IN SEASON JANUARY-FEBRUARY: Steelhead:  Nehalem Bay and River:  Winter steelhead fishing will be slow until later in the season. North Fork Nehalem River:  Winter steelhead angling is slow. The river is low and clear. Call 503-368-5670 for recorded fishing information. Check ODFW regulations at www.dfw.state.or.us Trout:  The general trout season in streams is now closed. The first trout stocking for 2005 will take place around the second week of January. Check ODFW regulations at www.dfw.state.or.us Shellfish:  All NW coastal areas are open for shellfish except razor clams. The razor clam season at Clatsop County beaches (Seaside north to the Columbia River) is open. Call the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s shellfish hotline at 503-986-4728 for updates. No oysters may be taken.

For the latest in fishing and charter info on the Wilson, Kilchis, Trask, Nestucca, Nehalem, Columbia & in Washington check ifish.net.

With the first rains of the fall season, chinook salmon will move into the north and south forks of the Nehalem River. The fish are of wild stock and range from 15 to 50 pounds, with an average of about 25 pounds. The season is open for fall chinook salmon August 1 through December 31. You may take two adult chinook per day, four in any seven consecutive days, 10 per season in aggregate from all Nehalem, Tillamook and Nestucca bays and streams. The season will open for spring chinook salmon approximately April 1 through July 31, including tidewater (Tillamook County).

August 1 through October 31, there is a coho salmon fishery made up of hatchery fish from the North Fork Nehalem State Hatchery.  These fish may be retained as part of your two fish limit. Wild cohos must be released unharmed.  The hatchery coho are identified by a clipped adipose fin. The fishery is inland from the tips of the jetties upstream to the confluence of the North Fork Nehalem River.

Nehalem Bay up to the Miami River-Foley Creek Road Bridge is open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead the entire year.

• Mainstream upstream from the Miami River-Foley Creek Bridge is restricted to artificial flies and lures April 1 through August 31.
  
• Closed upstream from the Highway 26 bridge located at Elsie from September 1 through October 31.
  
• Open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead upstream to the Highway 26 bridge at Elsie the entire year.
  
• Open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead upstream from Highway 26 bridge at Elsie January 1 through March 31, May 25 through August 31 and November 1 through December 31.
  
• Open for spring chinook salmon May 25 through July 31.
  
• Open for fall chinook salmon August 1 through December 31. Two adult chinook salmon per day, four in any seven consecutive days, 10 per season in aggregate from all Nehalem, Tillamook and Nestucca bays and streams.
  

The first of February is the time for wild steelhead with fresh fish moving in through April. These fish average in the mid-teens and can run as large as 25 pounds.

Spring Chinook:  Tillamook Bay opens April 1 through July 31 for fin-clipped spring chinook. The fishery is Tillamook Bay and the ocean from jetty tips seaward to the green buoy approximately 1/2 mile offshore; to points on the shore about 3/4 mile north of the North Jetty and approximately 1-1/4 miles south of the South Jetty (Triangular Control Zone).

Fall Chinook:  Tillamook Bay opens August 1 for fall chinook and closes December 31. These chinook will weigh in between 20 and 60 pounds, averaging between 25 and 30 pounds.  In August, most of the fish are concentrated in the lower bay and out into the jaws. As we move into fall, the fish will slowly move into the upper bay system.

The adult chinook limit is two fish per day, four in any seven consecutive days, ten per season in aggregate from all Nehalem, Tillamook, Nestucca Bays and streams.

In addition, Tillamook Bay is

• Open for adipose fin-clipped coho salmon September 1 through 30 inland of the tips of the jetties upstream to an imaginary line from Green Hill to Kincheloe Point, and open for adipose fin-clipped coho salmon August 1 through Sept 30 inland of the Green Hill to Kincheloe Point line upstream to the Highway 101 bridges over the Trask and Wilson Rivers, and the Burton Bridge over the Tillamook River.
  
• Closed for salmon seaward of an imaginary line from Green Hill to Kincheloe Point out seaward to the green buoy approximately 1/2 mile offshore; to points on the shore about 3/4 mile north of the North Jetty and approximately 1-1/4 miles south of the South Jetty (Triangular Control Zone); August 1 through 31.