Document text
48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, February 18, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend January 29, 2004 Fishing and Reporting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Winter steelhead fishing is touch-and-go in the middle Rogue, while the lower Rogue was high and dirty but still fair for bank fishing and the upper Rogue continues to be fair for late-run summer steelhead as well as spawned-out steelhead headed back downstream. The best bet will be the middle Rogue, provided water levels don’t deteriorate amid continued rains. Water flows at Grants Pass were high Wednesday, 6,000 cubic feet per second, but the turbidity level was 10 NTUs. That’s a nice murky color that bodes well for bait fishermen using roe and orange or red puff balls. Boat fishing will be best, and anglers should target tail-outs and deeper, slower waters for winter steelhead. Schools of fin-clipped hatchery fish have headed out of the wild and scenic section this past week, so a mix of wild and hatchery fish are finally in the mix. Most are headed to the Applegate River, so concentrate from White Horse Park down to Grave Creek. Roe will out-shine plugs. Spoons work poor under these conditions. In the lower Rogue, anglers plunking with large Spin-Glo’s continue to intercept winter steelhead as they push upriver. However, water conditions were continuing to deteriorate as muddy water surges downstream. Plunkers working very close to shore can still hit a few steelhead, but look for catches to improve as water clarity improves. In the lower Rogue Canyon, steelhead fishing has slowed in the high and dirty water. Conditions improve as you head upstream, but steelhead numbers drop accordingly. From the mouth to Whiskey Creek near Rainie Falls on down to the ocean, anglers can now keep one wild steelhead over 24 inches a day and up to five a year as part of their two-steelhead bag limit. The waters upstream of Whiskey Creek open to the harvest of wild steelhead Sunday. Advertisement In the upper Rogue, catches of late-run summer steelhead and recycled hatchery steelhead remain good from TouVelle all the way up to the Hatchery Hole. Roe and worms are the best offerings now. Bait-fishing is back to the entire upper Rogue now. The Modoc Unit is a good bet for hold-over recycled steelhead. Wild steelhead are staging off creek mouths and they must all be released unharmed. The upper Rogue has the highest concentration of both wild and hatchery steelhead, with 676 steelhead over the dam during the first two weeks in January. Most of these fish are actually late-run summer steelhead, but they are classified as winter steelhead. Water conditions are very good in the upper Rogue, with only 2,325 cubic feet per second of 41-degree water released from Lost Creek Lake. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. APPLEGATE RIVER — Early winter steelhead catches have been reported as high as Cantrall-Buckley Park, and catches as well as fish numbers should improve as current rains swell the river and entice fresh fish to move in from the main-stem Rogue. In current water conditions, drift-fishing with roe is best, while worms and watermelon corkies are a good choice for rainy days. As the river drops and clears, consider fly-fishing with prince nymphs or single salmon-egg patterns. Spoon fishing likely will remain somewhat poor until the water drops and gets extremely clear, and that’s not likely for the next few weeks. The 379 cubic feet per second of water now released from Applegate Lake is 41 degrees. No fishing from a floating device is allowed, and anglers should ask permission before fishing on private lands. The river is open to steelhead angling downstream of the deadline below Applegate Dam. The limit is two hatchery steelhead a day. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed. UMPQUA — Winter steelhead fishing is good throughout the main-stem river as well as the South Umpqua, where bait and fly-fishing are good in the Canyonville area. Water conditions were deteriorating amid the recent rainstorms, and the river could be out of shape for angling for the weekend. For main-stem anglers, plunking off the bank in 5 feet of water has been good around Elkton and Scottsburg. South Umpqua anglers are doing well all the way to the Myrtle Creek area, with roe and plugs working well. Conditions were high for fly- fishing. ELK/SIXES — Winter steelhead catches have been fair amid high and darkening water flows in both the Elk and Sixes rivers. Bait has been out-producing plugs. Both rivers are now open to the harvest of one wild steelhead a day and up to five a year as part of the two-steelhead daily limit. COOS — Fishing for winter steelhead was very good recently in the Coos and Millicoma systems, with bait and corkies best and plug fishing very uncommon. COQUILLE — Winter steelhead fishing was very good in the South Fork downstream