I would not rule out fly fishing for surf perch. plastic gulp sand worm, fish in close to the brakes, bee careful.

 

The struggle is real, but with some real boots-on-the-bank time, you’ll figure stuff out. Here’s a few tips.

Get the “Fishing in Oregon” book. Read about nearby rivers and fish as local as possible, to maximize fishing time.

The trout fly fishing culture on the coast is not as commercialized and publicized as Colorado trout. For trout there is less where-to-stand information and few anglers, whereas salmon and steelhead fishing are extremely popular and much harder to find solitude.

For sea run cutthroat, forget most of what you learned about inland trout techniques. You’ll catch a few in riffles, but slow deep pools are better this time of year. Try twitching a brightly colored (pink, orange, yellow) beadhead fly around 3/4” long, something with soft materials for motion. A soft hackle or reverse spider works. Meaty dry flies skated and skittered can also work. The fly pattern is the least important part, you are not matching a hatch, you are eliciting a reaction strike. Cast to an edge, wait a few seconds, then a twitchy retrieve. Just a few casts, then move.

Your main goal is to locate fish, so fish fast and cover as many pools as you can.

Prioritize mornings, fog, shade, and dark cloudy days.

When it rains and salmon enter in earnest, fish behind spawning redds (can use an egg pattern or really any fly at all). This is the easiest way if you’re looking for a “fish here” sign.

No worries if you’re notaspeyguy. A single hand emphasis is normal for folks who move here, and works just fine, though single hand roll and spey casts do help in tighter spots.

 

No worries if you’re notaspeyguy. A single hand emphasis is normal for folks who move here, and works just fine, though single hand roll and spey casts do help in tighter spots.

How'd you know my screen name from every other forum I'm on?!?! HA!!
Anyhoo, ginger , I'm in the exact same boat...I moved to Lincoln County from CO 2 years ago, I was a 95% dry fly guy...Takes some time gettin' it figured out. Leave your CO fly boxes at home... Like most have said, smallish (sz 6 & 8) bright wet flies that resemble shrimp or salmon/steelhead fry do the trick...you can swing, strip, twitch 'em...These 5 flies account for 99% of the sea runs I catch...We should hook up and fish, I live in Seal Rock, where are you?

 

SSpey provided outstanding tips - I don't have much to add. Since there hasn't yet been much rain, the first few deep holes above tidewater will be good ones to try. There are several with decent bank access. Search CatLauncher's posts in this forum. He has fabulous videos that will show you where/how to find fish. Unfortunately, you are running out of time for this fall as trout season closes October 31st (in streams).

 

Hall-of-fame quality post from SSPey above.

You will figure out the sea-runs, just keep at it. They're aggressive fish in FEED ME mode and are a pile of fun when you find them. Leave the 6X and midges at home. Strip streamers off of ledges in slow water, search until you find a pod of fish, repeat.

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk

 

I know you are looking for trout, but casting for rockfish off the jetties and rocky areas of bays and protected coves can be a blast on flyrods. Depending on the conditions I have used floating, intermediate or shooting head lines and big flashy buggers and clousers. You can get by with a 6 weight rod, but I find an 8 weight to be perfect for this fishing. They are also delicious fish, which is a bonus.

 

Wow thanks for all the tips! These are really helpful. I caught some small sea run cutthroat the other day and it was fun. Why is trout fishing cut off after October? Is that a statewide reg or is it just in the coastal areas? I was hoping to make it out to the Mackenzie or Deschutes by the end of November

 

For the Mackenzie, green bodied Bucktail Caddis. Hackle should be gray. For coast, orange/yellow bodied Bucktail Caddis. Natural red/orange saddle hackle all under the bucktail wing, none out front. Size 6. This is a wet fly, fished with the twitch retrieve to make the hair breathe.... Like SSP said. Summer Steelhead will really gobble these as well.

 

Lots of solid advice so far that I’ll echo.

Searun cutties: some sort of #8-#6 pink or bright streamer with a beadhead or weight. Hunt for them on edges, along banks and cover in the darkest and slowest water you can find. Doesn’t always even need to be that deep, and often they are right next to the bank. I use a fairly quick strip retrieve. They’re very aggressive fish, and will often chase the fly a ways before striking. Searuns are far and away my favorite fish ;-)

Jetty fishing: Black rockfish and lingcod. A 9’ 8wt is (I think) ideal. I generally use a `10 fast-sinking polyleader, about 2 feet of 12# Maxima, and a big Clouser minnow about 5”-6” long. Roll-cast/chuck it out there, let it sink, and then a trip retrieve. Also, fishing at night, right after sunset with a headlamp, can be crazy good. Usually the rockfish will feed/strike much closer to the surface i.e. I start my retrieve as soon as my fly hits the water.

 

There are a few things to remember when fly fishing and bow fishing on the Oregon coast. First, the tides can have a big impact on fishing. It's important to pay attention to the tide charts and fish during the incoming or outgoing tide. Second, the wind can also be a factor. The wind can cause the water to be choppy and make it difficult to fish. It's important to fish when the wind is calm. Third, the type of fish you're targeting will dictate what type of bait or lure you use. Fourth, bringing a net when fishing is always a good idea. Fifth, be sure to check the regulations before you go fishing. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife website has all the necessary information. Have fun and enjoy the experience!

 

It's important to pay attention to the tide charts and fish during the incoming or outgoing tide.

So you're saying to fish any time during the day but the 20-30 minutes of high and low slack??? In that case, the tide charts wouldn't seem all that important.

 

I forgot to add...Yes, "trout season" ends Oct. 31...means you just can't target trout specifically or harvest them...if you "happen to catch a few" while "steelhead fishing" just take a pic and send 'em back unharmed...we're not used to seasons coming from CO...they have 'em here and they can be different one river over...get an ODFW reg guide or check out eregulations.com...also ALL fishing licenses expire Dec. 31 no matter when you bought it...

 

This is an old thread, but had some pictures and thoughts to throw in. CatLauncher has some good advice there for lingcod. The jetty is a fun fishery because you never know what kind of fish you'll catch. Lots of variety of hard fighting fish! Can be a challenge with the wind some days, but worth it. I love trout fishing, but the jetty replaced most trout fishing for me because I love it so much. Both the salmon and the lingcod were caught with a 6wt while rockfishing, be prepared for a fight. That 22" lingcod had the tip of my rod bent down to my fighting butt, an 8 or 9wt would have been a better rod weight.

Here's a link to a day I had fishing. Tight lines!

 

Great pics! I need to get back out there and try to slay some lings – been far too long. Consider me now inspired. 😜

 

A fun July 4th morning this past year. We were in a hot silver bite, so after the 3rd was landed decided to grab the fly rod and drop the fly down 25' on the downrigger (yes, I cheated). Less than 5 min in the rod goes off, surprising me with this chinook. 45 min from the dock and we had our limits.