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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 22, 2005 Hunting and Fishing Report River Outlook ROGUE — Summer steelhead fishing has remained spotty throughout the middle and upper Rogue while the lower Rogue and the rest of the coast are awash in high, dirty water from heavy rains this week. The best weekend bet remains the upper Rogue, where steelhead catches have ebbed and flowed based on the numbers of retread steelhead available. About 400 retreads were released Friday at TouVelle State Park, and many of these fish likely dropped down past the Sewer Hole. The retreads are steelhead recycled from Cole Rivers Hatchery, and they are marked with a round hole punched through a gill plate. So far, more than 2,000 retreads have been released into the upper Rogue, usually boosting fishing for about a week. They bite egg flies and plugs well; they are released in the stretch of water still banned for bait- fishing until Jan. 1. From Cole Rivers Hatchery to Shady Cove boat ramp, fishing has been a bit sporadic for steelhead with roe, soaked egg flies and plugs. Small clusters of roe near spawning beds work best. Start with 4-pound leaders because of water clarity. From Shady Cove to the stillwaters above Gold Ray Dam, fishing is relegated to artificial flies and lures only. Top bets are crayfish plugs run through rocky pockets by driftboaters. Advertisement Water conditions remain decent, but steelhead don’t seem to be migrating very effectively in the upper Rogue. Flows at Dodge Bridge were up to 3,000 cubic feet per second on Wednesday, with 4,000 cfs at Gold Ray Dam. Steelhead migration over Gold Ray Dam has remained slow. Through Dec. 14, 9,864 steelhead have hit the upper Rogue, but only a handful have moved in December. The upper Rogue has more than 14,500 coho, but they rarely bite. In the Grants Pass area, fishing with roe for wild steelhead remains fair at best, and all wild steelhead must be released unharmed. Few fin-clipped summer steelhead are in the Grants Pass area at this time, but anglers remain anxious for the first decent pods of winter steelhead to show up. Flows at Grants Pass bounced back up to 5,500 cfs, making for good conditions. A few early winter steelhead are reportedly in the mix, but catches have been erratic. In the lower Rogue, flows at Agness have swelled to almost 15,000 cfs, making everything a washout for winter steelhead. When the water starts to drop, winter steelhead fishing should be excellent for plunkers off lower river gravel bars like Lobster Creek, Huntley Park, the old Champion Mill site, Quosatana Creek and Dunkelberger Bar. The best bet will be large Spin-Glo’s. Target waters 5-7 feet deep along the inside turns of gravel bars. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. CHETCO — The river was high and virtually out of shape for most fishing, but a few bank anglers fishing in the higher portions of the river caught a few steelhead Wednesday. Conditions appear like fishing should be excellent by Christmas, depending upon how much more rain falls. The river was high and a little green farther up the system. UMPQUA — The main-stem was high and out of shape for fishing this week, but look for good catches of winter steelhead soon for anglers side-drifting roe from driftboats. Cover lots of water, because the fish will be moving. Wild steelhead must now be released unharmed, with limited wild steelhead harvest beginning Jan. 1 in the main stem. In the South Umpqua, high flows made for poor fishing, but look for good catches of winter steelhead when the rains subside. COOS — Winter steelhead fishing was poor as heavy rains blew out the Coos. Look for winter steelhead to be scattered throughout the river once the Coos drops and clears this weekend or early next week. COQUILLE — Water conditions remain high and fishing was out of shape throughout the vast majority of the basin this week. Steady rains rose and colored the South Fork and main stem. When it drops, target hatchery steelhead around Beaver Creek and Woodward Creek on the South Fork. That is where hatchery smolts are released, so the fish tend to return there in better numbers. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed. Lake Outlook LOST CREEK — The lake is open year-round and fishing remains fair for rainbow trout and land-locked salmon stocked into the lake. Smallmouth bass fishing remains good despite dropping water temperatures. The lake has held around its normal early winter elevation as the Corps of Engineers is releasing about as much water as is flowing into the lake. EMIGRANT — Smallmouth bass fishing is poor thanks to cold water conditions, while fishing for trout is fair near the dam and in open water. Panfish angling has slowed down dramatically as well. APPLEGATE — The low-water ramp at French Gulch is open. Fishing has been fair for rainbow trout and land-locked chinook salmon juveniles. Wind-drifting or slow-trolling of worms is a good way to locate the schools. 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. SILTCOOS/TAHKENITCH — The fall fishery for wild coho salmon has ended without anglers catching their quotas in either lake. Ocean Outlook Razor clam harvest remains closed along South Coast beaches. Crabbing has been poor in lower Coos and Winchester bays as freshets have pushed the crabs either to the lower ends of the bays or back to sea in search of better salinity. The ocean remains closed to crabbing until Dec. 31 to give ocean crabs time to fill out after molting. Fishing for black rockfish off jetties and rocks remains open, with catches poor as bad weather has pushed anglers off the rocks. Ocean rockfish angling remains closed until Jan. 1. Hunting Outlook JACKSON/JOSEPHINE — A collection of limited-entry youth hunts are currently going on for elk in the Rogue Unit. Mountain quail hunting has been very good in the upper Applegate as well as Prospect and Butte Falls areas. Waterfowl hunting is fair to good, with effort mostly concentrated on rural ponds and the Rogue River. Goose hunting re-opened Wednesday in southwest Oregon. The fall turkey season runs through Dec. 31. Waterfowl hunting on the Denman Wildlife Area should be picking up as more volatile weather has descended upon the Rogue Valley. COOS — Late-season bear hunting has been slow. The only active bears at this time are those that have found a good, consistent food source. The season ends Dec. 31. KLAMATH — Waterfowl hunting has improved in the Klamath Lake area as weather conditions help move birds around. Goose hunting has re-opened. SUMMER LAKE — Waterfowl hunting has remained very good at the Summer Lake Wildlife Area, thanks chiefly to excellent conditions and decent bird numbers. Last week’s freezing temperatures pushed some waterfowl out of the wildlife area, but hunters are averaging 2.36 birds per trip. That’s almost five times the average of the same week last year, when drought and bluebird weather plagued hunters all winter. 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 — Gray whale migration is occurring, and some can be spotted from shore. Waterfowl are migrating on the coast, so look for them on local beaches and bays. Mud flats at low tide are like bird magnets this time of year. Aleutian Canada geese are passing along the coast toward wintering grounds in Northern California. Look for them around Cape Blanco. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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