Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW UCC victims included teacher, teens and adults seeking new starts ... Donors sought as field project deadline looms ... UPDATED: Names of UCC shooting victims released ... UCC victims included teacher, teens and adults seeking new starts ... Donors sought as field project deadline looms ... UPDATED: Names of UCC shooting victims released ... Fishing Report: Jan. 9, 2015 Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jan. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Jan. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News OCEAN OUTLOOK COASTWIDE: Relatively light winds and pretty calm surf await anglers looking to hit near-shore reefs for black rockfish and lingcod. Five-knot winds are forecast for today and Saturday, building to 10 knots Sunday, while swells will range from 3 to 7 feet. The ocean crabbing season is open and Dungeness catches off bay mouths should be very good now that the freshwater flows have ebbed during the recent dry spell. Dungeness will be spread out in larger estuaries and off bay mouths. Anglers can venture past the 30-fathom line for bottomfishing, but few will bother, as near-shore fishing is good for black rockfish and the occasional lingcod, which start to move toward shore now. The marine aggregate limit in Oregon is seven rockfish a day. The lingcod limit is two a day with a 22-inch minimum, and that is separate from the marine aggregate. The bay crabbing season so far has seen improved catches of Dungeness with great meat levels. Razor clamming is closed from the California border to Heceta Head near Florence because of elevated bacteria levels. There are no afternoon minus tides this week. Mussel harvest is open along the entire Oregon Coast. Call the state shellfish hotline at 1-800-448-2474 for updates before digging. COOS BAY: Black rockfish catches have been improving daily as salinity and visibility are improving. Fishing is best near the mouth during slack tides. Crabbing has improved as the high freshwater levels in the bay have subsided. Many red rock crabs in the Charleston area have been tagged as part of a study. Anyone who catches one is urged to call state fish biologists at 541-888-5515. BROOKINGS: Look for some near-shore action for black and blue rockfish as well as early lingcod. Some of the best lingcod fishing can come on calm winter days with larger jigs. GOLD BEACH: Surfperch fishing is slow. LAKE OUTLOOK AGATE: The lake is up to 31 percent full, and the boat ramp is now usable, but it's still so murky that it's unfishable. The Jackson County Parks Department closes access at dusk. APPLEGATE: The lake has slowed for holdover rainbow trout 10 to 14 inches long. The water level was at 1,887 feet above sea level Thursday. Prospect for trout by trolling Wedding Ring lures spiced with worms between 30 and 45 feet deep. Hart-Tish Park and its boat ramp are closed, and the ramp at Copper is no longer usable. That leaves only the French Gulch ramp for launching. Bass fishing is slow. Applegate Lake has a standing advisory against eating too many portions of warmwater fish because of elevated mercury levels found in the bass and crappie. DIAMOND: The lake froze over during the New Year's week but recent warm weather has mushed up the ice to a point where it was not safe to fish. When it hardens, look for jigs, PowerBait and worms fished a few feet under the ice for rainbows. The limit is eight trout longer than 8 inches per day, but only one can be longer than 20 inches. EMIGRANT: The county park boat ramps are usable. The lake has increased to 25 percent full. Effort is very light. Driving on the lake bed is illegal. FISH: The lake has inched up to 42 percent full, and the ice isn't quite thick enough for safety. When it gets thicker, look for catches of rainbow trout and chinook with worms, PowerBait or jigs. Tiger trout must be released unharmed. Chinook are legally considered trout here and can be kept as part of the five-trout daily limit. The chinook are in 12- to 14-inch range. HOWARD PRAIRIE: The lake is closed to angling until April 25. HYATT: The lake is closed to angling until April 25. LOST CREEK: The lake remains under a voluntary public advisory against water contact due to a new bloom of blue-green algae that has chased anglers off the lake. When the public-health advisory is lifted, look for good trolling for holdover trout upstream of Peyton Bridge and near the spillway access area. The lake level had dropped to 1,821 feet above sea level Thursday, with outflows of about 1,800 cfs. That leaves the marina boat ramp usable again for trailered boats. LAKE OF THE WOODS: Fishing effort is very light, as most anglers are waiting for the lake's surface ice to harden more after some recent warm days. Look for a mix of rainbows and kokanee near the resort. WILLOW: Fishing from the bank with PowerBait or worms has been fair around the resort and directly across from the county boat ramp, but there is very little effort. The lake is over half-full, the highest of any irrigation reservoir in Jackson County. RIVER OUTLOOK ROGUE: Dropping flows following end-of-the-year rains have winter steelhead spread throughout the Rogue, which is very early for that to happen. But the lower you go the better the action, making the lower Rogue the best bet for winter steelhead fishing at least until the end of next week, when some rains are forecast to develop and swell the Rogue some more. Flows in the Agness area are at 4,534 cubic feet per second, which is good for both bankies plunking off gravel bars and boat anglers either side-drifting roe or fishing plugs. For plunkers, the No. 2-sized Spin-Glo's are the ticket, with pink/pearl, brown trout and tequila sunrise the top producers. The Cop Car Hot Shot is hot, as are gold-green combinations and Mag Lip 3.5 plugs with red heads. The middle Rogue is seeing a snippet of fresh winter steelhead from the mouth of the Applegate River on down, with plugs out-producing side-drifters in action that's not yet hot. Flows at Grants Pass were at 2,900 cfs Thursday and will hold steady into next week. Higher and slightly warmer water will jump-start the action. In the upper Rogue, flows Thursday at Dodge Bridge were at 2,271 cfs and likely will hold steady into next week. Not much winter steelhead action in the upper Rogue, but that could change. Cole Rivers Hatchery already has collected 11 bonafide winter steelhead, so they're there. Side-drifting roe, Kwikfish or Mag Lip 3.0 plugs will all work, and bait fishing is now open river-wide. Fly-fishing will improve when more steelhead show up and the water warms a bit. CHETCO — The river was down to 1,040 cfs Thursday, with the low and cold conditions not forecast to improve until at least mid-week next week. COOS — The wild coho season is closed in the basin. ELK/SIXES — The Elk and Sixes were both low, cold and brutal for winter steelhead fishing this week. Call 1-541-332-0405 for updated conditions before traveling to the Elk. After freshets, the Sixes generally pulls into shape shortly after the Elk does. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jan. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501