Document text
43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, October 10, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 23, 2004 Fishing & Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Fall chinook salmon fishing continues to be very good in the middle Rogue as the season there winds down, while fresh pockets of fairly bright fish are still running through the Lower Rogue Canyon. The upper Rogue remains fairly good for summer steelhead, as lower but still warm water conditions make for excellent conditions for swinging flies through riffles. And the lower Rogue downstream of Agness remains a mix of summer steelhead, fall chinook and jack salmon. The lower Rogue bay also has seen a good spurt of salmon catches, and even some coho have headed upstream. The best bet remains the middle Rogue, where fall chinook fishermen are really getting into the fish thanks to the best water conditions of the season. Flows at Grants Pass were 1,363 cubic feet per second of 56-degree water. The cooler water is good for the bite. The lower flows also push the fish together and aggravate them, which makes fishing with Kwikfish fairly easy. Chinook fishing downstream of Hog Creek closes Oct. 1, so this is the last weekend for fishing most of the popular haunts around Grants Pass. Bank fishing is best near the mouth of the Applegate and Finley Bend, while great catches are coming for boat anglers in all their usual spots like Whitehorse Riffle, Indian Mary Park and Taylor Creek Canyon. Boat anglers are focusing exclusively on Kwikfish because the squawfish (now called pikeminnows) are thick there. In the upper Rogue, the early run of summer steelhead has slowed during the flies-only season, but the numbers of fish holding upstream of Gold Ray Dam remains very strong. Through Sept. 12 the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has logged 6,606 steelhead past the counting station. Less than 30 a day are moving through now, but those upstream fish remain fresh and aggressive biters. Outflows from Lost Creek Lake are down to 1,100 cubic feet per second to help ensure chinook salmon spawn in the main channel. The release temperatures also have dropped to 50 degrees. Red ants, tiger paws and silver Hiltons are traditional favorites and their effectiveness will start to wane as water-release temperatures drop in the next few weeks. Dusk is best, but mornings can be very good. Focus on riffles and tail-outs of pools. The lower Rogue has been a great mix of fishing. In the bay, four of the past eight days were very good for large fall chinook and cohos. A thick school of cohos entered the bay Tuesday, and they included a strong showing of wild coho that must be released unharmed. Advertisement Farther upstream to Agness, catches of cohos, chinook and summer steelhead all remain good. Halfpounder fishing is starting to improve and fly-fishing has been very good for halfpounders in the Lobster Creek area on up past Cougar Lane. Streamers fished on sink-tip of sinking lines is best. Bans on keeping more than one wild chinook are now off for the remainder of the year downstream of Gold Ray Dam when angling is allowed. Remember, all wild steelhead must be released unharmed for the remainder of the year. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. UMPQUA — Steelhead fishing is slow in the main-stem and fair in the North Umpqua. Catches are fair in the all-angling and flies-only sections of the North Umpqua. Smallmouth bass fishing remains good in the main-stem, while sturgeon fishing remains slow in tidewater. Fishing for coho is good in the bay. All wild coho must be released unharmed. COOS/COQUILLE — Chinook fishing has slowed a bit between the jetties in Coos Bay, with anchovies mooched off the bottom triggering the best catches. Chinook are also present in the lower Coquille, with trolling large spinners fair in tidewater. Sea-run cutthroat trout are also present in tidewater. Striped bass fishing is fair to good up to Johnson Mill Pond. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — Fall trout fishing is picking up, with this year’s stocked fingerlings showing up well in the catches. Morning trollers continue to focus on natural-colored lures, with Tasmanian Devils working best. Despite mid-August weather, good catches of 16-inch trout have been seen. Fish as deep as possible. Velveeta cheese and light colored PowerBait are the most productive baits, although a lot of people are picking fish up on red eggs. The limit remains five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches allowed. HYATT — The lake remains good for rainbow trout, with most catches in the 12-16 inch range. Fishing has been good with bait off and on all day, while trollers are doing best in the evenings. The limit remains five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches a day allowed. DIAMOND — Fishing is fair to good for stocked rainbows along the south end of the lake, with fish congregating near Silent and Short creeks. Early morning is good in the shallows, but the fish are going to 30-35 feet deep near the middle of the lake during the day. Trollers are still catching trout with red Needlefish or No. 5 Rapalas. The limit is five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches a day allowed. LOST CREEK — Bass fishing is good along the shorelines. Surface temperatures have dropped seven degrees down to 61 degrees, and that’s improving the trout catches. Trout fishing remains good with bait near freshwater sources and trolling is best around the marina and near the face of the dam, with mornings and evenings best. The lake is at its winter low for flood control. Remember, the waters upstream of Peyton Bridge are a no-wake zone, so it’s a good mid-day refuge from water-skiers. The lake is open year-round for trout and bass fishing, with trout anglers out-numbering bass anglers throughout the cold-weather months. APPLEGATE — Fishing for stocked chinook and rainbow trout around 12 inches long is good in the mornings and evenings. Bass fishing is good near the dam. Both boat ramps remain operational Anglers can keep up to five rainbow trout, stocked salmon or recycled winter steelhead a day, but only one fish can be more than 20 inches long. No bass between 12 inches and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. FISH — Trolling and still-fishing for trout remains good near the resort and the boat ramp, while fly-fishing is good in the evenings with woolly buggers and leeches. WILLOW — Fishing for bass remains good, and trout catches have improved. SELMAC — The lake remains closed to public access because of an outbreak of potentially toxic blue-green algae. Ocean Outlook Chinook salmon season resumes Oct. 1 off the mouth of the Chetco River. Anglers are banned from fishing for black rockfish, lingcod, greenling and cabezon, leaving surfperch and a few other species open. Tuna fishing remains slow. Crabbing remains slow. Shellfish harvest is open for all species except razor clams on the south and central coast. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Deer and elk bow seasons remain quiet locally, with bowhunters seeing a few bulls and there are some bugling. A few elk have been taken so far at high-elevation areas near clearcuts, but look for improved successes with cooler, overcast and slightly wet weather during the middle of this week. Blue and ruffed grouse hunting opened Wednesday, as did Mountain quail. Look for quail near high-elevation water sources. The September Canada goose season closed Friday evening. Lots of local birds are present, mostly around private lands. However, hunting geese is legal on the Rogue River outside of city limits, and hunters are asked to be careful about riverside homes when goose hunting. Bear hunters are in the midst of what is expected to be an average year throughout most of southwest Oregon. Hunters should concentrate their efforts in the berry patches in early morning and late afternoon. Bear numbers are good with the highest numbers at moderate to low elevations in the coast range, and with smaller populations in the Cascades. Successful bear hunters are reminded to turn in a bear tooth for the ongoing bear population study in southwest Oregon. Cougar hunters can expect an average year. Cougars are abundant throughout with indicators pointing to stable or increasing numbers and distribution. Hunting cougar is a challenge because these animals are very secretive, but harvest success is greatest adjacent to private land with high deer populations using a predator call. DOUGLAS — Bow hunters reported an average early season for deer and elk, with some activity at high elevations. Blue and ruffed grouse hunters can expect a better than average year, thanks to above-average production county- wide. Same with mountain quail. OCHOCO — Some antlerless elk hunts are ongoing on private lands. Archery hunters have seen improved hunting conditions from recent rains and cooler temperatures, with deer numbers slightly up and elk herds similar to last year. 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 on Whetstone Pond, just north of the ODFW office. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities