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The entrance to the Salmon River Estuary and Three Rocks just offshore is the site of a wreaked treasure laden Spanish Galleon that went aground in the early 17th century, but the real treasure is the beauty that surrounds visitors to the estuary. The estuary is unique because the functional values associated with the ecology of the tidal flats and marshes have been restored to a natural condition. The estuary is one of most picturesque on the
The Salmon River Estuary is a freshwater dominated estuary. The claming, crabbing and fishing are limited by the amount of freshwater entering the bay. Not at anytime should the small boater attempt to cross the bar. Avoid boating in the lower estuary during the outgoing tide. Even though the Salmon River Estuary is one of
Chinook salmon return to the estuary in small numbers in late August peaking in late September or early October and running into November. Chinook salmon in the
Coho salmon enter the Salmon River Estuary in late August through September, peaking in October and running into November. At one time the average size of the coho salmon returning to the
Cutthroat trout return to the Salmon River Estuary in August. Fish for cutthroat trout during the incoming tide trolling Doc Shelton spinners rigged with a night crawler or from shore in the upper tidal reach of the estuary casting spinners or by fishing on the bottom of the deeper holes with night crawlers of crawfish tail. The cutthroat have a tendency to remain in the cool brackish water of the estuary until rain cools the water in the river before migrating upriver. Striped seaperch, pileperch, walleye surfperch and white seaperch enter the estuary with the tide beginning in late May. Perch fishing is fair at best until the seasonal rains dominate the estuary. Fish for perch along the channels that drain the tidal flats in the lower estuary. White sturgeon are occasionally caught by anglers fishing for salmon during the fall. Clam Digging is limited to softshell and purple varnish clams. The Bank Fishing from the more productive fishing locations is very
competitive with anglers often fishing elbow to elbow. It is often difficult to find a parking place along Highway 101 as shown in the photograph or Highway 18 near the Red Barn located .8 of a mile east of Highway 101. Fishing with large white, chartreuse or orange Rooster Tails, Blue Fox or Bolo spinners or bobber fishing salmon eggs topped with a sand shrimp accented with colored yarn are the most productive methods. Salmon River Estuary boat launch is a free boat launch operated by Lincoln County. The boat launch is located the lower estuary at the end of the pavement 2.4 miles on Three Rocks Road . The boat launch is only usable for very shallow draft boats at minus low tides. Current status for Crabbing, Clam Digging and Fishing: Salmon River Estuary: Like the Necanicum River the Salmon River Estuary is dominated by freshwater and Crabbing productivity is limited to periods of extended clear weather. Fishing for Chinook salmon is the main attraction here. There is no local source for crabbing or clam digging information available. All crabbing is from boats. Historically crabbing ranges from poor to fair from May through July and is good during August and September in the lower estuary. Fishing: On 02/08 ODFW reports: Wild winter steelhead will continue to pulse into the river over the next couple months. Fish will likely be spread out in the mainstem and can offer fair to good catch-and-release fishing. On 01/29 crabbing in the Salmon River Estuary will be slow until the river level drops for an extended period of time. On 10/19/11 crabbing is fair to good. Two crabbers took 13 crabs from the lower estuary but the crabs were hard shell and large sized. Clam digging is limited to the harvest of softshell and purple varnish clams but I could not resist checking out the sand bars at the mouth of the estuary for razor clams. My buddy Walt and I launched my aluminum boat several hours prior to low slack to investigate digging razor clams from the beach on the south side of the estuary. We arrived on the beach 2 hours prior to a minus 1.0 low slack tide. The surf was up but we searched and pounded through low slack before returning to the boat empty handed. However we did find a number of large razor clam shells. I plan on returning when the surf lays down and when the low tide exceeds 2.0 feet. Internet Links Of Interest For The Salmon River Estuary Click 2011 to view the NOAA tidal projections at the entrance to Nestucca Bay. We use the time and tide for Nestucca Bay because there no location listed for the Salmon River Estuary. Click on 2012 to view the NOAA tidal projections for your area of interest. Scroll down the desired month. Click HERE for the 10 day weather forecast for Otis. Return to Clam Watch.
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