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CLEAR Temp: 70 °F Wind: NW at 3 mph Monday, June 10, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend May 30, 2002 Fishing & Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Spring chinook salmon fishing has remained good but is getting more and more crowded throughout the upper Rogue, while the middle Rogue is slowing down and the lower Rogue continues to hold its own. Best bet for the Rogue this week is the stretch upstream of Rogue Elk Park, which sports the heaviest concentrations of spring chinook. However, it also is the top attraction for dozens of bank anglers each day. A back-up good bet is the Gold Ray Dam area, where the spring chinook have a tendency to bite better as they storm upstream toward Cole Rivers Hatchery. In the upper Rogue, boat anglers are consistently catching fish on roe and live sandshrimp (when available). Kwikfish colored chartreuse and silver or the red tiger stripe, in sizes No. 13, 14 and 15, have been productive as well. Most of the catches have come in the traditional holes, but boat anglers are also finding success in the migration lanes. That indicates how interested the springers are at staying on the move. Bank anglers are also doing well at the Slide Hole and the Hatchery Hole. The glow-in-the-dark corkies are best early in the morning and late in the evening, with combinations of chartreuse and pink beads and yarn also good. Weights of 1-2 ounces are most common. In the middle Rogue, there are fish all over the place and catches are fair at best for bank anglers at the two main spots — Rainie Falls and the flats downstream of Savage Rapids Dam. But the water is low and clear, making the fish less apt to bite than normal. Most of the middle Rogue guides are now working the upper stretch, and that’s an indication of the end of middle Rogue spring chinook fishing. The Gold Ray Dam area also has been fair to good for springers, with a few good days intermingled with slow fishing. Outflows at Lost Creek Lake are good for salmon fishing, with 2,408 cubic feet per second getting released Wednesday from Lost Creek dam. The water temperature is 50 degrees. Some late-run and spawned-out winter steelhead are still getting caught, but no one is targeting them and most of these fish are dark. The steelhead count through May 17 is 19,878 fish, which is a new all-time record for the upper Rogue. The spring chinook count is only 9,072, but that is deceiving because the fish-counting station was inoperable for five days earlier this month when chinook migration appeared to be very strong. Anglers can no longer keep any wild steelhead on the Rogue for the remainder of the year. Only fin-clipped hatchery steelhead may be kept as part of the three-fish daily limit. The spring chinook limit is two adults per day and five jacks, with no restriction on wild chinook harvest. The vast majority of the catch is of hatchery origin. Remember, there is no longer a hook-size rule in effect for the Rogue or other streams while steelhead or salmon fishing. You can now use any size hook, barbed or barbless, with bait. The Holy Water impoundment at the base of Lost Creek dam is fair to good for rainbow trout. The salmon fly hatch is starting, and fishing should be good with the salmon flies for the next few weeks. All trout in the impoundment must be released unharmed, and the waters are open only to fishing with traditional fly-angling gear. COOS/COQUILLE — Sturgeon are available in the tidewater sections of both river systems. Shad have yet to arrive, but should be there soon in good numbers. Striped perch and pile perch are biting well around docks and pilings. Both systems are now open to trout fishing. UMPQUA — In the main-stem Umpqua, spring chinook fishing is good with good water conditions and plenty of fish. Cooler water remains in the river, so smallmouth bass fishing has yet to pick up. Winter steelhead fishing in the North Umpqua remains fair in the all-gear and the fly-only sections, but most of the fish are dark. Spring chinook fishing downstream of the Rock Creek Hatchery also is good. The South Umpqua is re-open for trout fishing, but not winter steelhead. In Smith River, striped bass fishing is good in the lower section. There is a two-fish bag limit, 30-inch minimum size for striped bass. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — Trout fishing remains good, but the pace has slowed from earlier this month. More people are trolling than still-fishing, but either tactic is working equally well. For trollers, the best success is working worms, flies or small lures about 20 feet down. Still-fishermen have focused primarily on PowerBait, with chartreuse on cloudy days and orange or yellow on sunny days. The lake is slightly more than 60 percent full and is continuing to rise a few inches a day. The holdover trout are plentiful, but they likely are all about an inch smaller than most springs. Boat launching is open at the resort and Klum Island, but the water has not reached Grizzly Campground. The daily limit is five trout 8 inches or longer, with no more than one of them allowed to be more than 20 inches long. HYATT — The lake is still producing good catches of trout on bait and flies. Still-fishing with PowerBait colored chartreuse, orange or rainbow have been best for the trout, with lots of fish in the 18-20 inch range. For fly-fishermen, leeches or damsel fly nymphs fished slowly near the bottom have worked very well. The daily limit is five trout 8 inches or longer, with no more than one allowed to be more than 20 inches long. DIAMOND — The lake remains good to very good for the stocked lunker and legal-sized trout as well as the freshly stocked spring chinook salmon. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stocked 24,000 spring chinook salmon in the lake recently. These fish will run 8-10 inches long and should be easily available on worms, PowerBait and small spinners. Try trolling for them, and then cast or still-fish for them once you locate some chinook. They tend to swim in schools. The chinook count against your daily trout limit. The daily limit is five trout more than 8 inches long, but only one of them can be more than 20 inches long. LOST CREEK — The lake was stocked recently with 21,000 legal-sized rainbows and 1,000 "lunker" rainbows weighing about 1½ pounds. Half the fish were stocked at the Lost Creek Lake Marina at Stewart State Park, and the other half were released at the Takelma boat ramp near the dam. Fishing should be very good for these fish, either trolling near the marina or using a combination of bank angling and trolling near the dam. The lake was full and stable this week, with the surface temperature up to 61 degrees. Trout fishing is improving in the lake’s far upstream area, as more trout head toward the river for cooler water. Some of the trout are starting to show the white parasites, indicating warming water conditions. The smallmouth bass bite is improving, but most action is trolling or bank fishing for trout. Evenings has been very good. Angling access off the water intake tower, along the southeast corner of the dam and along the dam’s upper face are open again. 