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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend April 27, 2006 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Both extremes of the Rogue are getting a little interest from anglers who are waiting for the transition from winter steelhead fishing to spring chinook salmon fishing. The choices are lots of late-run and dark winter steelhead or a handful of bright, beautiful spring chinook. For this week at least, stick with quantity over quality — at least in the upper Rogue, where there will be plenty of time to get frustrated over catching spring chinook. So stick to the winter steelhead. Winter steelhead have been chugging over Gold Ray Dam by the hundreds daily throughout April, upping the count to almost 9,000 fish as of Friday, the most recent count by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A good wave of fairly fresh late-run fish are in the mix, and wild steelhead numbers are high. The harvest of wild steelhead over 24 inches long ends Sunday night. Late-season fishing has been spotty, but effective with worms and corkies or roe. For plug fishermen, try black and white plugs or crayfish patterns are good plug choices for driftboaters. Only 22 spring chinook has been counted over Gold Ray Dam through Friday. Flows at Dodge Bridge were at 2,680 cubic feet per second, while Gold Ray Dam flows were at 3,880 cfs and the river was at 4,600 cfs at Grants Pass. Because of rains that blew out the lower river Saturday, flows at Agness were still high at 9,200 cfs. Advertisement After heating up a few days last week, the spring chinook catch has remained spotty and a bit slow in the Gold Beach Area, where Kimball Creek has been the best spot with a half-dozen fish caught there Wednesday morning. Bank anglers are also catching a few spring chinook as well. The middle Rogue has remained something of a dud, with a few bank angling for spring chinook in the Savage Rapids Dam and Rainie Falls area. Few fish have been reported at Rainie Falls the past two days. Very little activity for winter steelhead in the area as well. For spring chinook, the wild chinook limit now is one per day and no more than three per year. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. UMPQUA — Sturgeon fishing remains very good in the estuary for oversized fish that all must be released unharmed. Also, striped bass fishing has started to heat up in the lower river as well. The main-stem river remains spotty for spring chinook salmon, with the most action coming between Scotts Creek to Scottsburg Park. The wild winter steelhead harvest in the main-stem Umpqua ends Sunday night. Fishing conditions have soured on the South Umpqua and the North Umpqua, where late-run winter steelhead have slowed due to cold water conditions. Steelhead fishing on the South Umpqua closes Sunday night. COOS — Winter steelhead fishing was slow in the Coos and Millicoma systems because of low flows and poor fish quality. The season closes Sunday night. The Charleston boat ramp is now open in the lower end of Coos Bay. COQUILLE — Late-season winter steelhead fishing was slow. The season ends Sunday night. KLAMATH RIVER — Fishing for native redband trout has improved on flies and lures. River fishing from Keno Dam downstream to Topsy Reservoir is very slow due to high flows. Angling in the cold water reach from J.C. Boyle Dam to the powerhouse is fair for small redband trout, most of which are under 12 inches. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake is ice-free but the water and seemingly low trout numbers made for a very disappointing opening weekend for many anglers. But improved weather has helped warm the lake and get the trout moving. Most of the action Wednesday was in near-shore water 7-10 feet deep, either still-fishing off the bank or anchored in boats. Trollers can use a green frog Needlefish or a black Panther Martin, but keep it slow and shallow. The bass are not be very active. The lake’s limit remains five trout over 8 inches long per day, but only one of those trout can be over 20 inches long. HYATT — The lake’s ice started to break open Wednesday and fishing the lake should be an option by the weekend. A boat was breaking up the ice Wednesday. Early fishing should be near shore, still-fishing with PowerBait or single salmon eggs. The lake’s limit remains five trout over 8 inches long per day, but only one of those trout can be over 20 inches long. DIAMOND — The lake remains iced-over and likely not open for at least a week. The lake’s limit remains five trout over 8 inches long per day, but only one of those trout can be over 20 inches long. LOST CREEK — The lake is just two feet from full and the surface temperature has jumped to 53 degrees, which has made trolling for trout good near the dam and marina. The water is still a little cold coming in to fish at the upper end of the lake. Smallmouth bass fishing is improving and is good now in the shallows, and look for bass fishing to improve with every warm day. No salmon flies reported yet. EMIGRANT — Trout fishing has started to pick up in the lower reaches of the reservoir, while panfish angling is starting to improve in the upper end in the willows. Mercury levels in smallmouth bass have created a warning against eating anything but the lake’s trout. APPLEGATE — Trout fishing has heated up on both legal and lunker rainbow trout stocked this spring. Trolling, still-fishing with worms or PowerBait is good around the dam and the intake tower, while trollers are doing well with worms or lures. Bass and panfish fishing is heating up as well amid increasingly warm days. The lake is less than four feet from full, which means the Seattle Bar area will be a good weekend option for still-fishing, casting of small lures and fly-fishing from float tubes. The Hart-Tish boat ramp and store are open. Anglers can keep up to five rainbow trout, stocked salmon or recycled winter steelhead a day, but only one fish can be more than 20 inches long. Also, no bass between 12 and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. WILLOW — The lake is ice-free and recently stocked with legal-sized and lunker-sized rainbow trout. The boat ramp and store are open and trout catches have been very good. Crappie fishing is also starting to heat up. ALL SPORTS POND — The pond was stocked recently with larger-than-normal rainbow trout, and fishing has remained good with worms and bobbers or PowerBait along the bottom. WHETSTONE — The pond at the Denman Wildlife Area was stocked again last week with legal-sized trout for last week’s kids derby. Adults and kids can fish the pond. Catch these trout with worms, small spinners and PowerBait. SELMAC — The lake near Selma was stocked recently with larger-than-normal rainbow trout, and catches were still good with worms or rainbow-colored PowerBait. KLAMATH/ AGENCY LAKES — Fishing for large redband trout is slow. Bank anglers around the south end of the lake and Algoma pond are using dead minnows and are starting to catch redband up to 9 pounds. Ocean Outlook Razor clam harvest remains closed along South Coast beaches. Crabbing has been very good in South Coast bays thanks to better salinity levels dragging the Dungeness inside. Lingcod fishing is excellent throughout the coast. Red tail perch and even lingcod are getting caught off the beach near Gold Beach as these species move closer to shore. The new aggregate limit is six marine rockfish a day. Hunting Outlook JACKSON/JOSEPHINE — The spring turkey season finally kicked into gear amid continually good flying and calling weather. The birds are most active right at dawn. Cougar hunters can expect an average year and will find greatest success using a predator call in areas that have good deer numbers. When snowfall occurs, hunters should look for fresh cougar tracks and pursue. Good cougar hunting opportunities exist throughout southwest Oregon. 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. CURRY — Aleutian Canada geese are passing along the coast toward wintering grounds in Northern California. Look for them around Cape Blanco. 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