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The best bet is anywhere from the mouth of the Applegate River down to the chute near the Grave Creek boat ramp. The area will be pocked with fresh schools of winter steelhead, most of which are headed toward the Applegate at this time. Roe and worms with corkies should work best for driftboaters who are best off prospecting and high-grading riffles until they find the fish. Once located, target a school with several passes. Water levels are still low, but there's enough color in the water and just enough new height to get the steelhead moving. The lower Rogue pulled into excellent fishing shape Wednesday, when plunkers returned to the gravel bars downstream of Quosatana Creek. They were faring well with Spin-Glo's fished in water less than 5 feet deep. Driftboaters also should do well downstream from the mouth of the Illinois River as well as the Brewery Hole area. Advertisement In the middle Rogue, anglers were targeting steelhead Wednesday near Whitehorse Park, Finley Bend and around Robertson Bridge. Roe and puffballs are best, but small Kwikfish fished in deep, slow runs also are working. Flows at Grants Pass were just 2,621 cubic feet per second Wednesday, but look for that to increase thanks to Wednesday's intermittent rain. The upper Rogue remains somewhat slow for winter steelhead, but a flurry of activity since Feb. 7 have helped things out tremendously. With 343 fish over the dam on Feb. 11, that boosts the counts over 1,000 steelhead so far, and it remains very early in the upper Rogue run. None of those winter steelhead have hit Cole Rivers Hatchery yet, so figure the majority of them are still downstream of Shady Cove. Wild steelhead may now be kept downstream of Hog Creek. The limit, however, is one wild winter steelhead of at least 24 inches, and no more than five wild steelhead a year. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. APPLEGATE — Fresh steelhead are starting to move into the lower Applegate, but none have yet to make it all the way to the fish trap at the base of Applegate Dam. These early migrating fish can be very aggressive on flies, spoons and roe. Focus on the Wilderville area, where the river was flowing at 570 cubic feet per second — a tad low, but good enough. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed, and no fishing from a floating device. Most of the Applegate is on private lands and access is limited. CHETCO — The river was flowing at just shy of 3,000 cubic feet per second Wednesday. As the river starts to drop, look for good catches of fresh winter steelhead on roe or the roe-and-sandshrimp cocktail. Steelhead are well distributed throughout the system, with fishing likely best this weekend at the far upper end as well as the waters from Ice Box to Loeb. Angler can keep one wild steelhead a day and up to five a year as part of their limits. Hatchery steelhead are less prevalent than wild steelhead. ELK/SIXES — Both rivers were up and fishing fairly well for winter steelhead, which are well-distributed throughout both rivers. The Elk and Sixes get a late splash of fish each February and March, and these steelhead are aggressive biters of plugs. UMPQUA — The main-stem Umpqua in the Roseburg and the South Umpqua could be too stained for steelhead fishing until the weekend, when the far upper end of the Umpqua and the South Umpqua should be in great shape for winter steelhead fishing. The lower section of the North Umpqua was in great shape Wednesday and fishing well for winter steelhead. Sturgeon fishing has slowed down in the estuary thanks to the recent freshet. COOS — Steelhead fishing has improved amid higher water conditions. Fish tail-outs with small clusters or roe. COQUILLE — The South Fork was high but fishable Wednesday for winter steelhead. Fish small clusters of roe in deeper, slower water. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake is closed to angling. HYATT — The lake is closed to angling. LOST CREEK — The lake's surface temperature has improved slightly, but conditions remain cold enough to keep the trout bite slow and but the freeze on smallmouth bass fishing. Bait-fishing upstream of Peyton Bridge remains fair at times despite an increase in inflows, but effort is very light. The fish are concentrated, so they might be tough to find. EMIGRANT — Winter weather conditions and regular winds have hampered trout fishing near the park and around the earthen dam. Cold water also has slowed the warmwater catches. A health advisory has been issued about eating all but trout from the lake because of elevated mercury levels. APPLEGATE — Trout fishing has remained poor for both legal-sized rainbow trout and stocked salmon, which tend to school at rocky points. Anglers can keep up to five rainbow trout or stocked salmon 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. EXPO POND — One of the ponds near Gate 5 has been stocked with excess summer steelhead from Cole Rivers Hatchery. They are biting woolly buggers and small Panther Martin lures. Action is slow and the water is cold. Only one of these steelhead over 20 inches can be kept daily. KLAMATH/ AGENCY LAKES — Fishing for large Klamath trout has slowed throughout the lake during extremely cold weather conditions. Ocean Outlook The ocean outside of Brookings is forecast to be rough for the next few days and probably not good enough for bottomfishing or crabbing. Early lingcod fishing has been good outside of Brookings when weather allows for easy passage. Dungeness crabs are very plentiful throughout South Coast estuaries, but the vast majority of crabs this season has been undersized. Perch fishing has been good off the beach at Kissing Rock near the mouth of Hunter Creek as well as the rock bay at Ophir. The entire Oregon coast is now open for razor clams, bay clams, and mussels. Before doing any clamming, check for any updated health advisories by calling the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Shellfish line at 800-448-2474 for updates. For more information about razor clams and current status of particular areas see the ODFW razor clam web page at " target="_blank">www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/razorclams. Crabbing has been excellent in Coos Bay because of its saltwater content. Hunting Outlook JACKSON — Cougar hunters are reminded to buy a 2007 cougar tag. With low snow levels cougars tracks maybe easily located along ridge line, Predator calls have been successful for both cougars. 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. GENERAL — The Oregon Coast Birding Trail Guide at www.oregoncoastbirding.com is a website that highlights great birding opportunities all along the Oregon coast. It's divided into sections of coastline, and the north coast is only a click away from the main home page. Links to checklists and sponsors can be found on the home page as well. COAST — Gray whales are migrating south from the Bering Sea on their way down along the Pacific coast to the Baja area. Late December and early January is the peak of the migration season, but the migration continues through March. There are a number of excellent places to view the whales from. From north to south, including Harris Beach near Brookings and Cape Arago near Charleston. Binoculars are recommended. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary