Document text
37 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 16, 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 Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley 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 December 9, 2004 Fishing and hunting report River Outlook ROGUE — Most of the Rogue was high and muddy and in poor shape for fishing Wednesday, but look for this week’s rains to really open fishing opportunities along the entire river stretch. The only real fishing to be had Wednesday was along the upper Rogue from the Hatchery Hole down to Rogue Elk Park. Fishing for summer steelhead was good in that stretch, and coho fishing was also fair to good with roe or single-egg flies. Most of this week’s storms have remained in the form of snow so far in the upper drainages. Flows into Lost Creek Lake were a paltry 1,238 cubic feet per second Wednesday, with out-flows at 2,238 cfs. The water releases were still cool at 44 degrees. Bait-fishing in the upper Rogue remains legal only upstream of the boat ramp at Rogue Elk Park. From the ramp downstream to Gold Ray Dam, anglers can fish flies, lures and fake eggs, but no roe or worms. Once the water starts to drop, look for excellent fishing opportunities river-wide. In the lower Rogue, plunking for early winter steelhead should be very good with Spin-Glo’s at popular gravel bars like Quosatana, Lobster and Dunkelberger. Fish in about 5 feet of water close to shore and along the migration lanes. These fish will be on the move, so long periods of boredom can be interspersed among short bursts of hot catches. In the middle Rogue, a mix of late-run summer steelhead, halfpounders and even a few early-run winter steelhead should show up in catches from the mouth of the Applegate River all the way down to Grave Creek. Some coho should also be in the mix. This year’s coho run is large, with almost 18,000 fish counted over Gold Ray Dam through Nov. 27. Advertisement Coho are notoriously poor biters, but they can be taken on red spinners, roe and streamer flies fished in slack-water areas. Look for spots where cohos are rolling. All wild coho must be released unharmed. Remember, all wild steelhead must be released unharmed for the remainder of the year. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. CHETCO — Heavy rains pushed the Chetco out of shape for fishing, but look for good catches of late-run fall chinook and even some winter steelhead as the river starts to drop. The first half-day after the river crests often produces some of the best fall chinook catches on Kwikfish. Chinook are scattered throughout the system. ELK/SIXES — Both rivers were high and tough fishing Wednesday, but they should pull into excellent shape for fall chinook salmon fishing as soon as the rains subside. The high water has pushed fish throughout both systems, and many fall chinook are starting to spawn in the main-stem and larger tributaries. Catches will be best on roe or Kwikfish. UMPQUA — The main-stem and South Umpqua were high and out of shape for fishing. Look for coho and steelhead in the South Umpqua once flows subside. COOS/COQUILLE — Both systems were high and unfishable Wednesday because of heavy rains. When river levels subside, look for coho in the upper tidewater of Coos Bay and fish early winter steelhead with roe and corkies in the Coquille. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake is closed for the season. HYATT — The lake is closed for the season. DIAMOND — The lake is closed for the season. LOST CREEK — Trout fishing remains fair to good with bait for shallow trollers. The lake is at its winter low for flood control. The lake’s surface temperature has hovered around 46 degrees, leaving fishing slow for smallmouth bass. 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 stocked chinook and rainbow trout around 12 inches long is good during midday. Bass fishing is fair near the dam. 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. Ocean Outlook Crabbing has been excellent in most Southern Oregon bays, chiefly because low freshwater in streams has increased salinity in the bays. But the crab will move out again thanks to this week’s heavy rains. Places like Charleston remain good for crabbing because the deep-water channels of Coos Bay help increase salinity in estuary water despite high freshwater flows. Beaches around Port Orford, Gold Beach and Brookings remain closed for razor clam. To check for updates on the closure, telephone the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Shellfish Hotline at 800-448-2474. Anglers are banned from fishing for black rockfish, lingcod, greenling and cabezon, leaving surfperch and a few other species open. Tuna fishing remains slow. Yellowtail rockfish fishing is open outside the 40-fathom line. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Muzzleloaders had been finding black-tailed deer on the move from high-elevation areas toward winter range. The muzzleloader season is over. Blue and ruffed grouse hunting is good, as is mountain quail. Look for quail near high-elevation water sources. Pheasant hunting is slow, but some cock pheasants have been found around orchards. Local duck and goose hunting is fair, with the best waterfowl shooting along uninhabited stretches of the Rogue River. 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 using a predator call in areas adjacent to private land with high deer populations. DOUGLAS — Muzzleloaders ended up with a slower than average season. Blue and ruffed grouse hunters can expect a better than average year thanks to above-average production countywide. Same with mountain quail. KLAMATH — Waterfowl hunters hunting over decoys along the marshy areas are faring best. BAKER — Counts were well above average for chukars and quail this year throughout the county except for the upper Powder River, where chukar counts were low. Numbers of Hungarian partridges also appear low. With good precipitation this summer, expect birds to be scattered. OCHOCO — Chukar populations are scattered with best opportunities on public lands along the canyon areas of the Crooked and John Day rivers. SUMMER LAKE — Weather conditions were generally cold, harsh and winter-like most of the week. Freezing temperatures were recorded during every night of the week and high temperatures reached only 40 degrees. Ice formation was fairly extensive covering about 85 percent of open water and remained that way all week. Foggy conditions were experienced on a couple of days. Both duck and goose numbers declined compared to the previous week, and are now approaching wintering levels. The weekly waterfowl count conducted Dec. 3 found about 9,800 ducks and about 700 geese. Upland game bird hunting success was poor, but hunter participation was very light. Hunters continue to report scattered quail coveys but rooster pheasants are becoming very difficult to locate. Watchable Wildlife ROGUE — A covered viewing station on the Denman Wildlife Area provides a good opportunity to see 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. SUMMER LAKE WILDLIFE AREA — The Schoolhouse Lake Wildlife Viewing Station continues to provide excellent opportunities for observing migrant and wintering waterbirds. Wintering raptors can be found scattered throughout the area as well as on private lands along Highway 31. Northern harriers are especially numerous over march and meadow areas. 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. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities