Steelhead returns are winding down, and most of the steelhead will be dark and spawned out.  

American shad typically begin running in early May. The general folklore says to fish for them from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day. 

Conditions for crabbing and rockfish and lingcod angling in Coos Bay should be improving as the mud and heavy freshwater runoff subsides from recent storms. Using a jig with a twister tail has been a great bait for catching rockfish. Anglers have been catching lingcod with a herring floated under a bobber. 

Trout fishing in streams and rivers will open May 22, 2019, while lakes in the basin are open year-round.