Winchester Bay
Douglas County, 97467
More than one place claims to be the Salmon capitol of the world and Winchester Bay is one of those. The Salmon runs of course now are almost gone but the local charters make bottom fishing and whale watching trips which keeps the harbor active. Allen grew up in Douglas county along the banks of the South Umpqua river. The family would often travel to the ocean to fish, usually at Winchester Bay where the Umpqua river meets the Pacific ocean. That was in the 1950's and fish were available by the gunny sack full. They caught many different species but Tom Cod was the main attraction. Now the Tom Cod are gone from the area. The access road leads to parking lots close to the beach but in the 1950's hardy fishermen hiked from near the lighthouse out to the jetties, a distance of about a mile.