Today's best fishing in Winchester Bay: 8 AM to 11 AM
This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Winchester Bay.
The next 14 days in Winchester Bay
Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCasterTwo weeks ahead
Most forecasts stop at the weekend. This one runs a full 14 days, so you can pick the day before you book the time off.
One number, out of 100
The best score anything in Winchester Bay reaches that day. Green is good, amber is fair, red is slow, and you can read it from across the room.
2,016 scores behind it
6 spots, every hour of every day, out to 14. This row is the best of them.
Hour by hour today at Cannery Island
All times PDTOne real spot
A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Cannery Island, the most fished mark in Winchester Bay, scored for Lingcod.
Six readings, one clock
Tide, current, wind, sea, air and sky, all lined up on the same hour, so you can see what is actually driving the score.
Currents, not just tides
Modelled flow for the water off Winchester Bay, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.
The spots people actually fish in Winchester Bay
A year of catch reports
The order here is how much each mark actually gets fished, not today's guess. The busiest water in Winchester Bay comes first.
Today's number too
Beside each name is the best score that spot reaches today, so you can weigh a proven mark against a good forecast.
Every mark has a page
Its own chart, its own species and its own rules, worked out the same way as everything above.
- 84Cannery IslandKnown markBest 8 AM–11 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 84Hump 3.1 km NW of North SpitKnown markBest 8 AM–11 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 84Hump 3.6 km W of Winchester PointKnown markBest 8 AM–11 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 84Hump 4.1 km W of North SpitKnown markBest 8 AM–11 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 83Hump at 43.50924, -124.27407Known markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 83Hump at 43.82599, -124.22912Known markBest 11 AM–2 PM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
Every spot we score in Winchester Bay
Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCanReal charted seabed
Depth soundings, not a stock map. The banks, reefs and drop-offs are where you can see them.
6 marks, all scored
Every spot we cover around Winchester Bay, each one carrying its own number for today.
Point at any of them
The name, how busy a mark it is, and the tide, sea and seabed at its best hour.
Create custom spots
Our full model on your custom private spots.
- Drop a pinAnywhere on the water. The ledge you found, the bay nobody talks about.
- Name itYour name for it, not ours. It stays private to your account.
- Choose speciesPick what you fish there, and it starts scoring from the next run.
What you can keep in Winchester Bay today
- Chinook SalmonKeep in places2 a day · min 24"Open at 4 of 6 spots we cover
- LingcodKeep3 a day · min 22"Open at all 6 spots we cover
- HalibutKeep in places2 a dayOpen at 4 of 6 spots we cover
- Dungeness CrabKeep12 a day · min 5.7"Open at all 1 spot we cover
- Coho SalmonReleaseCatch and release at all 6 spots we cover
- Black RockfishClosedShut at all 1 spot we cover
- CodClosedShut at all 4 spots we cover
- CabezonClosedShut at all 1 spot we cover
Rules differ between marine zones and change in season. Check ODFW for the marine zone you are fishing before you keep anything.
That was one day. Pro opens the next fourteen.
Every spot on this map, hour by hour, two weeks out, with alerts when your water crosses the score you set.
$0 today, then $33 USD a year, which is $2.75 a month. Card required, cancel any time.
When to fish Winchester Bay
Each row is shaded against that species' own best month here, so a dark cell means a good month for that fish rather than a comparison between them.
| Species | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinook Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Coho Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Lingcod | ||||||||||||
| Halibut | ||||||||||||
| Black Rockfish | ||||||||||||
| Cod | ||||||||||||
| Cabezon | ||||||||||||
| Dungeness Crab |
Chinook Salmon: January none, February none, March good, April good, May good, June peak, July peak, August peak, September peak, October poor, November none, December none. Coho Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April none, May none, June fair, July peak, August peak, September peak, October peak, November none, December none. Lingcod: January good, February excellent, March excellent, April good, May fair, June fair, July fair, August fair, September fair, October fair, November fair, December good. Halibut: January none, February poor, March excellent, April peak, May peak, June peak, July peak, August excellent, September fair, October poor, November none, December none. Black Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March good, April good, May fair, June good, July good, August good, September good, October good, November fair, December fair. Cod: January good, February fair, March fair, April fair, May good, June fair, July fair, August fair, September good, October excellent, November good, December good. Cabezon: January good, February fair, March good, April fair, May fair, June fair, July fair, August good, September good, October good, November good, December good. Dungeness Crab: January fair, February fair, March poor, April fair, May fair, June fair, July good, August good, September excellent, October excellent, November good, December fair.
