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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 5, 2005 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — The Rogue is starting to pick up some for spring chinook, but the action is very slow for this time of year all the way down the river. There remains some winter steelhead in the mix, but it now is illegal to keep any wild steelhead in the Rogue for the rest of the year. The best bet is back to the lower Rogue, where spring chinook fishing has picked up in the past few days. Boat and bank anglers are sharing successes, but catches are far fewer than they should be. The recent rains didn’t raise flows appreciably, but they dirtied the water enough to get some salmon moving. Catches were reported from Foster Bar down to Elephant Rock. In the middle Rogue, bank anglers are doing a bit better for spring chinook in their usual haunts. Rainie Falls and the waters below Savage Rapids Dam leading the way, with an occasional fish picked up in the Boil Hole at Pearce Park or Hayes Falls. As of April 28, only 642 springers have been counted over Gold Ray Dam. That is exceedingly low. But the upper Rogue has received more than 11,600 winter steelhead, and most of these are dark. Anglers can legally fish for winter steelhead, even though most are caught now on spawning beds. Only fin-clipped steelhead may be kept. The river is loaded with migrating smolts mistakenly deemed trout, and targeting these fish is illegal downstream of Cole Rivers Hatchery until the second trout opener on May 28. Advertisement Spring chinook anglers now have a two-fish daily limit, but only one of those can be a wild chinook. The wild spring chinook limit is three per year. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. The upper Rogue reaches upstream of Lost Creek Lake are now open to angling, with catches good over the weekend despite light effort. APPLEGATE — The river remains closed to all angling until May 28. CHETCO — The river is closed to all angling. UMPQUA — The Umpqua is starting to see some decent spring chinook fishing in the main-stem river. Sturgeon fishing has picked up in the lower river as well. COOS/COQUILLE — Both rivers are now closed to fishing. TENMILE — The creek is now closed to fishing. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake is open to angling and catches have been very good recently after an inconsistent opener. The fish are starting to move into deeper waters after focusing their attention in the 10-15 foot depths. This week, more fish were caught in waters 20-plus feet deep than anytime so far this season. Trollers are doing best with Tasmanian Devils and lead-core line, while bank anglers are favoring chartreuse PowerBait. The daily limit remains five trout per day, with an 8-inch minimum length. Only one of those trout per day can be more than 20 inches. HYATT — The lake is open to angling and catches have picked up after a slow opener. Slow trolling or still-fishing remain the methods of choice. Still-fishing in the shallows with chartreuse or pink PowerBait is good, while slow trolling Tasmanian Devils or Needlefish can be good in late afternoons in about 6-10 feet of water. Troll far behind the boat. The daily limit remains five trout per day, with an 8-inch minimum length. Only one of those trout per day can be more than 20 inches. DIAMOND — The lake is open and early fishing has been good for stocked rainbow trout. Trollers are working the middle of the lake with Wedding Rings and worms, while boat anglers have done well with pink or rainbow PowerBait near the resort in about 10 feet of water. The daily limit remains five trout per day, with an 8-inch minimum length. Only one of those trout per day can be more than 20 inches. LOST CREEK — Trout fishing as well as small-mouth fishing have both remained fair to good. Trollers near the dam are doing well for rainbows, while most of the shallows have been producing good catches of small-mouth. A few brown trout have been taken in the far upper reaches of the reservoir while drifting the bottom with night crawlers. The lake has filled rapidly this past week and is now less than three feet from full. The surface temperature also has jumped to almost 58 degrees. The lake is open year-round for trout and bass fishing, with trout anglers out-numbering bass anglers throughout the cold-weather months. EMIGRANT — Fishing for small-mouth and large-mouth bass has been very good during the day, especially in warmer weather. The shallow lake warms faster than most area waterways. Fishing for trout has improved. Crappie fishing remains poor, but the yellow perch are getting very active. ALL-SPORTS POND — The pond near Grants Pass recently was stocked with rainbow trout. Fishing is good with bait. APPLEGATE — Fishing for stocked chinook and rainbow trout around 12 inches long is fair during mid-day, especially on warmer days. Bass fishing is improving. No recycled winter steelhead have been stocked yet this season. 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 winter steelhead will be from the Applegate River to the reservoir this year. No bass between 12 and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. EXPO POND — The pond has been stocked with rainbow trout. FISH — The lake is ice-free and boat anglers are doing well for rainbow trout. Ocean Outlook Surf perch are active in the Rogue River estuary between the jetties. Use sandshrimp, clam necks, mussels or bright-colored streamer flies. Beaches around Port Orford, Gold Beach and Brookings remain closed for razor clam. To check for updates on the closure, call the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Shellfish Hotline at 800-448-2474. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Turkey hunters are steadily getting into birds throughout the oak savannas and mixed-fir stands across the valley. Storm fronts have bothered the birds and kept many from answering calls. Mating seems to have occurred early this year, so less calling now may be better. The season runs through May 31, and tags are available throughout the season. Cougar hunters can expect an average year. Cougars are abundant throughout with indicators pointing to stable or increasing numbers and distribution. Hunting cougar is a challenge because these animals are very secretive, but harvest success is greatest adjacent to private land with high deer populations using a predator call. 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 AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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