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CLOUDY Temp: 47 °F Wind: WSW at 3 mph Friday, April 18, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 6, 2003 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Winter steelhead fishing has remained fair recently throughout most of the Rogue, where a mix of fresh winter steelhead and spawned-out summer steelhead are getting caught from the upper Rogue all the way down to the estuary. The best bet remains the Grants Pass area, where good numbers of fish are present from Grave Creek all the way to town. Current catches are fair, with roe out-producing plugs. Some are also using spinners to mild success, and fishing plugs with side-planers from the bank has been poor. Most of the steelhead are 7-12 pounds. The catch is about 60 percent wild steelhead. Along the entire Rogue, anglers can now keep one adult wild steelhead over 24 inches as part of their two-fish daily limit, but no more than five a season. The wild winter steelhead harvest season runs through April. In the upper Rogue, a handful of winter steelhead are getting caught daily now on roe and flies, but the run so far is light over Gold Ray Dam and effort is small. There are fair amounts of spawned-out wild summer steelhead, and these fish should be released unharmed because their meat is poor and their edibility is suspect. Fly-fishing has been good because of low and clear water conditions, which are allowing fly-fishermen to get nymph and egg flies near the bottom. Look for the run to peak in early April in the upper Rogue this year, a bit later than normal because of the lingering low-water conditions. The first few schools of winter steelhead have crossed Gold Ray Dam, and angling for them is fair downstream of TouVelle State Park. Only 17 winter steelhead have been captured at Cole Rivers Hatchery as of Monday, so the fresh steelhead are not as spread out as they normally are for this time of year. Upper Rogue water conditions were very low Wednesday, with only 801 cubic feet per second of water out of Lost Creek Lake. That’s about as low a flow as you will see in winter, and it is less than half of what is flowing into the lake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is aggressively trying to fill the lake. Steelhead fishing from boats in the Agness area has been very good, with a combination of fresh winter steelhead and halfpounders keeping anglers there busy. Bait is out-fishing plugs or flies. This remains perhaps the most effective fishing location this week for the Rogue, but anglers have to take the long way via Highway 199 to Agness, and that’s a long trip. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, telephone 1-800-472-2434. Low out-flows from the lake also have made good conditions for midge fishing and leeches in the fly-angling-only area known as the "Holy Water." APPLEGATE — The river is low and clear throughout most of the system, but water releases from Applegate Lake are up to 171 cfs. The winter steelhead are primarily scattered among lower river riffles and pools, but they are spooky and difficult to hook. Spoons and flies are working best, primarily in fast water, where the winter steelhead feel most secure. If rains raise, color and warm the river, look for some excellent catches on both sides of Murphy Dam. Little Cleo’s, roe, watermelon corkies and worms are all best bets for the steelhead when water conditions improve. The fish this year are averaging 6-8 pounds. Fly-fishermen should use single-egg flies, Otis Bugs, Ugly Bugs and Prince nymphs. Most of the effort, and the fish, remain in the lower section downstream of Murphy Dam. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed. No fishing from floating devices is allowed. CHETCO — The river was in fair shape Wednesday and catches for winter steelhead remained fair, with a mix of spawned-out kelts and fresh fish. The Chetco usually gets a late run of wild fish, and these large steelhead should move in with the next rains. But bank anglers plunking with Spin-Glo’s were still doing well for winter steelhead, while driftboat traffic was light farther upstream. Roe and puffballs always out-produce plugs, so concentrate on drift-fishing from driftboats. Anglers may keep one wild winter steelhead a day, and up to five wild steelhead a year, under new bag limits. ILLINOIS — Winter steelhead fishing has slowed again on the Illinois thanks to low and cold flows, with action more on the lower section. The Illinois is open only to catch-and-release fishing, with only artificial flies and lures allowed. No bait is allowed. COOS/COQUILLE — Winter steelhead fishing was good on both systems and water conditions were fair. Coquille River anglers are focusing on catching winter steelhead in the North and South forks, with roe and plugs out-producing flies. ELK/SIXES — Both streams were in fair shape and fishing decently for winter steelhead. Catches have been a mix of fresh and dark steelhead, with bait out-fishing plugs in the high flows. Look for good fishing through the weekend or until water conditions drop and clear too much. Anglers can now keep one wild winter steelhead a day, and up to five a year, from the Elk and Sixes. UMPQUA — In the main-stem, steelhead angling is fair. Good numbers of fish are now in the river from the Forks to Scottsburg, with the most success coming from the Forks to Umpqua area. In the North Umpqua, winter steelhead fishing is fair in the all-angling section and slow in the fly-only section. The Amacher Park area has been reporting good catch numbers, mainly on bait. The South Umpqua is fair for winter steelhead. Fishing should continue to improve when water conditions allow. Sturgeon fishing is fair in tidewater. Lake Outlook LOST CREEK — Fishing for rainbow trout is fair near the dam, with trolling a good bet now that the water levels have increased and continue to hover in the 44-degree area, but recent sunny days should warm the water. The lake is rising slower from a lack of in-flow, and the reservoir was less than 23 feet from full Wednesday. No adult steelhead will be released into the lake this year over concerns