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CLOUDY Temp: 40 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Saturday, December 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend November 21, 2002 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Summer steelhead angling will improve today as more recycled steelhead hit the upper Rogue, but catches have slowed for steelhead throughout most of the river. Coho fishing is slow, and some late-run fall chinook are in the lower Rogue, but they are generally dark and are in the main-stem river only a short time. The best bet for this weekend remains the far upper Rogue, where there are currently the best concentrations of summer steelhead. Fishing should be best from Dodge Bridge down to just below the TouVelle State Park boat ramp. The Modoc and TouVelle areas will get 750 recycled steelhead each today, and these fish will be caught relatively easily on flies and lures. From Rogue Elk downstream to Gold Ray Dam, fishing is allowed with flies and lures, but no bait — that includes the area where the recycled fish will be released today. Plugs like crayfish are good from boats. Bank anglers can try small stonefly nymphs, single egg flies or small spinners like Panther Martin and Roostertails (try red, pink and white). From the Hatchery Hole down to the Rogue Elk boat ramp, anglers can fish with roe, worms, plugs and flies for a good collection of hatchery steelhead present there. Roe cast in fast water is the best bet, because the bigger steelhead are in fast water eating washed-out salmon eggs. Egg flies also will work well, with plugs a good choice in long riffles or pocket water. Many anglers are concentrating their efforts from the Hatchery Hole downstream to Casey State Park. It’s a short stretch, but anglers are making a day of it by pulling out their driftboats at Casey Park and hauling them back upstream for multiple runs of the same water. Interest was higher among anglers earlier in the month, but reduced catches and colder weather have thinned out the crowds. The Hatchery Hole is also getting renewed interest among bank anglers who are catching a few steelhead a day there on roe. Flows out of Lost Creek Lake remain at 900 cubic feet per second, but Wednesday’s water temperature of 44 degrees is a 1-degree drop from last week. The cold flows are meant to help keep wild spring chinook eggs incubating on their natural schedule. The steelhead limit remains two adult fin-clipped steelhead a day. Anglers can legally fish for chinook salmon upstream of Gold Ray Dam, but not in the Rogue from Gold Ray Dam downstream to Hog Creek near Merlin. In the middle Rogue, steelhead fishing has tapered off, but there have been some decent catches on roe, pink plastic worms, single salmon egg flies or worms and corkies. Most of these fish are wild steelhead and must be released unharmed, and many are holding near creekmouths waiting for another freshet to draw them into spawning grounds. The Lower Rogue Canyon is slow for salmon, but bait-fishing for salmon and steelhead again is allowed. Fly-fishing for summer steelhead, primarily halfpounders, remains very good downstream of Blossom Bar, but catches should drop on flies when the water levels increase. Coho fishing is slow, despite large numbers of fish. Only fin-clipped coho may be kept as part of the limit of two salmon/steelhead a day. APPLEGATE — The river is closed to all salmon and steelhead fishing. However, anglers can still cast for trout, with a daily limit of two fin-clipped trout 8-16 inches long. CHETCO — The river was back to low and slow for fall chinook fishing, but it’s not slow enough to cause a closure again. The low and clear water has left the fish scattered in various holes, but they are not moving that much because of poor conditions. Catches Wednesday were very poor, and they should remain that way until the next rains show up. COOS/COQUILLE — Salmon fishing is tapering off in both the Coos and Coquille rivers, with lots of dark chinook. Trolling spinners and still-fishing with bobbers are effective. Several coho are being caught in Isthmus Slough, but only hatchery coho may be kept. ELK/SIXES — Low water conditions have returned to the streams, causing a lull in migration. The majority of fish are in tidewater, but the conditions have left it tough for angling. The Sixes has fewer fish in it now, but catches were fair in the Orchard Hole. Other nearby streams like the Pistol and Winchuck rivers also are low and not getting fresh fall chinook moving in. JOHN DAY — Steelhead are being caught in the lower river. Low water may limit boating access. The John Day River above Kimberly and all tributaries, including the North Fork, Middle Fork, and South Fork, have closed to all fishing. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake is closed. HYATT — The lake is closed. DIAMOND — The lake is closed. LOST CREEK — Fishing for rainbow trout is fair near the dam, with trolling a good bet now that the water has cooled. Bass fishing has slowed. The Takelma boat ramp is open for use, but the marina ramp is dry. Angling access off the water intake tower, along the southeast corner of the dam and along the dam’s upper face are open. 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. Angling is open year-round. APPLEGATE — Trout fishing is fair for those trolling points and coves, while the smallmouth bass bite remains fair near the dam’s face. Bass anglers are reminded that they cannot keep any bass between 12 inches and 15 inches, and just one bass longer than 15 inches can be part of the five-bass daily limit. The lake is open year-round. EMIGRANT — The lake level is low, and the trout are congregating in the deeper holes at the northern end of the reservoir. Bass fishing has slowed. The lake is open to angling year-round. Ocean Outlook Crabbing is very good in Coos and Winchester bays and improving as more crabs are getting harder shells after molting. Fresh water from recent rains have pushed the crabs toward the bottoms of each estuary. Beaches and ocean spits throughout most of Northern Oregon are closed to the harvest of clams and mussels because of unsafe levels of domoic acid. Any razor clams harvested on Clatsop Beach since Oct. 5 should be destroyed and not consumed. Only the adductor muscle meat should be eaten from scallops harvested from the Oregon Coast. Crab do not concentrate