Montana Fish Report

Streams and rivers are now open to trout fishing until Oct. 31. Anglers are allowed to use bait in streams above tidewater starting Sept. 1. Anglers may harvest 2 trout per day that are a minimum of 8 inches long.

Chinook salmon fishing has been decent this past week with anglers catching salmon in the lower Coquille River from the Highway 101 Bridge upstream to Bear Creek. Salmon anglers are having the best luck trolling cut plug herring behind a flasher. There is no wild coho season in the Coquille River this year so all wild coho must be released but anglers may keep an adipose fin-clipped hatchery coho.

Smallmouth bass fishing has been good throughout the Coquille and South Fork Coquille rivers. Anglers are having success catching smallmouth bass on small spinners, crankbaits, jigs, and worms.

Recreational crabbing is open in the Coquille estuary. Crabbing has started to pick up in the lower Coquille estuary especially for those crabbing from a boat.