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41 °F 5 Day Forecast Wednesday, November 26, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | 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 August 28, 2003 Anglers cast on the fly on upper Rogue River By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Upper Rogue River anglers will put away their bait hooks and break out their fly boxes Monday when the annual flies-only season begins for summer steelhead angling. The annual ban on bait and lures in the upper Rogue is designed to give anglers a chance to cast for summer steelhead but steer clear of harassing the chinook salmon that spawn each fall in the main-stem channel of the upper Rogue. Bait and lures are banned through Halloween on the entire upper Rogue beginning Monday. Bait and lures return Nov. 1 to the far upper Rogue from Rogue Elk Park upstream to the deadline at the Hatchery Hole. However, the stretch from Rogue Elk downstream to Gold Ray Dam remains closed to bait use but open to flies and lures Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 over concerns about wild summer steelhead dying from catch-and-release angling with bait. Advertisement Bait also is banned Monday through Oct. 31 in the Lower Rogue Canyon area between Foster Bar near Agness upstream to Whiskey Creek near Rainie Falls. Anglers, however, can use flies and any artificial lure, and barbless hooks are required. During the flies-only period, you don’t need to be a fly-fishermen to fish with flies. Regulations do not require traditional fly rods and lines. Spinning rods with bubble floats are legal, provided there are no weights, swivels or other attachments on the line. Weighted flies are legal, but they cannot have molded lead jig heads. Also, no metal-core fly line can be used. The end of the summer bait-fishing season is going out with a steelhead bang thanks to a strong run of summer steelhead boosted by another release of recycled steelhead. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on Thursday recycled another 400 adult summer steelhead, dubbed "retreads," from Cole Rivers Hatchery to Modoc Bar along the Denman Wildlife Area. The fish are released in an effort to get these excess steelhead caught and kept by anglers. "There were a lot of people fishing for them and catching them," hatchery manager Randy Robart says. That brings the recycle count to 1,200 steelhead so far this season. Through Aug. 1, more than 6,500 summer steelhead were counted over Gold Ray Dam. That’s the last dam count available from the ODFW. The Middle Rogue Steelheaders chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold its eighth annual fall chinook salmon-fishing derby Sept. 6 along the middle Rogue River. Thirty licensed guides paired with 60 anglers will fish anywhere from Savage Rapids Dam to Grave Creek in search of big chinook that can net participants big prizes. The derby is a perennial sell-out for the Grants Pass-based chapter and seats are no longer available. The derby is the chapter’s sole fund-raiser of the year, helping fund restoration and habitat-improvement projects in the Rogue River basin that are usually done in conjunction with state and federal agencies. The club also helps fund angling-education programs. The derby starts Sept. 5 with a dinner, auction and raffle at the Riverside Inn and Convention Center in Grants Pass. Participants will fish the following morning, with the afternoon weigh-in at the Josephine County Fairgrounds. For more information on the derby and the chapter, telephone Bob Womack at 541-472-1485 or Bill Seccombe at 541-479-5712. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times