domoic acid in the meat and are not affected by this closure. Hunting Outlook GENERAL — The snipe season will close statewide Friday and will reopen Dec. 28. Blue and ruffed grouse seasons remain open in most of Eastern Oregon through Sunday and in the rest of the state through Jan. 5. Eastern Oregon hunters have until Nov. 30 to fill an unused general season black bear tag. In Western Oregon, hunters may hunt black bear with a general season tag through Dec. 31. Western Oregon’s Coast Valley bull elk season, a few Western Oregon controlled bull-elk seasons, and several controlled antlerless elk seasons close Friday. Also, the general archery season for antlerless elk in portions of northwestern Oregon and parts of the western Willamette Valley reopens Saturday and stays so until Dec. 8. General archery season for deer remains open in Western Oregon through Dec. 8 as well. Many controlled seasons for antlerless deer or antlerless elk will occur in the coming weeks. ROGUE — The muzzleloader season is over, and indications are that large numbers of hunters fared well in the Rogue Unit, with more cows taken than bulls. Late-season bowhunters are back in the woods of the Rogue and Evans Creek units, and they can expect improved success for migrating blacktails now that the migration is picking up. Recent high- elevation snows and a quick leaf drop from freezing temperatures have aided hunters. For coast-bull elk season hunters, the Chetco, Sixes and Powers units are all controlled seasons. The Applegate Unit, however, is a general season. The Siskiyou National Forest has officially removed the majority of road closures associated with the Biscuit Fire area of Josephine and Curry counties. However, the Burnt Ridge Road, also known as Forest Service Road No. 2308, and the Illinois Trail remain closed. Hunters working the edges of older clear-cuts away from primary roads should find the greatest numbers of mountain quail. The best opportunities are at middle elevations in the Cascades and at higher elevations in the Coast Range. Both blue and ruffed grouse numbers are excellent this year. However, birds are now becoming wise and more difficult to find, so explore secondary roads. The seasons end Jan. 5. The fall turkey season continues through Nov. 30. Good numbers of turkeys are located in many low-elevation areas, particularly around mixed forest areas sporting oaks, madrones and conifer. However, most birds are found on privately owned lowlands in Jackson and Josephine counties. Be sure to ask permission before hunting on private lands. Waterfowl hunting was slow, except in pockets of resident birds. UMPQUA — Archery hunters are reminded that the federally listed and protected Columbian white-tailed deer is found in the greater Roseburg area so be certain of your deer species. KLAMATH — Blue and ruffed grouse hunting should be good for both species, following good brood production this year. The Cascades offer the best opportunities. Look for blue grouse along ridgetops, while ruffed grouse can be found in riparian areas. Duck and goose hunting has been only fair because of lower than normal numbers of ducks now staging in the basin. Weather conditions will dictate hunting success, and migration of fresh birds into the basin has been slow. SUMMER LAKE — Prospects for waterfowl hunting remain only fair, but will improve if storm fronts and windy weather move through the region. Birds are dispersed widely throughout the hunt area and in refuges or sanctuaries. And, since temperatures are fairly mild, the need for intensive feeding flights by waterfowl is greatly reduced. The last weekly count done Nov. 13 found 16,600 ducks and 5,500 geese on the Summer Lake Wildlife Area, nearly the same as the previous week, and prospects for northern birds to reach the wildlife area are only fair. All hunters must fill out and have in their possession a daily hunting permit. Free permits are available, self serve, at the headquarters located about 1.2 miles south of the town of Summer Lake. Checkout is mandatory and can be accomplished by dropping off permits in checkout boxes located at each of the wildlife area's campgrounds, major access areas and at the ODFW office there. BAKER — Continued drought conditions leave forest and range land extremely dry, except at the higher elevations of the Elkhorn and Wallowa Mountains. Late-season bear hunters should concentrate on berry patches and fruit orchards. Cougar season closed Friday and will re-open Jan. 1 under a new quota. PRINEVILLE — Hunting has been fair for forest grouse at higher elevations on the heavier forested northern slopes of the Lookout Mountain and Paulina ranger districts. Chukar numbers in the district are low, with the best opportunities along BLM lands on the lower reaches of the Crooked and John Day rivers. Valley quail are the district's most numerous game bird and are most common along stream and wet areas at lower elevations. This includes private agricultural lands and intermixed BLM and Crooked River National Grassland. Hunters are reminded to have permission before hunting on private lands. 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 — Viewing opportunities remain good throughout the Klamath Basin. Fall migration is well under way with good numbers of migratory waterfowl staging in the basin. On Upper Klamath Lake, look for many species of ducks including lesser scaup, canvasback, mallard, and northern shoveler. Other species have already moved south, including white pelicans, great egrets, and black-crowned night herons. Now is a good time to get your bird feeders out. Be sure to periodically clean your feeders to reduce the spread of diseases. SUMMER LAKE — Viewing opportunities are only fair at this time due to game bird hunting seasons. Large numbers of migrant waterfowl are concentrated on the wildlife area, but most are restricted to refuge portions of the wildlife area that are closed to all entry. The Schoolhouse Lake viewing blind affords excellent opportunities to view large numbers of waterbirds. Most passerine species have departed, but fair numbers of migrants, especially sparrows, can be found at the wildlife area office, the rest area and at homestead sites where they are attracted to the tree and shrub cover found at those locations. 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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