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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Accomplice arrested in downtown Medford murder ... Body found on Greenway in Medford ... Single mother wants to help others ... Accomplice arrested in downtown Medford murder ... Body found on Greenway in Medford ... Single mother wants to help others ... FISHING REPORT Fishing Report: Friday, Aug. 28 Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Aug. 28, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Aug. 28, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News OCEAN OUTLOOK COASTWIDE: South Coast ocean anglers will see 10-knot winds and only two-foot wind waves today, with 15-knot winds and wind waves of up to seven feet through the weekend. Near-shore jigging for black rockfish and lingcod remains very good close to shore. Anglers must stay within the 30-fathom line for bottomfishing through September. Cooler ocean currents have brought chinook and coho closer to shore, with catches better the farther north anglers go. The marine aggregate limit in Oregon is seven rockfish a day, but only three can be blue rockfish, and all china, quillback and copper rockfish must be released. Anglers are allowed to keep one canary rockfish a day under the seven-fish marine aggregate limit under new marine rules. The lingcod limit is two a day with a 22-inch minimum, and that is separate from the marine aggregate. One cabezon can now be kept as part of the aggregate limit. Halibut fishing has picked up a bit out of Brookings, largely because there is some more effort to get after the big flatfish. One angler boated seven halibut in one day earlier this week. Tuna anglers averaged barely over two fish apiece this past week as winds and shifting currents made tuna difficult to find. Look for 58-degree and warmer water currents. Razor clamming is closed statewide, but bay clams and butter clams are fine coastwide. Also, mussel harvest is back open coast-wide instead of just on the southern beaches. Some excellent morning minus tides are forecast today through Monday, making for good digging potential. Before digging, check the shellfish hotline at 1-800-448-2474 for updates. Dungeness sizes and catch rates are slowly picking up in larger estuaries such as Coos and Winchester bays. Ocean crabbing is very good now, but some of the crabs are in the soft shell, and their meat hasn't filled out so they should be released unharmed even if they meet minimum sizes. COOS BAY: Good catches of chinook for moochers this past week between the jetties and those trolling cut-plug herring near the airport and under the Highway 101 bridge. Crabbing is best near the jetties. Many red rock crabs in the Charleston area have been tagged as part of a study. Anyone who catches one is urged to call state fish biologists at 541-888-5515. BROOKINGS: The offshore chinook season picked up this past week for trollers. A very good black rockfish bite continues, as well as good lingcod catches. Halibut fishing has picked up with large halibut jigs or large herring on the bottom in 150- to 180-feet of water. The ocean is open for chinook and fin-clipped coho, as well. Only fin-clipped coho can be kept as part of the two-fish daily limit. GOLD BEACH: Trolling for fall chinook salmon varied daily this past week, but fresh fish are moving in with most tides. Up to two inches of rain is forecast to hit the coast by Saturday night, which should get fish moving up the river. The bay is hosting a derby Saturday to help fund the sea-lion patrol boat. For chinook, troll large anchovies with a Rogue Blade set-up, with gold or gold-chartreuse blades. Not much action offshore thanks to typical midsummer winds. Surfperch fishing is consistently very good along most open beaches. Try Berkley Gulp sandshrimp or sandworms. LAKE OUTLOOK AGATE: The lake is down to 19 percent full and dropping, and fishing pressure has been nonexistent. Slowly fishing purple and other dark, plastic worms should get anglers into bass off points. The boat ramp is usable. No trout stockings are planned. Lake access closes at dusk. APPLEGATE: The lake is fishing best for smallmouth bass off points and rocky outcroppings. Trout fishing has slowed. Troll for trout up to 16 inches with Wedding Ring lures spiced with a piece of worm and small flashers. The surface level is down 5 feet to 1,910 feet above sea level. Applegate Lake has a standing advisory against eating too many portions of warmwater fish because of elevated mercury levels found in the bass and crappie. DIAMOND: Anglers are back on the water now that Highway 230 has reopened after being closed for nine days because of wildfires. Most of the action has been on the lake's south end or near the resort, with PowerBait and pheasant-tail flies working best. Worms five feet under a bobber also are a good choice. Most of the trout are 12 to 17 inches long, with an occasional 4- or 5-pounder. About 300,000 fingerling were stocked in late May, and they should be large enough to contribute to the fishery next month. EMIGRANT: The lake is still somewhat murky and sporting very warm water that has slowed trout fishing. Bass and perch fishing is good around submerged willows. The