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83 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, July 24, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds 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 Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 22, 2004 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — A good mix of spring chinook and summer steelhead remain present in the upper river, while the middle Rogue is starting to pick up for steelhead and the lower Rogue has been somewhat poor for a mix of late-run spring chinook and early fall chinook present daily in the bay. The weekend’s best bet remains a you pick-’em, but just make sure your first choice is the upper Rogue. Anglers tired of chasing springers can float anywhere in the upper Rogue and target summer steelhead with everything from flies to bait and plugs. Those still with a taste for salmon can try anywhere in the upper Rogue, which is getting a fresh shot of late-run chinook. The upper Rogue is the most intriguing picture right now, with more than 31,000 spring chinook and almost 2,500 summer steelhead counted over Gold Ray Dam as of July 7. That’s the last count available from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Roe is out-fishing plugs for boat anglers who are starting to battle water weeds farther and farther upstream. Plug fishing is occasionally very good. At the Hatchery Hole, catches have been excellent early in the morning as large schools of fish are stacked up there awaiting entry into the hatchery collection pond. As of July 16, 11,405 spring chinook had made it into the hatchery and hundreds are entering the collection ponds daily. In the middle Rogue, steelhead fishing is fair to occasionally good around Grave Creek and in the Gold Hill area. Anglers are ambushing schools of steelhead headed for the upper river. Salmon fishing is slow due to low- and warm-water conditions. Advertisement The daily limits of one wild spring chinook and up to three a year have been lifted on the Rogue upstream to Gold Ray Dam, but the limit remains in place for the upper Rogue through the end of the spring chinook season July 31. Outflows have steadied this past week from Lost Creek Lake, with about 1,700 cubic feet per second getting released. The flows should remain steady until the "spike" of water in August to help draw fall chinook through the canyon. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call (800)472-2434. In the lower Rogue, a good salmon bite has given way the past few days to poor catches. The problem likely is the rough surf conditions that appear to be keeping the salmon from coming in on the incoming tides. When surf conditions subside, look for good catches of late-run springers and early fall chinook with anchovies, but spinners are starting to work well. The boat traffic is up to about 50 boats a day, but look for the bay to balloon with more than 300 trolling boats by August. Remember, all wild steelhead must be released unharmed for the remainder of the year. The far upper Rogue near Union Creek is getting stocked weekly with legal-sized rainbow trout, and catches of these fish are good on small lures, single salmon eggs, worms and flies. UMPQUA — Shad fishing has tapered off in the main-stem near Elkton, but smallmouth bass fishing remains excellent in the South Umpqua and main-stem from Scottsburg on up. Chinook fishing is starting to pick up again in the lower river as the first few waves of fall chinook move in. Sturgeon fishing is fair. APPLEGATE RIVER — The river is open to angling for rainbow trout and cutthroat trout, and fishing is fair to good with flies and small pieces of bait. All wild fish must be released unharmed. Some fly-fishing can be good in the evenings. Anglers may not target any steelhead in the Applegate until January. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The morning trollers continue to focus on natural colored lures, with Tasmanian Devils working best. Trollers are faring best when the start in the 20-25 foot range early in the morning, then go deeper as the day lengthens. Worms behind flashers work well in the late afternoon. Best locations are the whole east shoreline from the resort marina to the dam, the west shore line from the end of the jetty to Redrock and then onto Willow point, and around in front of the dam and Klum Landing are all producing fish. Afternoon catches are good in the middle of the lake, right at the bottom. The limit remains five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches allowed. Velveeta cheese and light colored PowerBait are the most productive baits, although a lot of people are picking fish up on red eggs. HYATT — The lake remains good for rainbow trout and some bass fishing, with good still-fishing successes coming very early in the morning and at dusk. Try a slow troll near the stumps. The warmer, shallower inlets are loaded with small largemouth bass easily taken on worms or small lures. Still-fishing with PowerBait will be best for trout, while worms and single salmon eggs are good back-ups. The limit remains five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches a day allowed. DIAMOND — The mid-season lull has hit much of Diamond Lake, but there are some good catches of large fish for boat anglers still-fishing. Chartreuse and Rainbow PowerBait works well at the Kid’s Hole near the north end of the lake as well as near Silent Creek at the south end. Early morning is good in the shallows, but the fish are going to 30-35 feet deep and near the middle of the lake during the day. Trollers are still catching trout with red Needlefish or No. 5 Rapalas. The lake is stocked regularly with 14-inch rainbows, with the stocking coming every two weeks at the Diamond Lake Resort. The limit is five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches a day allowed. LOST CREEK — As surface temperatures climb past 74 degrees, the trout either go deep or look for cooler water. This is a great time to fish with light gear at the lake’s far upper end, where a mix of rainbows and brown trout can be caught on bait and small lures. Remember, the waters upstream of Peyton Bridge are a no-wake zone, so it’s a good mid-day refuge from water-skiers. For trollers, get deep and go slow, with flashers and Wedding Ring lures or even worms. Bass fishing remains best off rocky points and near the shoreline. Still-fishermen in boats can search for cool-water refuges and fish single salmon eggs, worms, cheese or PowerBait for rainbows and brown trout. The lake is open year-round for trout and bass fishing, with trout anglers out-numbering bass anglers throughout the cold-weather months. APPLEGATE — Fishing for trout is good in the evenings around points and in the deeper parts of the upper end of the lake. Trolling flies or worms is best. Bass fishing has improved around willows, submerged trees and rocky points. The lake is starting to drop, and catches are starting to wane in the Seattle Bar area. 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. No bass between 12 inches and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. FISH — Trolling and still-fishing for trout remains good near the resort and the boat ramp, while fly-fishing is good in the evenings with woolly buggers and leeches. WILLOW — Fishing for trout and bass is improving as warmer weather comes in. Bass are hovering off points and along weedlines. LAKE of the WOODS — Fishing for rainbow and brown trout is good, with good brown trout angling just after dark. The lake is open around the clock for brown trout, so that presents a unique opportunity for the after-dusk angler. The resort and marina are open. EMIGRANT — Smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing remains good, but the lake is dropping rapidly and the lack of depth is exposing most of the willows. For smallmouth, concentrate on the rocky points regardless of depth, and fewer of the willows are now submerged. The upper end of Emigrant Arm is loaded with perch, with some more than 10 inches long. Trolling for trout is fair early in the morning near the county park before the skiing traffic hits the lake. Ocean Outlook Anglers are facing some choppy weather and are having to run 12-15 miles out of Brookings, but those putting up with the conditions are faring excellent for salmon. Chinook in the 40-pound range have been somewhat common the past week, and chinook catches are high. Catches of fin-clipped coho also are good, with about half the catch being wild coho that must be released unharmed. Chinook landings are out-numbering hatchery coho landings about 2 to 1. The fin-clipped coho season remains open because the 79,000-fish quota has yet to be reached. Bottomfishing has remained excellent for those who go out early and hit the various reefs. Surf perch fishing has picked up a bit in the open beaches as the perch move back in after last week’s heavy surf. Crabbing remains slow. Shellfish harvest is open for all species except razor clams on the south and central coast. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — The controlled-hunt drawing results are available online by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Check the ODFW’s web site at: www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/ControlledHunts/DrawQuery/main.html 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. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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