Gardiner Reedsport Winchester Bay STEP

05/26/2026

A big "THANK YOU" to the GRWB STEP members who helped with the Memorial Day STEP displays.
And thanks to Doug & Tim for using their trucks as tow vehicles.
YES!! We will be having a Salmon Derby and Fund Raising Raffle over Labor Day Weekend this year.
Looks like Umpqua River anglers will be allowed to keep one "Wild" fall Chinook per day with a total of 5 for the season.
More derby up-dates are to come.
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05/16/2026

ATTENTION SALMON AND STEELHEAD ANGLERS
ROCK CREEK HATCHERY FUNDING
ODFW will be meeting soon to discuss budget recommendations for the 2027 biennium. They currently don’t have any operations funding for Rock Creek in their budget proposal. We need to let them know that we expect them to find funding, especially since there is $17million in insurance money available to put towards rebuilding the hatchery.

If you go to the link below, about ¾ of the way down the page, there is another link…

“We welcome comments and feedback on the 2027-2029 Agency Request Budget through May 29 at this link: HERE”

https://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/budget/

Please share this with your fellow anglers, family, clients, etc. and encourage them to go to this link and comment. You have until the 29th of May.

ACT NOW !!!

ODFW develops its proposed biennial budget request through extensive outreach and input from its many partners and customers. To help develop the 2027-29 agency budget request, we will be hosting two Open House gatherings to share information and gather input. These will be held on April 7 and May 1...

05/14/2026

May 13, 2026
Thank you to all who came out today, on short notice, to help fin clip our pre-smolt. Saw a couple of new faces too. Thanks, again.
Pre-smolt are fin clipped for identification as hatchery raised fish and for scientific study.
Also, when they return, anglers can see easily tell which fish they can harvest or must release.
In a week or two, the pre-smolt will be released in the lower Umpqua River for acclimation and to begin their life's journey.
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05/14/2026

Fin Clipping Chinook salmon pre-smolt for identification as STEP raised fish.

05/11/2026

May 10, 2026
OK Everyone, due to warming water temperatures we have moved our clipping date up to this coming Wednesday, May 13th. Clipping will begin at 8:30 am at the GRWB hatchery facility. We furnish all needed equipment.
Clippers stand at a long table, so if long periods of standing bother you, please bring a tall stool or director's chair. You will be a lot more comfortable.
Your help will be very welcome.
GRWB STEP

05/05/2026

ODFW's recommendation for the 2026 fall Chinook salmon season on the Umpqua River is "one wild fall Chinook salmon per day, 5 for the year".
It's not cast in stone yet, but the Fish & Game Commission is expected to adopt the recommendation in the coming weeks.
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04/30/2026

April 29th
Our little guys are up to 114 per pound now. We Fin clip at 100 per pound. Stay tuned for clipping date and times. They will be posted here.
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04/15/2026

2026 OCEAN SALMON REGULATIONS SET
APRIL 14, 2026
NEWPORT, Ore. —The Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) has finalized the 2026 ocean salmon seasons including ocean waters off Oregon.

Recommended salmon seasons are not official until final approval by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce (expected by Saturday, May 16), and after adoption by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on April 24 for waters within three nautical miles of shore.

Conservation objectives for California Coastal Chinook, Klamath River fall Chinook, and Lower Columbia natural coho salmon stocks constrained fisheries south of Cape Falcon this year, however both the recreational and commercial fisheries are more liberal this year than in 2025.

Recreational ocean salmon

The recreational all-salmon except coho season opened from Cape Falcon to the OR/CA border on March 15. It will continue through Oct. 31 from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain and through Aug. 31 from Humbug Mountain to the OR/CA border. The daily bag limit is two salmon.

From Cape Falcon to the OR/CA border, mark-selective coho retention is allowed June 6 – Aug. 23 or until the marked coho quota of 47,600 is reached. An all-salmon season will occur from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain for the month of September with a 27,500 non-mark-selective coho quota.

Oregon ocean commercial troll fisheries

Oregon ocean commercial troll salmon fisheries from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain will open April 14 - June 30 and again from Sept. 1 – Oct. 31 with a 7,000 coho quota during the month of September. From Cape Falcon to the Heceta Bank management line, the fishery will be open July 16 -31 for all salmon except coho. The area between Humbug Mountain and the OR/CA border will be open April 14-30 and May 16 – June 17.

04/13/2026

GRWB STEP volunteer, Jennifer, trains our fingerlings to come when its feeding time. She has even named a couple of them. We thought this was a little far fetched, but here is the video she took at todays feeding.
OK Jennifer, just train them to come to a Chinook green spinner.😉
Poking a little fun at Jennifer, but the truth is she is a great volunteer and really cares about her fish.
Fingerlings should be ready to fin clip in about a month.
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03/15/2026

March 15th, 2026
All Fry are now in the rearing tank and doing well. Feed is hand broadcast to all areas of the tank, so everyone gets a chance to eat. We found that using automatic feeders in the early stages of development tends to allow more aggressive fish to bully out some of the Fry causing under development. Later, when Fry are more mature and aggressively feeding, we may go to auto feeders.
Jennifer, who does a lot of Fry caretaking, has named some of the fish and claims they will come to her to be fed first. 😉