Here’s 3 Oregon Surf Fishing Tips
By Andy Whitcomb
Dec 19, 2018
Oregon surf fishing offers lots of opportunities? Here’s how to get started.
Fishing in the surf means any fishing without a boat along a coast. There are over 350 miles of Oregon surf fishing opportunities. Here are a few Oregon surf fishing tips.
1. Check the Weather
Watching the weather forecast and learning the tides is a huge part of any list of Oregon surf fishing tips. Huge swells will make it difficult to cast and hold bait near the bottom. In general, some of the better bites can be found near high tide or as the tide starts going out.
2. Bring the Right Gear
Especially if one of your fishing spots is the beach, long rods with an extended, leveraging butt and a big spinning reel will help with distant casts. The line weight should be 12 pounds or more. This is not necessarily for the size of the fish, but for the sinker size which may be required to hold bait, which is often shrimp, crab, or worms, in pounding surf conditions. Also, keep in mind that swivels lessen line twist in your rigs and pyramid sinkers tend to hold better than round sinkers in surf.
3. Learn your Fish
This made the list for Oregon surf fishing tips, not just for following regulation limits on sizes, quantities, and seasons but because with some research on species habitat, you can better target and learn the most productive times and areas. Also, there are safety reasons regarding Oregon surf fishing such as knowing that some rockfish have toxins in their fins and the strange looking cabezon, a large sculpin species, is tasty except for the eggs and liver which are poisonous.
While getting your fishing license, grab the latest Oregon regulations. This, along with much of your research, can be accomplished online. I learned for instance, that surf perch and bottom fish can be caught even during the winter. Although colder for the angler, fishing pressure is less and the resilient, knowledgeable angler can keep warm with the fishing action.
