Salmon fishing on the Coquille River still is producing good catches of both coho and Chinook, and we’ve taken about 35 percent of our quota of wild coho in this fishery. The bite is short lived and seems to be the best about an hour or so before high tide. More fish have been reported near Old Town Bandon and new Chinook seem to be arriving with higher tides.

The Coos River also is producing some Chinook and a few fin-clipped coho. Again, the best bite is an hour or so before high tide in the lower river. A lot of wild coho that have to be released are being caught.

The Rogue River at Gold Beach still is reporting good catches of Chinook and coho. Good numbers of coho should enter the system throughout the next few weeks.

The Chetco River in Brookings has a traditionally late run of Chinook that is just getting started and fishing should improve later in the month.

Most fishermen I’ve talked to seem to agree that a good rain to give us a shot of fresh water should produce some good runs of returning salmon.

The recent release of trophy trout by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in local lakes has produced a very good fishery. Late season fishing for black bass has been productive on these lakes, especially in the late evenings.

Finally ocean conditions have calmed and the off-shore fishermen are doing well angling for bottom fish. A lot of big lingcod were caught and in recent days, black cod were feeding on the surface. As of Oct. 1, anglers now are allowed to fish for rock cod at any depth, lifting the restriction of fishing inside 40 fathoms. We still have some areas of warm water and a few hearty souls have caught tuna.

Crabbing really picked up in the Charleston area this past week. Ocean recreational crabbing remains the best we’ve experienced in years, but ocean crabbing closes on Oct. 15. Bandon has reported their crab catches have also increased.

Beaches statewide still are closed to the harvest of clams and mussels due to the elevated levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning. This closure does not apply to shellfish harvested in local bays. For more information, call the Department of Agriculture Shellfish Hotline at 1-800-448-2474.

The ODFW announced this week that their offices will be closed on Friday, Oct. 16. You may still purchase hunting and fishing licenses and tags online or at a licensed sales agency on that day. Coincidently, Oct. 16 is the deadline to purchase a general season Cascade bull elk tag, so hunters who have waited until the last day will have to purchase their tags via the alternative methods mentioned above. Any exchange involving a Cascade bull elk tag must be done at an ODFW office by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, and tags cannot be exchanged at licensed sales agencies.

The ODFW Fish and Wildlife Commission has adopted the 2010 Big Game Regulations. Deer and elk hunters now may hunt bear or cougar after filling their deer or elk tag. Previously, hunters could not hunt bear or cougar during deer and elk season after filling their deer or elk tag in many units. Cougar season will run year-round state wide. Adults with the proper license and tag now will be allowed to hunt during youth hunts, which should benefit families where the adult has a tag for the same area as the youth or during long-duration hunts. Muzzleloaders with fiber optic sight will be allowed during muzzleloader seasons. There are more revisions that you can read about by going to the ODFW Web site.

Good luck fishing and hunting.

Listen to the Oregon Outdoors Radio Show Thursdays from 3-5 p.m. on KWRO 630 AM and rebroadcast on Friday mornings from 7-9 a.m. on ESPN 1230 AM. Oregon Outdoors can now be heard on KDUN 1030 AM from Eugene to Port Orford on Friday evenings from 3-5 p.m. and on Saturday mornings from 6-8 a.m.