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48 °F 5 Day Forecast Friday, November 28, 2003 --> Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend October 23, 2003 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Fall chinook salmon fishing has slowed in the lower Rogue, and many fishermen have fled the bay despite a decent number of late-run fish remaining. The coho have yet to show in the lower Rogue, making them late for the second straight year. And steelhead fishing is kicking into gear in the middle Rogue, while holding its own in the upper Rogue. The best bet of the week is steelhead fishing in the Grants Pass area, where large numbers of large fish are stacking up in riffles downstream of spawning salmon. Since these fish are targeting the eggs laid by fall chinook, some form of eggs are necessary to catch them. Fly-fishing can be best with Glo-bug or single salmon egg patterns, either fished with floating lines with conventional fly gear or under bobbers cast with spinning rods. Some of the fish will hold in shallow waters best in the early morning and evening, and moving water at least 3 feet deep can be good bets for mid-day catches. The area on the upper end of Griffin Park is one of the best. Just make sure you wade in shallow water and avoid stepping into the redds. The steelhead aren’t in the redds, they’re downstream of them. In the upper Rogue, low and cold flows mean a tough go for late-season angling during the flies-only season, which runs through Halloween. Use heavy sink-tip lines (but no lead core) and swing those flies along the bottom. Lots of hatchery fish in the 8-10 pound range have been reported this year. Nymphing with Ugly Bugs and Prince Nymphs is good, with the single-egg fly also working well for those fishing behind spawning salmon. Remember, it is illegal to angle for salmon upstream of Hog Creek, so even catch-and-release fishing for chinook is illegal as well as unethical. There are more than 10,000 summer steelhead over Gold Ray Dam, which is a great number. Catches are best in the lower section, where the water is warmer and the fish more lively. Advertisement Water releases from Lost Creek Lake remain at 900 cubic feet per second to corral fall chinook into the river’s main channels for spawning. The flows are expected to hold through October. In the lower Rogue, only a handful of boats are working the bay, but they are catching late-run fall chinook. Others are camped out near the mouth of Indian Creek targeting fall chinook returning to the small hatchery there. Farther upstream, fishing for fall chinook downstream of Agness is good, but most of the fish are dark. Anglers can keep just one chinook a day downstream of the Illinois River, plus an extra fin-clipped coho. All wild coho must be released unharmed. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. Anglers can no longer keep any wild steelhead as part of their two-fish bag limit. APPLEGATE RIVER — The river is loaded with spawning fall chinook, and there are some summer steelhead feeding on eggs in the lower section of the river. Use single-egg flies or very small clusters of eggs. The chinook are completely off-limits to any angling effort, including catch-and-release fishing. Some fly-fishing and bait-fishing for juvenile wild steelhead is available. All wild steelhead and all cutthroat trout must be released unharmed. Water releases are holding steady at 270 cubic feet per second. The river is open to angling downstream of the deadline below Applegate Dam. While the river is open to trout fishing, anglers cannot target any summer steelhead in the system. The limit is two adipose fin-clipped trout per day, 8 inch minimum length, downstream from the Applegate Dam. UMPQUA — Fair catches of fall chinook as well as early coho are occurring in the main-stem river. The coho remain primarily in the Scottsburg area. Only fin-clipped coho may be kept. Summer steelhead fishing is good in the North Umpqua, where cooler water temperatures have the fish more active. Fishing is good in both the flies-only and bait sections. The South Umpqua is closed until Nov. 15 to all angling. ELK/SIXES — The rivers have been low and relatively devoid of fall chinook, but Wednesday’s rains could raise the rivers enough for the early run of jacks that precedes the main run. Focus on tidewater areas west of Highway 101 with anchovies or flies. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — Late-season fishing is good for trout, which are moving into more shallow waters and are more active during the day. Trolling remains good, with Triple Teasers and Wedding Rings getting good action. Fly-fishermen using leech or woolly bugger patterns also are doing well. Fish deeper as the day goes on, with mid-day catches sometimes very good during cooler days. This year's planted fish are ranging up around 7 to 9 inches and the older fish from 13 inches to 19 inches. The smaller fish make up the lion's share of the catch. Bass fishing continues to be good, with worms and jigs best. The limit is five trout over 8 inches a day, with only one of them allowed to be more than 20 inches. The lake closes to angling Oct. 31. HYATT — Cooler water has improved