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63 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, September 17, 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 How To Guide 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 August 26, 2004 FISHING AND HUNTING REPORT River Outlook ROGUE — Fall chinook are barreling upstream thanks to the rise in river flows and the drop in temperatures, offering improved fishing from Agness on up while almost turning the bay fishery off like a light switch. Steelhead continue to be moving and halfpounders are starting to make a good show in the lower Rogue. The best bet for the weekend is back to fall chinook, and exactly where can be tough to predict. With water temperatures down to 63 degrees in Grants Pass, that should make for good fishing in moving water but less success in the traditional holes and stillwater stretches often preferred by the fall chinook crowd. Hordes of fish are moving through the Rogue Canyon, and they’re not sticking around to bite. That makes Kwikfish in migration lanes a great choice for this week. The lower Rogue bay fishery turned poor Tuesday as water conditions dropped to 67 degrees. Trolling the bay is very slow, with guides moving upstream to freshwater riffles in hopes of intercepting salmon on their way toward Grants Pass. Halfpounder fishing, however, is starting to improve and fly-fishing has been very good for halfpounders in the Lobster Creek area on up past Cougar Lane. Streamers fished on sink-tip or sinking lines is best. In the upper Rogue, fishing is open only for summer steelhead, but good catches remain on bait, plugs and flies. Fly-fishing is best with nymphs swung through fast riffles, while nymphing fast water is also productive. The upper Rogue moves into its traditional flies-only season Wednesday, so expect this last weekend of bait-fishing to be both popular and effective. Through Aug. 11, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has counted 5,077 summer steelhead, making the early run very strong. However, the early component of the run is starting to peter out as normal, so don’t expect too many fresh fish to head into the upper Rogue until next month. Bans on keeping more than one wild chinook are now off for the remainder of the year downstream of Gold Ray Dam when angling is allowed. Remember, all wild steelhead must be released unharmed for the remainder of the year. Advertisement Outflows have remained steady this past week from Lost Creek Lake, with about 1,800 cubic feet per second now getting released. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call (800)472-2434. The far upper Rogue near Union Creek is still getting stocked weekly with legal-sized rainbow trout, and catches of these fish are good on small lures, single salmon eggs, worms and flies. UMPQUA — Steelhead fishing is slow in the main-stem and fair in the North Umpqua. Catches are about the same in the all-angling and flies-only sections of the North Umpqua. Smallmouth bass fishing remains good in the main- stem, while sturgeon fishing remains slow in tidewater. COOS/COQUILLE — Chinook fishing has slowed between the jetties in Coos Bay, with anchovies mooched off the bottom triggering the best catches. Chinook are also present in the lower Coquille, with trolling large spinners fair in tidewater. Sea-run cutthroat trout are also present in tidewater. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The morning trollers continue to focus on natural-colored lures, with Tasmanian Devils working best. Despite mid-August weather, good catches of 16-inch trout have been seen. Fish as deep as possible. The limit remains five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches allowed. Velveeta cheese and light colored PowerBait are the most productive baits, although a lot of people are picking fish up on red eggs. HYATT — The lake remains good for rainbow trout, with most catches in the 12-16 inch range. Evening fishing is best, either slowly trolling or still-fishing. Still-fishing with PowerBait will be best for trout, while worms and single salmon eggs are good back-ups. The limit remains five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches a day allowed. DIAMOND — Fishing is fair to good for stocked rainbows along the south end of the lake, with fish congregating near Silent and Short creeks. Early morning is good in the shallows, but the fish are going to 30-35 feet deep and near the middle of the lake during the day. Trollers are still catching trout with red Needlefish or No. 5 Rapalas. The limit is five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches a day allowed. LOST CREEK — As surface temperatures drop to 70 degrees, trolling for trout should remain good but in more shallow water. Trout fishing remains good with bait near freshwater sources and trolling is best around the marina and near the face of the dam, with mornings and evenings best. Remember, the waters upstream of Peyton Bridge are a no-wake zone, so it’s a good mid-day refuge from water-skiers. The lake is open year-round for trout and bass fishing, with trout anglers out-numbering bass anglers throughout the cold-weather months. APPLEGATE — Fishing for stocked chinook feeding along the surface remains good on calm days. Fishing for trout is best around points and in the deeper parts of the upper end of the lake. Trolling flies or worms is best. Bass fishing has improved around willows, submerged trees and rocky points. 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. No bass between 12 inches and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. FISH — Trolling and still-fishing for trout remains good near the resort and the boat ramp, while fly-fishing is good in the evenings with woolly buggers and leeches. WILLOW — Recently stocked with 4,900 legal-sized rainbow trout, and fishing is good. Bass are hovering off points and along weed lines. SELMAC — The lake remains closed to public access due to an outbreak of potentially toxic blue-green algae. EMIGRANT — The lake was recently stocked with 4,000 legal-sized rainbow for late-season fishing. Smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing remains good, but the lake is dropping rapidly and the lack of depth is exposing most of the willows. For smallmouth, concentrate on the rocky points regardless of depth. Ocean Outlook Catches of chinook and fin-clipped coho salmon have tapered off to slow again, and 7-foot swells Wednesday chased most anglers off the water. Thundershowers and rain are forecast, but 2-foot swells are expected today. The chinook and coho remain spread out, with most anglers focusing anywhere from 2 to 10 miles offshore. Less than a quarter of the 75,000-coho quota for the ocean coastal season has been landed so far, and angling is scheduled to close for coho on Monday evening. Chinook fishing will continue. Cabezon fishing is closed across the Oregon coast because anglers have caught the 2004 quota. All cabezon must be released unharmed. All wild coho must be released unharmed. Crabbing remains slow. Shellfish harvest is open for all species except razor clams on the south and central coast. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Deer and elk bow seasons open Saturday, and hunters can expect an average or possibly below-average year. Early season effort should be concentrated on high-elevation areas along north slopes, where habitat conditions are generally more favorable. Early morning movement from feeding areas to cover sports the best opportunities. Bear hunters are in the early stages of what is expected to be an average year throughout most of southwest Oregon. Hunters should concentrate their efforts in the berry patches in early morning and late afternoon. Bear numbers are good with the highest numbers at moderate to low elevations in the coast range, and with smaller populations in the Cascades. Successful bear hunters are reminded to turn in a bear tooth for the ongoing bear population study in southwest Oregon. Cougar hunters also can expect an average year. Cougars are abundant throughout, with indicators pointing to stable or increasing numbers and distribution. Hunting cougar is a challenge because these animals are very secretive, but harvest success is greatest adjacent to private land with high deer populations using a predator call. DOUGLAS — Bow hunters can expect average to below-average successes this year for deer and elk. Deer populations are similar to last year, if not slightly less. Look for bucks on north slopes near water sources. Higher- elevation areas have declining elk numbers, and success is expected to be fair. 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. 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