and Chinook must be at least 24 inches[1].

In the bays, the last of the herring are still around, though the major run wrapped up in late March. Some folks were still picking up herring last week around the south jetty in Yaquina Bay, mostly using Sabiki rigs. Surf perch are also a good bet with small pieces of shrimp or Gulp sandworms fished near structure along sandy beaches, especially with small swells and around high tide[1].

Best baits right now are fresh herring or anchovy for salmon, and for bottomfish, nothing beats a curly-tail or paddle-tail rubber jig, tipped with squid if you want to sweeten the deal. For those looking for variety, ocean crabbing is fair with most pots bringing 2–3 keepers per person. Try the mouths of estuaries on the incoming tide for best results[4].

Hot spots for today include the reefs off Depoe Bay and the rockpiles just north of Newport—both are holding good numbers of lingcod and rockfish. For shore anglers, the jetties at Yaquina Bay and the surf at Pacific City are reliable bets, especially with today’s tide swings.

That’s the bite for today—tight lines and see you on the water[1][5][6]!