Where would you live in Oregon if saltwater fishing was your passion?

Hello,
My wife and I are planning on moving to Oregon this year.  We fell in love with your state when we dropped our son off at UO. I grew up fishing in Southern Cal and moved to Florida ten years ago. Even though Florida has epic fishing, it's just not for us.  My question is, what area would you move to if employment wasn't an issue?  Checking out a town for a day just doesn't cut it. I'd like to fish nearshore from the yak, and go offshore when the Albies are running.  Any suggestions?  We're still in our 40's and I keep hearing the coast is filled with older folks and a lack of amenities.  Should we just live inland and drive to the coast? Thanks in advance, I trust fishermen more than a realtor 

Definitely stay away from Coos Bay/ North Bend. The fishing is terrible here 

He's joking, but the fishing is generally good everywhere, unless you're targeting a specific species.  Coastal towns are a bit light on the culture, but the cost of housing in Portland is going up fast, especially close to downtown.  Your biggest challenge will be adjusting to the weather.  It rarely breaks 70 on the coast, and drizzles six months or more each year west of the cascades.  But it's quite green and beautiful.  How Urban do you need to be?

This area has amazing fishing. The lack of culture and night life is fine with me. All I do is fish. Salmon season is right around the corner. I move into a new place in a couple of weeks. I'll be able to launch from my backyard  to get to the salmon slaying grounds

Even though I live in Crescent City and do my fishing there, you should check out Brookings. It has a lot going for it and it's very nice.

I like the Tillamook bay "nuf said"

I fell in love with Oregon on my first trip here as an adult back in 1989. Still remember the great fishing on that 10 day tour, both in the rivers and culminating in catching big cabezon from the rocks in Sunset Bay State Park. Moved here in 1990; left in 2001 for work; moved back last year.

From just about anywhere in the Willamette Valley you can get to great coastal fishing in ~2 hours. Then again, if I didn't need to be near a major airport, I'd probably be on the coast between Coos Bay and Brookings.

Good luck! Let us know what you decide.

Dave

Thanks for the replies.  We were looking at the Medford/Ashland area and realized that's a haul to the coast.  We'll be looking at all the places suggested. One more question, does Brookings and the "banana belt" area noticeably have better weather?  Thanks again.

It is still a drive to get to anything fish-able (saltwater), but Eugene is rated as one of the safest cities to live in in the US.
It is not only rated safe, it is quite a nice place with lots of yuppy stuff to keep you occupied; you know great places to eat, hobbies, etc.
Google it, I think you'll find Eugene to be a nice place to set up home base.

I mentioned saltwater... when you Google Eugene, you'll find the summer run steelhead of the McKenzie, the Spring Chinook Salmon in the Willamette system as well as Bass in many of the lakes within a few miles of Eugene.

By the way, Eugene is the home of the Ducks football, basketball and track. Seems there are lots of people willing to brave the elements to be a part of the legacy that is called Eugene; it's worth a look.

P.s. several college kids fell of their bicyclers and drowned last year. Be careful of the rainy season. LOL!

Go Ducks!

I like Eugene a lot. Kind of a central point. You have siuslaw, Umpqua, alsea close for river systems.  Sunset bay,  depoe bay,  and Pacific city aren't too far.  Middle fork Willamette and Mckenzie in your back yard. And your within an hour of multiple lakes. I would say it really depends on the fishing your wanting to do. I'm not a big city person and I hate traffic lol so Portland is out for me. 

Brookings' weather is always better than Crescent City's. They call it the 'Chetco Effect' It get less wind too.

Yeah, if I didn't have to live in Portland I'd be in Brookings or Port Orford.

Definitely stay away from Coos Bay/ North Bend. The fishing is terrible here 

I would never live there! The fishing definately sucks! And there are sharks and killer whales always trying to eat you 

B-Ville!
 Brookings is a very nice section of the upper west coast, the weather, river and ocean fishing, wilderness hiking, seasonal mushroom picking, deer, elk and bear hunting(mountain lions too if you like to eat cat).
 That said....it is still a bit redneck here but most of those folks are old and dying off.
 The biggest complaint in this place seems to be the lack of good health care.
 We are predominately a retirement area for what seems to be mostly So-Cal folks.

The Rogue Valley has its charms, but after 40 years of dealing with the long drives either to Brookings or Bandon, well, we just settled in Salem (with a two-year hiatus near Bend). In just over an hour I can be in Pacific City, guessing just over 90 minutes to Tillamook Bay. If you do decide to buy on the coast, talk to the locals about where the fog zone ends. In places it is only a few miles from the beach and you'll have many more sunny days (and likely be protected from a tsunami).