the trout bite, despite few people taking advantage of it. Needlefish remain the top producers for trollers, but still-fishing with PowerBait is best just off the weed lines and near stumps along the lake’s shore. Catches are best at dawn and dusk by anglers using rainbow PowerBait in 15-18 feet of water off the weed lines. Bass fishing remains very good with plastic worms or grubs right along the weed lines and lily pads. The limit remains five trout more than 8 inches long, with only one of them allowed to be more than 20 inches long. The lake is open through Oct. 31. DIAMOND — What few trout anglers remain are doing well in the lake’s south end, where they are finding rainbows and stocked chinook salmon near the weed lines and creek mouths. The fish can get very active in late October, but the shallow lake can be rough in the afternoons when winds can kick up. Most catches are coming on PowerBait fished off the bottom, and trolling is less effective. For trollers, use flashers and a worm as well as Needlefish or silver-bodied Rapalas. The limit remains five trout more than 8 inches long, with only one of them allowed to be more than 20 inches long. No swimming, wading or water-quality contact restrictions are in place. The lake is open to angling through Oct. 31. LOST CREEK — Trout anglers are primarily still working the Takelma Ramp area for the remnants of the trophy rainbow stocking last month are still milling around near the dam, and trollers are catching them with worms, Triple Teasers or Tasmanian Devils. 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 — Few people are fishing for rainbow trout or bass, but good smallmouth fishing can be had on calm days near the dam. Worms, small crankbaits and grubs all work. Trolling for stocked coho is slow. EMIGRANT — Evening fishing for bullhead catfish is slowing down with the cooling of the water. Trout fishing in the lower sections of the lake is good from the bank or wind- drifting worms off the bottom. Ocean Outlook The offshore salmon seasons are closed for the year off Southern Oregon, and bottomfishing remains good when weather conditions allow for crossing the bar. Rains on Wednesday brought lumpy seas to the south coast. Jigging for black and blue rockfish has been very good on calm days. Ocean beaches and bays north of Tillamook Head are open to razor clamming because recent testing showed domoic acid levels to be in the safe zone. Ocean beaches south of Tillamook Head remain closed to the harvest of clams due to the continuing presence of domoic acid along the central coast and PSP along the south coast. Mussel harvest is allowed from ocean beaches between Tillamook Head and Coos Bay. Bay clamming between Tillamook Head and the California border is open for all clam and mussel species, except razor clams. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Wednesday’s storm front should create a boost for late-season elk hunters, who have until Friday evening to get their bull. Hunting in the Union Creek area has been good, with a decent number of bulls shot in higher elevations. Get away from the roads. The elk are moving around quite a bit now, thanks to five days of hunting and some cooler weather. Deer hunters should benefit from the storm front, which will get blacktails migrating from summer range. Focus on game trails or bedding areas near them when the blacktail season re-opens Saturday for rifle hunters. The Green-Dot Road Closure is again in effect through Friday’s end of general-season elk hunting. Bears are starting to move toward the valley floor, and most bears are taken by deer or elk hunters who carry a bear tag. General-season bear tags can no longer be bought for this year. Good hunting for quail is expected after a good hatch of upland game birds this year. Mountain quail as well as ruffed and blue grouse seasons are open, and the California quail and pheasant seasons are not open Saturday. The fee-pheasant hunt is over at the Denman Wildlife Area, but some hold-over birds can be flushed during the current regular pheasant season. APPLEGATE — Early season success has been slow amid tough hunting conditions and thick brush. Buck ratios remain good and success should improve as the season progresses. Buck hunting should improve during recent cold and damp weather. The deer will be migrating now out of high-elevation summer range. KLAMATH — Waterfowl seasons have been good early for resident birds. If the storm front continues over the Cascades, look for good resident bird hunting over the weekend. 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. SUMMER LAKE — Viewing opportunities remain very good because of the increased activity of fall migrants and post-breeding dispersal. Waterfowl are staging in good numbers now, but are difficult to identify due to being in the eclipse plumage. The molt into the breeding plumage is occurring and some drakes are becoming very colorful. Canada geese are dispersed throughout the wildlife area, and their use of recently hayed and re-flooded meadows will afford excellent viewing opportunities along Highway 31. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! 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