Fall Chinook fishing has improved on Nehalem Bay. Trolling spinners or baits in the lower bay has been productive. Fish are available in upper tidewater also, where bobber and bait can be effective. 

Coho fishing in the Nehalem estuary has been fair to good. The Nehalem gets a run of hatchery coho bound for the North Fork, and the wild coho fishery for Nehalem Bay opened Saturday, Sept. 10. The season is open Wednesdays and Saturdays Sept. 10 – Oct. 15. Open dates for wild Coho are: Sept. 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28 and Oct. 1, 5, 8, 12, 15.

Hatchery coho began entering the North Fork Nehalem River with the rain last week. Some fish are available up to the hatchery.

As part of your 2 adult salmon/steelhead daily bag limit, only 1 can be a wild adult coho. No more than 1 wild adult coho for the season from the Nehalem Basin. No more than 1 wild jack coho may be retained as part of the jack salmon bag limit per day during the open season for adult wild coho. 

Open wild coho open areas are Nehalem Bay from the mouth upstream to the Miami-Foley Bridge, and on the North Fork Nehalem upstream to North Fork road bridge (Aldervale).