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66 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, July 7, 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 Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest 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 May 27, 2004 Excess hatchery spring chinook recycled into Rogue River By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune The TouVelle State Park area got a little bit hotter for spring chinook salmon fishing Wednesday after 200 excess hatchery spring chinook were recycled into the Rogue River there. Wednesday’s load marks the first spring chinook to be recycled this year from Cole Rivers Hatchery back into the upper Rogue so anglers can get another shot at catching and legally keeping them. "They’re beautiful fish," hatchery manager Randy Robart says. "The fish are coming in ... in really nice shape. We might as well put them back into the river and give someone a chance to catch them." The hatchery’s popular "retread" recycling program operates for spring chinook as well as summer steelhead. Excess fish are trucked from the hatchery and released either at TouVelle or the Modoc Unit of the Denman Wildlife Area. The hatchery plans to recycle about 4,000 spring chinook each year. Advertisement In most years, the first spring chinook get recycled earlier than this, but the entire spring chinook salmon run is slow, Robart says. The hatchery had collected just 731 fish through Tuesday, about one-fourth of what normally reaches the hatchery at that date, he says. While the spring chinook salmon run remains a bit late toward the upper Rogue River, a few summer steelhead already have matriculated to the upper Rogue. Anglers checking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ water-release phone will notice that 43 summer steelhead have already passed Gold Ray Dam. "It’s not too unusual to see a few summer steelhead this early," says Jerry Vogt, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist. "We have steelhead traveling pretty much all year." Steelhead counted at Gold Ray Dam from Jan. 1 through May 15 are deemed winter steelhead. Those after May 15 are considered summer steelhead. Though apparently arbitrary, those dates roughly track the various runs, Vogt says. 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 © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 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