lake is at 28 percent full and dropping quickly. FISH: The lake is down under the water gauge, and small boats are still launching at the resort's unimproved ramp. Soon it will be float-tubers and kayakers with access to the lake. Those getting on the water are doing well with PowerBait despite murky conditions. Focus on fishing near the springs, which are more apparent now. Chinook are legally considered trout here and can be kept as part of the five-trout daily limit. Tiger trout must be released unharmed. HOWARD PRAIRIE: The lake is warming as water levels drop, but catches remain very good for boat anglers fishing early in the day and around dusk. Fish in the 15- to 17-inch range are still prevalent. Trollers working deep with Triple Teasers and Tasmanian Devils are doing well, while still-fishers with PowerBait are doing best near the channel along the lake's far side. Bass fishing has been very good with crankbaits and plastic worms near rock outcroppings and stumps. The gravel ramp off Doe Point is open, and that's where 1,250 legal-sized trout were stocked recently. The lake is down to 19 percent full. The marina remains dry, so no boat rentals are available. HYATT: Rainbow trout fishing has been good with PowerBait near the dam for those who manage to hike down to the water line. The lake is down to 13 percent full. Access is poor. Bass fishing in the Orchard is very good for those tossing any lure or fly that's red. LOST CREEK: Wind-drifting worms and slowly trolling Wedding Ring lures spiked with worms is working well upstream of Peyton Bridge, but remember it's a no-wake zone. The lake's elevation was at 1,798 feet above sea level Thursday and falling about five feet a week. The ramp at Stewart State Park is closed to trailered boats but the Takelma ramp is usable and will be open throughout the season. LAKE OF THE WOODS: A mix of rainbows, kokanee and perch are being caught on PowerBait or small spinners near the resort. The lake recently received a mix of legal-sized and larger rainbow trout, some of which sport a tag on their backs. If you catch a tagged fish, check the kiosk for information about how to call in your results. LEMOLO: Fishing has been good for brown trout and rainbow trout, but there have been wildfires in the vicinity of the lake, so anglers should check fire information at 541-787-4332 before making fishing and camping plans. WILLOW: Trout fishing is very slow with little effort. RIVER OUTLOOK ROGUE: In the upper Rogue, chinook fishing closes Monday night between the Fishers Ferry boat ramp and the Dodge Bridge boat ramp, and the flies-only season kicks in Tuesday for all fishing upstream of Fishers Ferry. The middle Rogue is a bit slow for fall chinook but picking up for summer steelhead for driftboaters side-casting worms. The lower Rogue is decent for fall chinook trollers and is starting to pick up for halfpounders in the Lobster Creek and Quosatana Creek areas. That makes the upper Rogue the best bet through Monday, then either break out the fly rods or head to the middle Rogue for fall chinook. In the upper Rogue, water releases from Lost Creek Lake have held steady at 1,750 cubic feet per second and that is fine for a mix of spring chinook and summer steelhead downstream of Dodge Bridge. The chinook are biting plugs or roe. Flows at Dodge Bridge were down slightly to 1,869 cfs Thursday. Summer steelhead catches have improved, largely because of a good pulse of fish recently and the recycling of more hatchery steelhead last week to Gold Hill. Catch them on anything from pink plastic worms to Panther Martin lures to streamer flies, nymphs, crayfish plugs or worms. The fish are concentrated at heads of riffles and deep tailouts. Both wild and hatchery chinook can be kept now downstream of Dodge Bridge. The flies-only season begins Tuesday, with streamer flies, prince nymphs and stonefly nymphs working best. Look for egg patterns to pick up in coming weeks. In the middle Rogue, fall chinook bound for the Applegate River are hitting plugs by driftboaters but the catch has been a bit sporadic. Summer steelhead are spotty but look for some evening action at the heads of riffles and tailouts. Use streamers, Panther Martin lures and everything else that works for the upper Rogue. The Gold Hill area has been good for driftboaters back-bouncing roe for fall chinook, with fish biting throughout the day. In the bay, trolling large anchovies with Rogue Blades has been inconsistent but decent because few fall chinook have been moving out of the bay. Rain is forecast for today and Saturday, which would mix things up and likely get chinook moving upstream. Vary trolling speeds but stay close to the bottom with anchovies and brass blades. APPLEGATE: The river is open for trout fishing but not for adult steelhead, and anglers must be off the water by 2 p.m. due to high water temperatures stressing wild fish. Catch and effort are light. CHETCO : The river is open to trout fishing, and look for sea-run cutthroat trout in tidewater. Fishing above tidewater closes at 2 p.m. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Aug. 28, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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