Document text
M/SUNNY Temp: 65 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Monday, September 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend July 17, 2003 Miro Perc, of Medford, drags a 4-pound hatchery summer steelhead onto a Rogue River gravel bar Tuesday near Central Point. The steelhead's early run on the Rogue is excellent this year, perhaps foreshadowing another great fishing season. A steelhead lover’s delight The Rogue River is sporting a high number of early summer steelhead, and this year’s run could provide one of the best fisheries since the the late 1980s By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Since moving to Medford 14 years ago, Miro Perc has come to develop a special relationship with the Rogue River’s summer steelhead. Perc, a 69-year-old Slovenian immigrant, muscles up all the energy he has left from two lung-cancer operations to cast his spinning rod from a folding chair along the Rogue bank near TouVelle. "I love fishing for them, really," Perc says between casts. "To me, they’re more fun to catch than salmon." Advertisement Perc and other steelhead lovers could be in for quite a long and steamy affair this year on the Rogue. The river already is sporting an unusually high run of early summer steelhead, and indications are this year’s run will provide one of the best fisheries since the mega-runs of the late 1980s. The large, feisty sea-going trout are the latest of the Rogue’s anadromous fish to benefit from strong ocean conditions and good survival rates that have triggered large runs of large fish here for the past two years. Last year’s summer steelhead run was the strongest in 15 years, with 23,000 wild and hatchery fish counted over Gold Ray Dam by the end of November, generating a fishery that drew hundreds of anglers from late summer through fall. Thousands more summer steelhead were either caught by anglers below the dam near Central Sams Valley last year, and at least a few thousand more spawned in middle Rogue tributaries like Foots and Kane creeks. And all indications are that 2003 should eclipse those successes. "It’s got to be as least as good as last year, if not better," says Russ Stauff, fish biologist who manages the Rogue watershed office for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. And so far, it’s the upper Rogue’s best-kept secret. In mid-July, normal returns of summer steelhead can range from a few dozen to a few hundred — more than 1,000 over Gold Ray Dam. When the counts hit triple-digits, anglers typically begin to consider saying good-bye to the spring chinook they’ve stalked since April and start targeting steelhead. Dam counts are lagging three weeks to a month, so anglers have been unaware how many steelhead are already here. Through June 28, 1,608 summer steelhead have crossed the dam, and no one knows how many have reached the upper Rogue since. Upper Rogue regulars, however, have sensed their presence. Spring chinook anglers throughout the region have reported catching several steelhead while targeting salmon. "People are catching 28- and 30-inch summer steelhead with Kwikfish while salmon fishing," says guide Craig Sutton of Medford, who caught a steelhead during a June salmon derby. Cole Rivers Hatchery has collected more than 600 steelhead so far. About 450 of them already have been recycled downstream, including a batch of 400 released Tuesday at Modoc just upstream from TouVelle State Park. Still, only a handful of anglers have started actually trying to catch steelhead. "People just aren’t used to them being here this early," says Todd Puett, a veteran upper Rogue fishing guide. "But with so many of them around, I’m going to start going after steelhead." Manuela Grillo, however, has parlayed her ignorance of regular Rogue patterns into early steelheading bliss. A German immigrant turned Medford housewife who took up steelhead fishing when she moved here two years ago, Grillo says she’s unaware that early July is usually too early for catching steelhead. She caught just two steelhead all last year, but she caught two this week fishing with Perc at Modoc. And that was even before the Cole Rivers’ stocking truck pulled up and dropped 400 more steelhead at her feet. "I’ve heard about this before, but I’ve never been here for it," Grillo says of the recycling truck. "It’s my lucky day." Veteran Rogue anglers will tell Grillo that any day fishing for steelhead is a lucky day. Most Oregon streams sport steelhead runs during winter, when fishing among cold, miserable and rainy weather is common. And winter steelhead can be a puzzling beast, so much so that Oregonians often tell neophyte steelheaders that they’ll have to fish an entire season before they hook their first one. Not so with summer steelhead. Though usually smaller than their winter counterparts, these fish are aggressive biters and easily found in the same fast-moving water all summer. Once located, they’re aggressive nature makes them relatively easy to hook on bait, flies or lures with light leader. Fishing’s done in swim trunks and sunscreen, not with Gore-Tex and warming fires. Summer steelhead also have the reputation as being the toughest fighting fish in America, pound-for-pound. "What I love most about steelhead fishing," Grillo says, "is the action." This year’s strong early returns of summer steelhead are no mystery. "We’re seeing this up and down the coast," says Stauff, the biologist. "We’ve had good enough ocean conditions the past two years that there’s so much more of everything showing up." Anglers like Sutton, however, are less interested in exactly why they’re here and more pleased simply that they’re here. "They might be early, but all I can say is thank God we got them," Sutton says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times