Fishing For The Nehalem Bay Kings
As luck would have it, fishing had been uncharacteristically slow. By most accounts, a flood in 1996 had devastated the historically strongest return class of fish…the four year olds. The kings we did catch were 3 year olds which are typically less than 20 pounds.
Nonetheless this was an exceptional trip. When the fishing’s tough there’s no replacement for experience and our guide, John Krauthoefer was outstanding. A retired fire fighter, John’s been fishing these estuaries and coastal rivers for several decades. His knowledge of the water, and locational behavior of the fish really paid off.
Happily, the next several years run forecast look very promising. Chinook enter the bay and lower Nehalem river as early as late July and keep coming through September and well into October. There’s also a fabulous run of coho salmon that occurs at the same time. Fin Clipped coho can be retained, but unmarked fish must be immediately released.
This is an enchanting area. We stayed at a gorgeous motel on the water in the small burg of Wheeler that was quaint, clean and accommodating…a wonderful place to stay at the end of a full day’s fishing. This small motel also featured a long dock for boats as well as a diverse menu of activities recommendations to keep you busy after your day on the water. I really enjoyed myself here.
All of our fish came on the troll. We learned that if you’re serious about catching fish in this lower section of the Nehalem you can use anything you want just so long as it’s a cut-plug herring.
The show we produced on this perennial favorite resulted in covering one of the most thorough examinations of effective cut-plug herring fishing that’s ever been filmed. Our guide John Krauthoefer provided a step-by-step detail showing secret’s that he’s learned over decades of guiding.
| Show#: |
4012 |
| Host: |
Trey Carskadon |
| Guide: |
John Krauthoefer |
| Email: |
fireamnjohn@wcn.net |
| Phone: |
503-842-3124 |
| Location: |
Oregon. Lower Nehalem from the Bay to the North Fork of the Nehalem |
| Species: |
King/Chinook salmon |
| Date: |
Early October |
| How: |
cut-plug herring |
| Equipment: |
Rod: 8’ Heavy Action one piece salmon rod rated for 25 to 40 pound test line. Reel: Shimano Bantam 50 Line: 30 lb. Trilene XT Hooks: 5/0 and 6/0 Daiichi Octopus in Bleeding Red Bait: Cut-Plug Herring |
