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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Harry & David helps grow revenue for 1-800-Flowers SOU board names officers, committees Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe announces layoffs SOU students targeted in Drive Less campaign Mercy Flights miffed at Josephine commissioners Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Woman sentenced for harboring Jackson County Jail escapee Downtown Grounds burglarized White City house fire displaces couple Emergency Services, Feb. 2 Emergency services Politics and Elections Amid rising scrutiny, governor says fiancee won't have role in administration Ashland aims for diversity, but numbers show shortfall Kent Bush: The keys to decoding the State of the Union address Oregon Legislature convenes, session starts Feb. 12 Education SOU board names officers, committees SOU students targeted in Drive Less campaign Parent files discrimination complaint against Ashland schools Some gains, some losses Medford reconsiders full-day kindergarten Environment Commissioners won't object to BLM road closures Mt. 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Live Music in Local Clubs Terrapin Flyer plays Historic Ashland Armory Eric Johnson and Mike Stern at The Rogue Theatre Alcyon Massive and Frankie Hernandez play acoustic at Howiee's Theater Camelot presents Playwright Richard Manley's 'A Question of Words' Classics, premiers highlight '15 season for OSF Randall Theatre presents playwright Charles Ludlam's comedy "The Mystery of Irma Vep" Roy Orbison tribute hits high note Thanks for the Memories Theatre presents 'Cardenio' Music Here it is! Live Music in Local Clubs Jesse Cook plays the Craterian Theater Shybo Torres plays South Stage Cellars Terrapin Flyer plays Historic Ashland Armory Trio Valtorna plays SOU Music Hall Community Events Comedian Susan Westenhoefer pulls no punches Paula Poundstone performs at the Craterian Len Dickson's 'Fall Harvest' to grace Belle Fiore wine label A look at the life and vision of Martin Luther King Jr. Ty Barnett and Ian Harris are 'Divided' Dining Sandwiches and burgers are hits at The Rogue Chef The Vine offers a taste of Italy Cheeseburgers on the cheap Valley View — It's all in the family Patty Groth's Morning Glory is still a delight Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe announces layoffs ... Mercy Flights miffed at Josephine commissioners ... Woman sentenced for harboring Jackson County Jail escapee ... Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe announces layoffs ... Mercy Flights miffed at Josephine commissioners ... Woman sentenced for harboring Jackson County Jail escapee ... OUTDOOR JOURNAL Early they come Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 16, 2015 @ 2:00 am Updated Jan 22, 2015 at 11:10 AM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 16, 2015 @ 2:00 am Updated Jan 22, 2015 at 11:10 AM » Social News TRAIL — Technician Mitch Semrow had already sorted through close to 200 dark and ripe hatchery summer steelhead from the Rogue River at the Cole Rivers Hatchery collection pond when he grabbed something special. "It stuck out like a sore thumb, basically," Semrow says. "It had the bulky winter build and it was really bright. Right away, I knew exactly what it was." The 5-pound hatchery hen was the first winter steelhead of the season to navigate the entire 157 miles of the Rogue and reach the collection pond, marking the official start of the hatchery's winter steelhead collection. But that was Dec. 30, the earliest a winter steelhead has ever shown its chrome in the hatchery's 41-year history. "It was so early we had to reprogram the computer, because it didn't allow for a winter steelhead here in December," hatchery Manager David Pease says. Rogue anglers have plenty of reasons to suspect that early also means often, meaning this year's winter steelhead run could be a banner occurrence. "That's how we view it," says Pete Samarin, a fish biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "I think it's going to be a big return," Samarin says. "It'll be interesting to see." Seeing is believing to anglers like Charlie "Steelhead" Brown, who joined fellow guides Steve Theel and Brady Rogers on a Jan. 8 float down the middle Rogue and boated seven winter steelhead. That's a good day in the thick of the run, such as late February. "It's pretty early for them, for sure," Brown says. "I think it's going to be real good." Along with the wild fall chinook salmon, the Rogue Basin's winter steelhead run is one of its most robust returns, with fish widely distributed and stalked by anglers in the mainstem Rogue and its two major tributaries — the Applegate and Illinois rivers. The fin-clipped hatchery fish released annually in the Rogue and Applegate rivers join a healthy wild component that makes up anywhere from 70 to 80 percent of the adult returns, according to ODFW estimates. Most years, steelhead fishing heats up in early February downstream of the mouth of the Applegate, with anglers targeting steelhead bound for that stream as well as others heading past it. February also is when Applegate anglers start casting flies and spoons for steelhead in that river's lower few miles. Already Applegate anglers have reported catching steelhead in the lower 14 miles up to Murphy Dam. "That's just crazy," says Samarin, who conducts annual steelhead spawning surveys in the Rogue Basin, including on the Applegate. But crazy does have some apparent hidden logic to the happy early returns. Since 2009's removal of Savage Rapids Dam and the demolition of Gold Ray Dam a year later, the mainstem Rogue's two major migration impediments are gone. Before those removals, the first winter steelhead typically reached Cole Rivers Hatchery in early to mid February, records show. From 2010 to '13, the first fish came a week earlier than that, and last year's first arrival came on Jan. 8, records show. That was the earliest all-time, until Semrow's steelhead beat that by 10 days. But that doesn't account for the good early showings in the middle Rogue and Applegate — river stretches uninfluenced by the dam removals. Late December's heavy rains provided good migration conditions for early-run fish. But the Rogue Basin has had plenty of wet Decembers that did not produce early winter steelhead. "It can't be just the rain," Samarin says. "It's not that there's a bunch of fish each year sitting in the bay waiting for rain. They don't act like that." One other interesting trend seen on the Rogue and elsewhere is the relationship between salmon and steelhead runs. Samarin says sometimes when salmon runs are down, steelhead runs are up and vice versa. Chinook and coho returns were down in 2014, suggesting steelhead returns could be bountiful in 2015. "Maybe it's that steelhead really are on an upswing," Samarin says. The run will ultimately be graded on the wild steelhead spawning grounds on the Rogue and Applegate, where Samarin hopes to see a whopping 20 egg nests, called redds, per mile of gravel bars. "Until then, all we can go on is how's the fishing," Samarin says. "Time will tell." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 16, 2015 @ 2:00 am Updated Jan 22, 2015 at 11:10 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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