Fishing Near Coos Bay and Charleston

Bastendorff Beach

Bastendorff Beach is a county campground, day use area and beach. The park consists of 89 acres and is a beautiful place to camp. There are 91 campsites of which 56 are secluded RV sites with electrical and water hookups. There are an additional 35 sites for tent campers and additional sites for hikers and bicyclists. There are restrooms and coin-operated showers.

For reservations, call 541-396-3121 x354.

For day use, there are picnic areas and a fish cleaning stand. For group activities, there are two picnic shelters with kitchens and a fire pit - barbecue. Bastendorff Beach is located directly west of Charleston, just north of the Cape Arago Lighthouse. Also nearby is Shore Acres, Sunset Bay State Park, and Cape Arago State Park.

Butterflield Lake Fishing

Butterfield Lake is located about six miles north of Coos Bay, and just west of Highway 101 in the Riley Ranch Campground operated by Coos County Parks. The lake has established populations of largemouth bass, and warmouth, and ODFW has begun stocking with legal-sized and trophy rainbow trout. As part of ODFW’s 25-Year Angling Enhancement Plan, an access road was recently completed from the campground to the lake to allow trout stocking trucks to reach the lake, and allow anglers to launch small “cartop” boats and canoes. Fishing docks will be installed later this spring, further improving angler access. These improvements were partially funded by an ODFW Restoration and Enhancement Program grant, matched by Coos County Parks.

Coos Bay Fishing

Recreational crabbing is popular in the Coos Bay and Charleston marinas. For those with a boat, the inside of Coos Bay’s North Spit, between Charleston and the BLM boat ramp produces lots of Dungeness and red rock crabs. Crabbing can be excellent in the fall, winter and early spring, but typically slows down in the estuaries during late spring and summer, as many crabs will become soft-shelled with the molt.

Numerous clam species such as gapers, cockles and butter clams are available on sand and mud flats of Coos Bay nearly year-round. Marine perch and rockfish species are caught in the bays around concentrations of pilings and rock formations, particularly in spring and early summer.

Steelhead fishing in the Coos basin continues through April in waters open to this species, however the winter steelhead run is winding down and many of them will be “kelts” migrating downstream after spawning. Adipose fin-clipped steelhead may be harvested in these basins during the open season.

Coos Bay Area Lakes

These waters are stocked with legal-sized trout (8-9 inches) from March to early June.

Native cutthroat trout are found in Eel Lake and the Tenmile Lakes (just off Hwy. 101, near Lakeside), and the last two summers these lakes were producing fair numbers of holdover hatchery rainbow trout in the 17 to 20-inch range.

Eel Lake, Tenmile Lakes and numerous other small lakes in Coos County support populations of largemouth bass. As highlighted in ODFW’s warmwater fishing brochures, the Tenmile Lakes provide one of Oregon’s premier largemouth bass fisheries. Numerous competitive bass tournaments are held there each season, and bass exceeding six pounds are weighed-in each year. Camping, motels, parks, boating facilities and businesses are located in and around the town of Lakeside, on the shores of Tenmile Lakes. Anglers are reminded that a regulation is in effect for Tenmile Lakes, requiring the release of largemouth bass 15 inches or larger.

Saunders Lake (five miles north of North Bend, alongside Hwy. 101), Eel Lake, Horsefall Lake, and a plethora of dune lakes within the U.S. Forest Service’s “Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area” (on the north side of Coos Bay) also have a mix of warmwater fish available in the spring and summer. Some of the more obscure lakes in the dunes are only accessible by foot or ATV trail.

The public parks located on South Tenmile, Eel, and Saunders lakes provide ample access for beginning anglers. Fishing can be done from the bank, or from fishing docks identified with signs at these locations.

Yellow perch were illegally introduced in North and South Tenmile lakes, and their abundance is believed to be detrimental to other warmwater species. When yellow perch become abundant, they usually become stunted in size, so very few will be “pan-sized.”

Equipment for these warmwater species can be as simple as a piece of worm on a hook fished below a bobber and split shot. They also can be caught with a tiny jig tipped with a small piece of worm or other bait to entice the bite. Brown bullhead catfish feed closer to the bottom, and can be taken with night crawlers fished on the bottom using a sliding egg-shaped sinker.

The 30 acre Butterfield Lake borders the northern part of the campground and provides a fishing opportunity for campers and day users alike. The lake currently has bass, crappie, perch, and trout. The lake will be on ODW&F’s stocking program and be receiving trout several times a year. The lake will be open to boats but will be limited in size and restricted to electric rolling motors only.

Betty Kay Charter
(541) 888-9021
7788 Albacore

Bobs Sport Fishing
(541) 888-4241
Charleston Boat Basin
Charleston, OR

Chinook Charters
541-662-0964
Charleston, OR

Fishermen's Wharf
Fisherman's Wharf Seafood Market.
(541) 888-8862
63534 Kingfisher Rd # S-1
Charleston, OR