Coquille River
The Coquille River in southern Oregon is a river with popular north and south forks, in addition to the mainstream. Including all forks, it flows more than 50 miles starting in the mountains above Myrtle Point and emptying into the Pacific at Bandon. Most of the fishing I do on this river is on the south fork, above the mainstream. It’s generally a full day of fishing, starting downstream of the small town of Powers. There are several different floating options on the route. The north, south and east forks all receive great runs of both hatchery and native winter steelhead and the river often performs best when nearby rivers are running low and clear.
Steelhead on the Coquille
The fish on the south fork are both native and hatchery. Only hatchery may be retained; there is no native harvest. It receives one of the largest hatchery returns in the state and, because it’s a really small fork, big pushes of fish load up. It’s a great place to keep Steelhead. Averaging about 8 pounds, you'll have opportunity to land fish in the 20-pound range. Steelhead on the river generally run through the winter, starting in December and peaking in January and February. The most successful technique I've used for Steelhead on the Coquille is side drifting.
My Impression
I've been fishing the Coquille for more than 10 years. The big hatchery returns are what make this river experience exceptional for me. This is one of the largest hatchery Steelhead trout runs on the Oregon coast.
Resources
More about the Coquille River from Wikipedia.