Albacore fishing is strong out of Gold Beach and Brookings, while Lost Creek, Applegate, and Howard Prairie remain productive inland. This week’s report also covers Klamath redband restrictions, low water access, algae concerns, and wildlife viewing.

ODFW will require catch-and-release fishing for native redband trout from June 15 through Oct. 31 on Upper Klamath Lake and several spring-fed creeks that feed into it. The temporary rule also limits anglers to flies and artificial lures only for all species in the affected waters.

Free fishing, waived paddling permits, free Oregon State Parks parking and free day-use access on national forests all line up this weekend, giving families across Southern Oregon and Northern California an easy excuse to get outside.

Klamath Hatchery has reopened to the public after a long rebuild following the 2020 Two Four Two Fire in Klamath County. The new Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife facility includes fish-viewing areas, restrooms, picnic spots and a modern hatchery building designed to be safer and more resilient.

ODFW announced new fishing regulations affecting Oregon anglers and commercial fishermen, including wild Chinook harvest restrictions in the Umpqua Basin and the opening of the north coast Dungeness crab season.

Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife troopers have issued a criminal citation for the unlawful taking of Chinook salmon in the Klamath Basin, marking the first such case since the removal of dams on the Klamath River and the historic return of salmon to local waterways.