- Chinook Salmon. Winchester Bay (Umpqua River mouth) has an early spring Chinook push building through May–June as fish stage before ascending the Umpqua, then a dominant fall run that peaks August through mid-September when large numbers stack in the lower bay and estuary before entering freshwater. Winter and early spring show minimal ocean-bay presence since adults are upriver or offshore, hence the near-zero baseline in January–March.
- Coho Salmon. Winchester Bay (Umpqua system) coho are strongly fall-run; ocean-stage fish build off the coast through late summer with the primary bay/river staging peak in September into early October (weeks 35-40) driven by cooling water and fall rains triggering the run. A minor spring/early-summer signal (weeks 15-21) reflects offshore feeder/immature 'ocean coho' presence before the stock largely vacates the immediate area for winter and mid-summer lulls.
- Lingcod. Lingcod are resident groundfish present year-round on Winchester Bay's reefs and nearshore rocky structure, so there are no true absences. The strongest concentration comes in late winter through spring (Feb–Apr) when males guard nests and mature fish move shallow to spawn, with a secondary uptick in late summer/early fall as juveniles recruit and feeding activity peaks.
- Halibut. Pacific halibut migrate onto the nearshore Oregon banks off Winchester Bay in spring as water warms, peaking from late April through early summer during the primary feeding period, with a secondary late-summer bump before they move to deeper offshore wintering/spawning grounds. Winter abundance is low as most fish are far offshore in deep water beyond typical fishable range.
- Black Rockfish. Black rockfish are resident, structure-oriented reef fish present year-round off Winchester Bay, so abundance stays broadly near baseline with no true biological gaps. A modest late-winter/early-spring bump reflects spawning aggregations moving to nearshore reefs, and the strongest peak in late summer through early fall (Aug–Sep) tracks warm, calm water pushing juveniles and adults tight to accessible nearshore structure before fall storms disperse them deeper.
- Cod. Pacific Cod off Winchester Bay are a cold-water demersal species most abundant in late fall/early winter (weeks 37-42) when they move onto nearshore shelf grounds to spawn, with a secondary spring presence; summer warming pushes them deeper and offshore, thinning nearshore biological abundance mid-year. This is at the southern edge of their Oregon range, so overall presence is modest with no complete absence.
- Cabezon. Cabezon are non-migratory resident reef/nearshore fish present year-round near Winchester Bay, so abundance stays close to baseline with no true gaps. The fall peak (Aug–Sep) reflects concentrated adults on the reefs post-spawn recovery and warmer, calmer nearshore conditions, while late winter–spring (Feb–Apr) dips as males guard nests deeper and rougher seas disperse fish.
- Dungeness Crab. Dungeness crab are resident year-round in Winchester Bay and the lower Umpqua estuary, so abundance never hits zero. Biomass and meat fill dip in late spring/early summer (May–July) after winter molt when crabs are soft and light, then peak from fall through early winter (Sept–Dec) as newly hardened crabs pack on weight, aligning with the traditional high-quality harvest window.
Before you go
Water around Winchester Bay falls into 2 areas, and the rules can differ between them. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife sets them.
- Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain
- Umpqua Bay
Fishing Winchester Bay
Winchester Bay sits at the mouth of the Umpqua River on the central Oregon coast, where estuary channels open into the open Pacific. Chinook Salmon run strongest from June through September and Coho Salmon peak from June into October, while Lingcod hold through the winter months from January to March and Pacific Halibut come on from March through August. The fishing spots here concentrate around offshore humps and rocky structure west and northwest of the North Spit and Winchester Point, with additional ground near Cannery Island closer to shore. Salmon anglers work the summer and early fall by trolling for Chinook, while the deeper offshore humps carry the bottomfish and halibut effort across spring and into late summer. The calendar spreads the fishery across most of the year, with salmon defining the warmer months and lingcod filling the winter.