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Compromise reached in Rogue bait-fishing battle By Mark Freeman PORTLAND � Bait-fishing for summer steelhead will remain in the upper Rogue River � but in a limited venue � under new rules set Friday by Oregon fish managers looking to help more wild steelhead survive the popular sport fishery this fall and beyond. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a new, compromise version of its bait-ban rules for the upper Rogue and the Lower Rogue Canyon, retaining parts of the bans it passed in September but trimming some of the dates and locations for fishing with just flies and lures. Anglers can continue to use roe, worms or other legal bait while summer steelhead fishing in August along the entire upper Rogue, as well as during November and December in the top four miles of the river stretch upstream of Rogue Elk State Park near Trail. Commissioner Don Denman, a Medford attorney, called Friday�s decision "an obvious compromise" from the original ban for August, November and December throughout the entire 30-mile stretch of the upper Rogue upstream of Gold Ray Dam. The new version still gives steelhead anglers a chance to continue bait fishing where hatchery fish are highly congregated in the late fall, while steering bait anglers away from wild fish that commission members and others would rather see spared from biting a baited hook. "It allows bait-fishing, such that it is, on at least a part of the river while recognizing the fear of some people that wild fish are getting it stuck to them," Denman said. "It�s a good compromise." But Grants Pass tackle shop owner Jim Broman, who attended the meeting, called the compromise nothing but a token bone thrown to bait anglers who plan to file a lawsuit seeking to lift the bans. "We have an attorney grinding on it right now, but we needed to find out what we�d get from the commission before we can do anything," he said. Friday�s decision capped a 10-month process for deciding the role of bait in the upper Rogue and the Wild and Scenic Section of the lower Rogue, two of the river�s most popular and storied summer steelhead fishing areas. Some fly-fishing groups asked for bait bans in those areas to help more wild summer steelhead � a likely candidate for threatened species status by the National Marine Fisheries Service next month � survive sport-fishing and spawn. The ban is based on the notion that catching and releasing wild steelhead with bait causes more fish to die after release than those caught with flies and lures. While some hooking-mortality studies done throughout the West verify this, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists recommended against the bans in part because they believe the tighter rules would provide just token benefits for wild steelhead. Hundreds of bait anglers cried foul, arguing the bans would harm fishing success and scare anglers away from the upper Rogue for no biological reason. The commission went against the ODFW recommendation last September and voted in the bans for 2001, sparking protests from bait anglers who later succeeded in getting a rehearing by the commission and setting up Friday�s vote. "I feel the preservation of wild fish is worth the sacrifice we all have to make," said John MacDiarmid of the Rogue Fly Fishers Association and a supporter of the bans. "They will not catch as many fish as they would with bait, but it�s a sacrifice in the name of wild fish." Broman said his pending suit would ask a judge to set aside the bans and force the commission to follow the ODFW biologists� recommendations instead of what Broman called largely anecdotal testimony of bait-ban backers seeing wild steelhead killed after they were caught with bait and released. "You know what fishermen do when they tell stories," Broman said. "The commission has set guidelines for rules, and they didn�t follow them." The commission considers biological, social and other factors in setting its fishing regulations, said Denman, who declined to comment on a possible suit. In the Lower Rogue Canyon, bait will be banned throughout most of the 34-mile stretch during September and October to help protect "halfpounders," which are immature steelhead 12-16 inches long, from dying after getting caught and released with bait. But the commission shifted the ban�s upper boundary three miles downstream from Grave Creek to Whiskey Creek. That leaves bait an option at Rainie Falls, a popular hike-in destination for bank-anglers fishing for chinook salmon or steelhead. Friday�s vote was unanimous from the commission, which sets fish and wildlife policies for Oregon. While the commission�s decision left in place the current flies-only fishing season of Sept. 1 through Oct. 31 on the upper Rogue, it modified the season to allow barbed hooks. Adopted fishing rules Here are the fishing rules adopted Friday for the upper Rogue River and the Lower Rogue Canyon: UPPER ROGUE AUGUST � Bait-fishing allowed from Gold Ray Dam upstream to the current deadline downstream of Cole Rivers Hatchery. This is no change from the current rule. SEPT. 1-OCT. 31 � Fishing only with artificial flies, barbed or barbless, upstream of Gold Ray Dam. The old rule allowed only barbless flies. NOV. 1-DEC. 31 � Bait-fishing allowed upstream of Rogue Elk Park boat ramp to the deadline downstream of Cole Rivers Hatchery; fishing with flies and lures only from Rogue Elk Park downstream to Gold Ray Dam. Barbed hooks are allowed. LOWER ROGUE CANYON SEPT. 1-OCT. 31 � Fishing with flies and lures only from Foster Creek near Agness upstream to Whiskey Creek. Bait-fishing remains upstream of Whiskey Creek, including the Rainie Falls area. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.