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. APPLEGATE — Trout fishing and smallmouth bass fishing are improving, but effort there remains light. Winter steelhead stocked in the lake from the Applegate River are heading into Carberry Creek and other upper reservoir tributaries, but they can be caught near the creek mouths. The creeks are closed to angling. The lake was full of water and stable. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife recently stocked the lake with 9,000 legal-sized trout and 800 1½ -pound "lunker" trout. The fish were stocked at Hart-Tish Park, where there is little bank access but excellent boat access. LAKE of the WOODS — Fishing for rainbow trout and brown trout continues to be good. To catch the brown trout, try trolling Rapala lures colored to look like the stocked coho or trout, while bait and streamer flies have been working well for rainbows. The lake is open for fishing 24 hours a day. WILLOW — Trout fishing is good on worms, PowerBait or small spinners. The lake was stocked last week with 3,125 legal-sized rainbows as well as 500 1½ -pound "lunker" trout. These fish will be actively feeding, and will be easy to catch on woolly buggers or leech flies. FISH — The lake is ice-free and was stocked last week with 500 more lunker trout weighing about 1½ pounds. These fish are ripe for anglers fishing small spinners, trolling worms and flies. EMIGRANT — Bass fishing is good, but the crappie bite has been very poor. Yellow perch are dominant in the lake, with some of them up to 10 inches. Trout fishing is good in the deeper water and near the creek mouths. Ocean Outlook The ocean salmon season for sport-anglers opened May 15 and was actually good last weekend as strong schools of spring chinook moved through. Most of the salmon were caught from the bell buoy out to the 6-mile area, and they were most commonly found 15-30 feet below the surface. Hoochies, anchovies and herring are the most common offerings. Bottomfishing has slowed down off the Southern Oregon coast, with decent catches of black and blue rockfish. The lingcod catches remain good, but they have been tapering off the past week. Anglers may keep one lingcod a day over 24 inches, with the maximum size restriction lifted. However, of the 10-fish rockfish limit, only one can be a canary rockfish. Crabbing continues to be fair in Coos Bay and lower Winchester Bay, while sturgeon fishing has improved in both waters as well. Red-tail surf perch fishing is good on the beaches and sand spits around the mouth of the Rogue, Elk and Winchuck rivers. Some large perch up to 3½ pounds have been reported this past week. Catch them on bright flies, clam necks or sandshrimp. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Spring turkey hunting has improved as the weather has become more mild, allowing for better calling of toms. Look for continued success on mild mornings when the toms are most active and responsive to calling. Good numbers of jakes and toms are reported, but the flocks are well scattered around the area. Good public lands hunting can be found in the Elk Creek drainage, the areas above Lost Creek Lake and the northern end of Sams Valley. The season closes Friday evening. KLAMATH — Cougar hunting has been slow despite lots of reported cougar sightings. Using predator calls will improve success. Coyote hunting remains good around agricultural areas and around big-game calving grounds. Remember to ask permission before entering private lands. Wild turkey numbers are low in Klamath County, with birds restricted to the southern portion of the Keno Unit. The season closes Friday. Squirrels are becoming active on warmer, sunny days. Best areas are in agricultural lands. Feral swine numbers are low, but there are reports of some pigs living in the Klamath River Canyon area just above Stateline. 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 — Now is an excellent time to observe the courtship displays of western and Clark’s grebes on Upper Klamath Lake. Spring migrant goose numbers are declining as birds continue north to arctic nesting grounds. The White Lake area provides excellent shorebird habitat, and you should see marbled godwit, long-billed curlew, several sandpiper species, avocets, black-necked stilts, and the normal assortment of ducks. Canada goose broods can be observed near most water bodies now. Some duck species like mallards and pintails are busy with courtship activities on breeding territories, while other species like lesser scaup and bufflehead are still in the migration mode. Good numbers of white pelicans and double-breasted cormorants can be found foraging for fish in area waters. Forester’s terns and Franklin’s gulls have been observed on the south end of Upper Klamath Lake. On sunny days, watch for western pond turtles basking on logs along Klamath River, Upper Klamath Lake and Lost River. SUMMER LAKE — Viewing opportunities remain good as spring migration continues. Nearly all arctic-nesting tundra swans and both snow and white-fronted geese have passed through the area. Some later migrant duck species such as American green-winged teal, Northern shoveler and Northern pintail still remain, but many species have passed through the area. Breeding duck species (gadwall, cinnamon teal and mallard) are very prevalent now, with most being paired and dispersed onto nesting territories. Early breeding species such as mallards are now nesting and broods could be detected at any time. Bald and golden eagles associated with migrant waterfowl have dispersed as well. Resident sandhill cranes are scattered throughout the area on breeding territories, and the occasional small flock of sub-adults or nonbreeders can be found on the wildlife area. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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