August 25, 2022 3:30 a.m.

Several coastal river basins, including the Umpqua, will be open to some wild coho harvest this year, beginning as early as September 10th.

A release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said this will be the second year in a row of some wild coho retention in coastal rivers. ODFW said coho returning this year went to sea last year, when conditions had improved considerably, so even more basins are open this year. The agency said that is a “definite improvement” from 2016-2020, when all wild coho retention was closed in coastal rivers.

This year’s wild coho abundance is still less than the high returns seen from 2008-2014, so not all basins are open for retention.

In the Southwest Zone, which includes the Umpqua, the seasonal bag limit for wild adult coho is two fish in the Umpqua and three fish in the Coos Basin.

The release said per permanent regulations, wild jack coho may be harvested on days when wild coho retention is allowed within a basin, with a bag limit of one fish per day. Hatchery coho may be retained as part of the adult and jack salmon daily bag limit in areas currently open to angling for Chinook salmon or steelhead. Those fishing should check the permanent regulations for details: https://www.eregulations.com/oregon/

Those fishing for salmon this fall should know how to tell the difference between coho vs Chinook. Tips are at: https://myodfw.com/articles/it-coho-or-chinook