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Trout season opens with high spirits, low water levels Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Using a propane heater to stay warm, Ron Phillips and his dog, Lupla, try their luck at trout fishing Saturday at Howard Prairie Lake on opening day. It was snowing as late as noon at the lake, which is remarkably low due to drought conditions. The weather wasn't as bad this year compared to last, anglers said, when the snow was really coming down. By DAMIAN MANN ASHLAND - Anglers sometimes discovered the only thing they caught was each other as they crowded the banks of Howard Prairie Lake on Saturday, the first day of the spring trout season. With fisherman practically outnumbering fish, it was inevitable that lines became entangled. At one point, three excited fisherman initially thought they had a strike. It turned out that their lines snagged underwater, creating a "Gordian knot" of nylon when brought to the surface. But it was all for a good cause - the official start of the trout season. Besides the fishing and camaraderie were good, even if the unseasonably cold and snowy weather wasn't. Braving the elements with portable propane heaters at their sides, many of the fisherman found the lake level particularly low and the number of fishermen less than last year. Howard Prairie is actually only 60 percent full, so the docks, typically buoyed by 20 or more feet of water, now sit in the mud. "This is the lowest water level I've ever seen," said Dale Severns of Klamath Falls. But less water probably means more fish per square feet, allowing some anglers to quickly score their five-fish limit. In a sport where size does matter, many anglers seemed happy with their trout, sometimes weighing a pound or more. Some proudly carried away a few meals' worth of fish on a line. One young boy ran by, exclaiming he had caught two trout in two minutes. But, unfortunately Severns couldn't boast about his catch, still waiting by late morning to hook his first trout. Pointing to his son, Jason, who looked blankly across the lake, Severns said, "He gets kind of bored when they're not biting." Just up the lake shore, Ron Phillips of Grants Pass had already caught four. "The fishing is real good today," he said. Part of the reason, he explained, was the low level of the lake and the bad weather forecast, which kept the usual hordes of fishermen away. Even if Phillips was happy with the fishing, his fidgety Labrador, tied up by his side, was not. "She'd rather be playing in the water." William Zinskey of Central Point was almost as unhappy as the dog. By late morning he said, "I haven't caught one. Last year I got my limit at 9 o'clock and I got here about 7. But I guess that's part of the luck of fishing." Last year his catch was good, but the weather was worse. "It was really snowing and raining." Brian Davidson of Medford said that despite last year's inclement weather and ample supply of anglers, the fishing was good. But, he added, "It was hard finding a place to fish and keeping your lines from tangling." The bait of choice for Davidson, who swears Howard Prairie offers some of the best fishing in Oregon, appeared to be PowerBait. "It's what they feed the fish in the hatcheries," he explained. After Brian Davidson caught his first trout he exclaimed, "Oh, look at that, he didn't even get my PowerBait." His friend Sharon Turnbull retorted, "You cheated him." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.