about possibly contaminating lake water with viruses that could get into Cole Rivers Hatchery just downstream of the dam. The daily limit is five trout at least 8 inches long, but only one trout over 20 inches. For bass, the limit is five a day with no more than three over 15 inches long, but most bass fishing is catch and release. Angling is open year-round. APPLEGATE — Trout fishing is fair for those trolling points and coves, while the smallmouth bass bite remains fair near the dam’s face. Bass anglers are reminded that they cannot keep any bass between 12 inches and 15 inches, and just one bass longer than 15 inches can be part of the five-bass daily limit. No winter steelhead have been released yet into Applegate Lake. The lake is open year-round. EMIGRANT — Fishing has tapered off for the 3,500 adult summer steelhead transplanted last month into the lake, but some fish are still getting caught in Emigrant Creek. All adult steelhead stocked into the lake are legally considered trout and can be kept as part of the regular trout bag limit of five a day, but only one of those can be over 20 inches long. LAKE of the WOODS — The lake is unseasonably free of ice and open to angling, with light effort. Try trolling very slowly and very deep for the lake’s large brown trout. The lake is open year-round. The lake’s ice has disappeared and re-appeared three times since Christmas, and a cold snap could re-freeze it again. Ocean Outlook Ocean-fishing was good amid fairly acceptable ocean conditions. Crabbing was good at Coos Bay and Winchester Bay, where river levels have remained high but bay salinity has held stable. The daily limit is 12 male crabs. Hunting Outlook GENERAL — Hunting opportunities are starting to get limited now that the main big-game, upland game-bird and waterfowl seasons are over. The season for common snipe closed Sunday statewide. The crow season closed through Friday statewide. Chukar, Hungarian partridge and California quail seasons all closed. Northwest Oregon goose hunters should check the regulations for open areas and take note that goose hunting on Sauvie Island is closed for the season. The 2003 general cougar season is open statewide for those hunters with a 2003 hunting license and cougar tag. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reminds hunters and anglers to buy their 2003 license and tags before making plans to go afield. ROGUE — Duck and goose seasons are over, so there is very little hunting activity now in Jackson and Josephine counties. However, there are some antlerless elk hunts in the Evans Creek and Rogue foothills through March, with small numbers of tags already allocated through the controlled-hunt drawing process last summer. Cougars are secretive and difficult to hunt, but numbers are high in southwestern Oregon. The best method of finding cougars is by predator calls in areas with good deer numbers. UMPQUA — Duck and goose hunting was fair before the season closed last weekend. There remains some limited-entry hunting for antlerless elk throughout Douglas County, but tag numbers are limited and they were all allocated through last summer’s limited-entry draw. BAKER — Cougar season in the Blue Mountain Zone is open. Cougar numbers appear to be increasing, and hunters should look for animals where deer and elk are congregating on winter range. Coyotes are abundant. Be sure to ask permission to hunt on private properties. KLAMATH — Cougar-hunting conditions are improving with more typical winter weather. A few cougars have been taken in the county. A combination of snow tracking and predator calling are the best methods to employ. Most furbearer seasons are under way. Consult ODFW’s "Furbearer and Hunting Regulations" for details. Bobcat and river otter must be checked in at ODFW offices. Watchable Wildlife ROGUE — A covered viewing station on the Denman Wildlife Area provides a good opportunity to view waterfowl, egrets, raptors and songbirds. The structure was built by the Oregon Hunters Association and is accessed by a paved, wheelchair-accessible pathway. It is located on Whetstone Pond, just north of the ODFW office. KLAMATH — Viewing opportunities remain good throughout the Klamath Basin. A fair number of tundra swans still remain. Be sure to look for any trumpeter swans, which are larger than the tundra swans. More winter weather should improve viewing for bald eagles as they congregate in the Klamath Basin, most notably in the state line area near the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Fair numbers of rough-legged hawks can be viewed in pastures and fields hunting for rodents. SUMMER LAKE — Since most game bird hunting seasons are closed, many species will be easier to view. Fair numbers of wintering waterfowl are scattered throughout the Summer Lake Wildlife Area now, and early breeding species such as Canada geese and mallards are beginning to pair up and search for territories. Most passerine species have departed, but a few wintering species, especially song sparrows and marsh wrens, can be found throughout the marsh in tall emergent vegetation. Sparrows and other passerines can be found at wildlife area headquarters, the rest area and at homestead sites where they are attracted to the tree and shrub cover found at those locations. The major dike roads (Bullgate, Windbreak and Work roads) and the tour loop are now open to motor vehicle traffic and will remain that way until March 15, when they are closed to reduce disturbance to nesting and migrant waterbirds. NORTH COAST — Elk are on Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area consistently during daylight hours, especially morning and evening. Several different herds occupy the various parts of the area, with the herd of larger bulls generally in the westernmost portion. Gray whales are migrating south along the Oregon Coast from their summering grounds off Alaska to Baja, California, where they winter. Whales can be seen from prominent coastal heads such as Cascade Head, Cape Lookout, Cape Meares and Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain. 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