Second week in a row at seven albacore per angler for the Charleston boats, and the salmon fleet kept 300 coho and 31 Chinook on 616 trips before ODFW moved to protect what was left of the coho quota. Brookings boats were on tuna at 5.2 a rod. The ocean behaved: 5.7 feet of swell at a 10-second period, wind in the low teens. For anyone deciding between a tuna trip and a salmon trip in mid-September, this was the week the tuna won.
The week in numbers
| Charleston | This week | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Albacore per angler | 7.0 | Brookings 5.2 |
| Salmon angler trips | 616 | 4,178 for the season against 4,610 in 2025 |
| Chinook kept | 31 | 404 for the season; 73 at this point last year |
| Coho kept | 300 | 1,696 for the season; 10,012 coastwide this week |
| Swell, Port Orford buoy | 5.7 ft average, 7.5 ft peak, 10 seconds | Wind 13 knots average, gusts to 30 |
| Water temperature | 56 to 59.7 degrees | Holding warm |
Tuna
When the water holds in the high fifties for two weeks in September, the albacore settle in and the fishing gets easy. Seven fish a rod on a day trip is a box you cannot lift. The Port Orford buoy peaked at 59.7 degrees this week and the long-period swell made the offshore run a pleasant one. This is the stretch of the season that makes tuna people out of first-timers.
Salmon
The coho total for the Cape Falcon to Humbug area reached roughly 92,000 for the season by the end of this week and the September non-selective quota of 25,700 was nearly spent. ODFW’s September 10 notice set the closure in motion, and the agency followed with a plan for single-day openings on Sunday, September 20, and Saturday, September 26, to use the remaining fish, with a mid-week review between them. Outside those days the ocean is open for all salmon except coho, two a day, Chinook 24 inches, through October 31.
Charleston kept 300 coho and 31 Chinook this week, the best Chinook week since July. The season stands at 4,178 trips, 404 Chinook and 1,696 coho.
Bottomfish and halibut
Still no Charleston bottomfish sample; the fleet was offshore or on salmon. Brookings, which was sampled, had anglers on 2.7 rockfish per person with cabezon in the mix and lingcod at 0.6 per angler, which is the best lingcod number on the south coast in weeks. Expect similar off Cape Arago when the boats go back to the reefs. Summer all-depth halibut continues, two a day.
Crab and clams
Ocean crab open through October 15; four weeks left. ODA shellfish line: 1-800-448-2474.
Ocean and bar
A good September week. Swell averaged 5.7 feet at a 10-second period with a 7.5-foot peak; wind averaged 13 knots with a 30-knot gust on the windiest day. The bar was workable every morning.
Looking ahead
Coho retention on Sunday the 20th, then Saturday the 26th if quota remains. Tuna while the water holds. Fall Chinook are starting to show in the bays to the north, which means the Coos River run is a few weeks out.
Neighbors
Brookings: 5.2 albacore per angler; 2.7 rockfish and 0.6 lingcod per angler.
How this report is built: catch rates are ODFW Ocean Recreational Boat Survey dock-sample estimates for the week of September 7 to 13, 2026, published September 17. Salmon counts are ODFW’s preliminary weekly estimates through statistical week 37. Coho closure and reopening dates from ODFW’s September action notices. Ocean conditions from NOAA buoy 46015 off Port Orford. Photos are file photos from the Pacific Charter Services archive (2025) and were not taken during the week covered. Compiled by Pacific Charter Services, Charleston, Oregon.