Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend May 4, 2006 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — The Rogue remains a river in flux as spring chinook are slow to replace winter steelhead as the target of choice on the Rogue. The best bet appears to be spring chinook salmon in the lower Rogue, but more out of default than anything. The upper Rogue is awash with late winter steelhead, and the majority of them have already spawned and are heading downstream. Only catch-and-release fishing is allowed for wild steelhead now, and these fish should be avoided if possible. That leaves the lower Rogue, where hit-and-miss spring chinook fishing has occurred this past week. Catches were good at the old mill site 4 miles up from Gold Beach on Tuesday, after a large school of springers moved into the bay Monday evening. Those salmon are on the move and were upstream of Lobster Creek on Wednesday. Lower Rogue springers are caught mainly from anchored boats with spinning anchovies bounded behind them. In-coming tides have been best. The middle Rogue has been slow for springers, with a few caught daily downstream of Savage Rapids Dam on corkies and beads. Other bank-fishing spots have been slow and boat fishing for springers has remained slow. However, a large contingent of springers is reportedly moving through the Wild and Scenic section and should be showing up at Rainie Falls any day now. In the upper Rogue, the early-run spring chinook numbers are very low. Just 178 spring chinook over Gold Ray Dam as of Tuesday, and only four have reached Cole Rivers Hatchery. Advertisement Also, higher flows in the upper Rogue should help draw more fish upstream. Releases from Lost Creek Lake were up to 3,170 cubic feet per second Wednesday, helping boost flows at Gold Ray Dam to almost 4,600 cfs and flows of 5,000 cfs at Grants Pass. The Lost Creek Lake releases are of 48-degree water, but the flows generally have warmed up by the time they pass Grants Pass, and that will help boost migration. For spring chinook, the limit is two chinook a day, but the wild chinook limit now is one per day and no more than three per year. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. UMPQUA — Sturgeon fishing remains very good in the estuary for oversized fish that all must be released unharmed. Also, striped bass fishing has started to heat up in the lower river as well. The main-stem river remains spotty for spring chinook salmon, with the most action coming between Scotts Creek to Scottsburg Park. The wild winter steelhead harvest in the main-stem Umpqua ends Sunday night. The South Umpqua is closed to steelhead fishing. On the North Umpqua, where late-run winter steelhead have slowed due to cold water conditions. COOS — The river closed to steelhead fishing Sunday. A few striped bass have been caught recently, and shad fishing has yet to take off. The Charleston boat ramp is now open in the lower end of Coos Bay. COQUILLE — The winter steelhead season is over. A few striped bass have been reported in the Prospect area, but catches and effort have been light. KLAMATH RIVER — Fishing for native redband trout has improved on flies and lures. River fishing from Keno Dam downstream to Topsy Reservoir is very slow due to high flows. Angling in the cold water reach from J.C. Boyle Dam to the powerhouse is fair for small redband trout, most of which are under 12 inches. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake’s water temperature is up to 43 degrees but trout fishing remains very slow. Trolling is best, with anglers doing best in the flats north of Grizzly Campground. The feeding trout are mostly in waters around 7 feet deep. Needlefish and black Panther Martins are popular. Still fishing is best with worms or PowerBait, but catches have been slow. The cold water also has nixed early bass fishing. The lake’s limit remains five trout over 8 inches long per day, but only one of those trout can be over 20 inches long. HYATT — The lake is ice-free and full, but fishing has been slow due to cold water. A few trollers are working the shallows around the lake, but effort has remained light. Hyatt Lake normally heats up by mid-May for trolling, with evening trolling of Needlefish or Tasmanian Devils a good bet. The lake’s limit remains five trout over 8 inches long per day, but only one of those trout can be over 20 inches long. DIAMOND — The lake remains under about a foot of ice and likely not open for at least a week. The lake’s limit remains five trout over 8 inches long per day, but only one of those trout can be over 20 inches long. On May 13, the size limit disappears and the catch limit will be 20 trout a day. LOST CREEK — The lake remains about two feet from full as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is spilling a hair more water than is flowing into the lake. The surface temperature has jumped to 56 degrees, which has made trolling for trout good near the dam and marina. The water is still a little cold coming in to fish at the upper end of the lake. Smallmouth bass fishing is improving and is good now in the shallows, and look for bass fishing to improve with every warm day. No salmon flies reported yet. EMIGRANT — Fishing is slow in the reservoir for warmwater fish because of cold and murky conditions, generally from continued high flows into the reservoir. The lake is full. Trout fishing has picked up a bit in the lower reaches of the reservoir. Mercury levels in smallmouth bass have created a warning against eating anything but the lake’s trout. APPLEGATE — Trout fishing has heated up on both legal and lunker rainbow trout stocked this spring. Trolling, still-fishing with worms or PowerBait is good around the dam and the intake tower, while trollers are doing well with worms or lures. Bass and panfish fishing is improving as well amid increasingly warm days. The lake is less than three feet from full, which means the Seattle Bar area will be a good weekend option for still-fishing, casting of small lures and fly-fishing from float tubes. The Hart- Tish boat ramp and store are open. 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. Also, no bass between 12 and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. WILLOW — The lake is ice-free and recently stocked with legal-sized and lunker-sized rainbow trout. The boat ramp and store are open and trout catches have been very good for trollers. Crappie fishing is also starting to heat up. ALL SPORTS POND — The pond was stocked recently with larger-than-normal rainbow trout, and fishing has remained good with worms and bobbers or PowerBait along the bottom. WHETSTONE — The pond at the Denman Wildlife Area was stocked again recently with legal-sized trout for last week’s kids derby. Adults and kids can fish the pond. Catch these trout with worms, small spinners and PowerBait. SELMAC — The lake near Selma was stocked recently with larger-than-normal rainbow trout, and catches were still good with worms or rainbow-colored PowerBait. KLAMATH/ AGENCY LAKES — Fishing for large redband trout is slow. Bank anglers around the south end of the lake and Algoma pond are using dead minnows and are starting to catch redband up to 9 pounds. Ocean Outlook Razor clam harvest remains closed along South Coast beaches. The ocean chinook salmon season for recreational anglers opens May 15 in the Klamath Management Zone, with a two-chinook daily limit. Crabbing has been very good in South Coast bays thanks to better salinity levels dragging the Dungeness inside. Lingcod fishing is excellent throughout the coast. Red tail perch and even lingcod are getting caught off the beach near Gold Beach as these species move closer to shore. The new aggregate limit is six marine rockfish a day. Hunting Outlook JACKSON/JOSEPHINE — The spring turkey season has been good over the past week, but the birds are starting to get less talkative. Weather conditions should remain very favorable through the weekend. The birds are most active right at dawn. Cougar hunters can expect an average year and will find greatest success using a predator call in areas that have good deer numbers. When snowfall occurs, hunters should look for fresh cougar tracks and pursue. Good cougar hunting opportunities exist throughout southwest Oregon. 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. CURRY — Aleutian Canada geese are passing along the coast toward wintering grounds in Northern California. Look for them around Cape Blanco. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s