from Powers, where water conditions remained fair and catches still good despite the higher water. Concentrate more toward the edges and in the tail-outs of pools. Bait is out-producing plugs. CHETCO — The river was high and in poor shape for angling Wednesday as heavy rains continue to hit the basin. Fishing for winter steelhead had been very good from the forks on downstream to Social Security Hole, with boat anglers doing best with bait and puff balls. However, effort fell off the table Tuesday amid poor conditions. The river may not clear by the weekend, but it will be excellent winter steelhead angling for those who time a trip to the Chetco when it starts to drop rapidly and clear. One wild steelhead may be kept as part of the two-steelhead bag limit. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake is closed to all fishing. HYATT — The lake is closed to all fishing. DIAMOND — The lake is closed to all fishing. SILTCOOS — The lake is closed to angling for wild coho salmon. TAHKENITCH — The lake is now closed to angling for wild coho salmon. LOST CREEK — The lake continues to rise daily as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins the process of filling the reservoir, and that’s causing the trout to go off the bite at times. Pressure is light, and most of the effort is centered at the reservoir’s lower end. Lake levels held steady Wednesday, however, as hydrologists were releasing slightly more water than the in-flow. The lake is open year-round for trout and bass fishing, with trout anglers out-numbering bass anglers throughout the cold-weather months. Trolling for trout is good near the base of the dam, where the Takelma Ramp is the only usable ramp for this winter. The lake’s surface temperature dropped to 45 degrees Wednesday, so look for the trout more toward the surface than farther down the water column. APPLEGATE — Few people are fishing for rainbow trout or bass, but good smallmouth fishing can be had on calm and sunny afternoons near the dam. Worms, small crankbaits and grubs all work. Trolling for stocked coho is slow. The lake is open year-round, but most of the reservoir is muddy. EMIGRANT — The lake was stocked recently with more than 900 adult summer steelhead that were excess fish captured at Cole Rivers Hatchery. They can be caught on worms, woolly bugger flies or spinners. The limit is one over 20 inches as part of the five-trout daily limit. These fish are not required to be logged on a salmon-steelhead tag. Most of the action is in Emigrant Creek or the upper lake area near the creek’s mouth. Ocean Outlook The ocean was rough and boats remained in their bays this week as the latest rainstorm hit the coast. When conditions subside, wait two days and then make a bottomfishing trip, with catches best in deeper waters but improving in more shallow spots with each new calm day. The coast is open to the harvest of shellfish, with no species limited due to health risks. Crabbing has slowed a bit at Brookings, Port Orford and Charleston because the high freshwater runoff has subsided and the salinity levels in the estuaries have become more crab-friendly. Deep-water bays like Coos Bay sport the best estuary opportunities because they hold their good salinity levels longer than shallow estuaries. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Waterfowl seasons are over. The year-round cougar season remains open, but effort and harvest is light. Most hunting opportunities are over until the spring bear season. 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. WILLAMETTE — Snowshoe rabbits are found in both the coast range mountains and in the Cascade mountain areas. In the coast range, these rabbits are brownish in color all year. In the Cascade mountains and throughout the rest of their range, these rabbits turn white in the winter. They are very conspicuous during years when winter snows are late in arriving and they have already molted into their white winter coat. These rabbits can be observed by driving slowly on logging roads early in the morning or by following tracks in fresh snow to where they are hiding. NORTHWEST — Brown pelicans are common along the northern Oregon coast in the fall. They can be seen roosting along the south jetty of the Columbia River, and on many offshore rocks along the coast. They are also frequently seen feeding in estuaries. Great egrets are tall, white heron-like birds that can be seen along the northeastern portions of Tillamook Bay, especially Larson’s and Miami coves. They often are seen feeding on the mud flats at low tide, but sometimes roost in trees along the edge of the bay. Peregrine falcons have finished nesting, but still can be seen along the coast feeding on seabirds and waterfowl. They sometimes can be spotted resting on near-shore rocks, such as Three Arch Rocks. 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 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times