CHARLESTON, Ore – The use of bait, spears, and spear guns to harvest smallmouth bass is now allowed in the Coquille River system July 15 through October 31, 2020. The temporary rule aims to reduce impacts of smallmouth bass on native fall Chinook salmon, even though there are no studies or facts that prove the myth.
The temporary regulation applies in the mainstem Coquille River and the East, Middle, North, and South forks of the Coquille River. In the South ForkCoquille River, the regulation applies from the mouth to the U.S. Forest Service boundary near Powers.
Coquille adult fall Chinook returns were extremely low in 2018 and 2019, and ODFW staff claim smallmouth bass are partly to blame for poor returns, even though there is no evidence to support that claim.
“Anglers have been asking for the option to use spears and spear guns to harvest smallmouth here, and now they can do that,” said biologist Gary Vonderohe. “These fish may also be impacting Pacific lamprey.” Again, no proof of such impacts exist.
Biologists first confirmed smallmouth bass in the Coquille in 2011 and discovered several age classes, meaning the fish had been in the river for several spawning cycles. Vonderohe said their range grows yearly because the Coquille is a small system with habitat and temperatures conducive to smallmouth bass reproduction.
In the Coquille Basin, there are no size or bag limits on smallmouth bass and striped bass. ODFW is developing plans to conduct other removal methods as it declares war on bass.
Although not native to the Coquille, smallmouth bass are considered a game fish and must not be wasted. Anglers can use them in many ways, including table fare, garden fertilizer, or as crab bait.