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Click Here 42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, January 31, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend December 18, 2003 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Steelhead fishing is heating up throughout the Rogue as a mix of winter-run and summer-run fish are keeping anglers busy at both ends of the river. The best bet, though, for the weekend is a split between the quality and quantity of steelhead you desire. For quantity, it’s the late-run summer steelhead throughout the upper Rogue, which was in very good fishing shape Wednesday. Those wanting bigger, brighter but likely fewer steelhead should start hitting the canyons and riffles downstream of Grants Pass for the first wave of winter steelhead to reach the valley. The upper Rogue has the highest concentration of both wild and hatchery steelhead, with 14,450 fish counted over Gold Ray Dam through Nov. 25. Cole Rivers Hatchery workers also recycled 1,000 steelhead Friday, splitting the loads between TouVelle State Park and the Modoc Unit of the Denman Wildlife Area. Outflows from Lost Creek Lake were up to 2,642 cubic feet per second Wednesday, but the water had excellent clarity. Most activity is upstream of Rogue Elk, where anglers can use roe. The upper Rogue from the Rogue Elk boat ramp to Gold Ray Dam is limited to artificial flies and lures only, but no bait, through December. A few anglers continue to report double-digit hook-up days during driftboat trips. Bank angling is centered around the Hatchery Hole and waters downstream to Casey State Park. Weighted egg flies cast with spinning rods and fished under bobbers are the most common offering, with roe second. Advertisement In the Grants Pass area, early winter steelhead fishing is fairly good in the canyons from Galice to Grave Creek, and look for more fresh fish to move in as water levels continue to drop. Early winter steelhead usually precludes a good season. Roe out- produces plugs in early catches, especially in the deeper canyon areas. The lower Rogue remains fair to good for large winter steelhead by bank anglers working Huntley Park, the Lobster Creek gravel bar and Dunkelberger Bar, with large Spin-Glo’s spiced with shrimp scent or a new sandshrimp scent that is getting good reviews. Roe tends to draw the squawfish, so steer clear of that. Most of these fish are caught along the inside turns of gravel bars in 5 feet or less or water. For boat anglers, anchor along these same inside curves and let our bright- colored plugs. Some large adult steelhead remain in the lower Illinois and pockets of late-run summer steelhead adults are in riffles throughout the Agness area as well. Coho salmon are migrating now in the upper Rogue, but they are tough to catch. At Gold Ray Dam, 24,830 fall chinook have been counted through Nov. 25, which is the most updated count available from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Also, 11,567 coho have been counted over the dam as well, and look for those numbers to increase dramatically. For cohos, try red spinners, pink or red flies or roe. Most of the cohos will be caught by anglers targeting summer steelhead. Only fin- clipped steelhead and coho may be kept, and an extra fin-clipped coho is allowed along with your regular daily limit of two salmon and/or steelhead. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, telephone 1-800-472-2434. APPLEGATE RIVER — Releases from the dam have risen to 480 cubic feet per second after this week’s rains, and that has caused some summer steelhead to enter the lower river. They legally are off-limits to angling until Jan. 1. The river is closed to steelhead fishing until Jan. 1. The spawning fall chinook are off-limits to even catch-and-release angling throughout the Applegate. The river is open to angling downstream of the deadline below Applegate Dam. The trout limit is two adipose fin-clipped trout per day with an 8-inch minimum length. UMPQUA — Steelhead fishing was good in the lower river, but high waters have marred catches this week. In the main stem, anglers can keep up to three fin-clipped coho a day. Catches have improved for steelhead in the North Umpqua. ELK/SIXES — A mix of fall chinook and winter steelhead are starting to show up in the catches now that the river has dropped and cleared to fishable levels after last weekend’s heavy rains. The fish are well-distributed and some fresh late-run chinook came into the river. Roe is out-producing plugs upstream of Highway 101 on the Elk. Late-run chinook salmon continue to trickle into the Sixes, where catches and effort are lighter than on the Elk. The Elk has some wild coho salmon showing up in some catches. These fish must be released unharmed. DESCHUTES — The lower Deschutes was fair for late-run summer steelhead, with angling open through the end of the year. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed. COOS — Fishing for fall chinook and fin-clipped coho is slowing down, but anglers can still use anchovies or spinners in the bay and Isthmus Slough. The coho run is dying down for the season. COQUILLE — Winter steelhead fishing was very good in the South Fork downstream from Powers until Saturday’s storm raised and colored the stream. If no new rains occur, look for excellent winter steelhead catches this weekend with roe and plugs working equally well. Most of the fall chinook have already spawned and died. CHETCO — Fishing for winter steelhead is picking up for bank anglers using Spin-Glo’s and roe in the lower section of the river. The river is in excellent winter steelhead fishing shape, and catches should improve as the season progresses. Water levels remain high, but the river has great color and this weekend could be very good for winter steelhead if no new rains develop. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake is closed to all fishing. HYATT — The lake is closed to all fishing. DIAMOND — The lake is closed to all fishing. SILTCOOS — The lake is open for angling for wild coho salmon, but the fish are sparse in the lake now. Many of the fish caught this past week were dark, but high waters likely drew them into spawning tributaries. A few fresh and very bright cohos up to 14 pounds were reportedly caught near the inlet and at the railroad trestle. Troll or cast spinners or spoons or even try casting and retrieving bright-colored Hot Shots. Limits are one wild coho a day and up to five a year. The season is set to end Dec. 31 or if a 300-fish quota is reached. TAHKENITCH — The lake is open for angling for wild coho salmon, with the lake’s quota at 200 fish. Effort at Tahkenitch is much lighter than at Siltcoos, but try trolling along the open near-shore areas. The season remains open until Dec. 31 if the quota is not reached. LOST CREEK — The recent heavy rains rose the lake to 1813 feet elevation, which is enough for the boat ramp at Stewart State Park to be functional. The rise in water, however, typically juggles the trout around and the bite can die off. The large lunker rainbow stocked recently at the Takelma Boat Ramp have dispersed. Effort is light. The lake is open year-round for trout and bass fishing, with trout anglers out-numbering bass anglers throughout the cold-weather months. Trolling for trout is good near the base of the dam, where the Takelma Ramp is the only useable ramp for this winter. The lake’s surface temperature dropped to 45 degrees Wednesday, so look for the trout more toward the surface than farther down the water column. APPLEGATE — Few people are fishing for rainbow trout or bass, but good smallmouth fishing can be had on calm days near the dam. Worms, small crankbaits and grubs all work. Trolling for stocked coho is slow. The lake is open year- round. EMIGRANT — Trout fishing in the lower sections of the lake is fair from the bank or wind-drifting worms off the bottom. The lake is open year-round. Ocean Outlook Late-season bottomfishing is allowed only inside the 27-fathom curve, where canary rockfish and lingcod will be off-limits for harvest and these rules remain in effect through December. Ocean conditions have been rough, and few people are fishing. When the ocean settles down. expect more good catches of black and blue rockfish. All lingcod must be released unharmed. The coast is re-opened to the harvest of shellfish, with no species limited due to health risks. Crabbing has tapered off briefly at Brookings, Port Orford and Charleston because high runoff has pushed the crabs out to sea. In Coos Bay, try the far lowest end of the estuary as possible. That’s where the best salinity is. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Late-season archery hunting is closed, as well as the fall turkey season. Bears can be up and prowling for food between storms. The season remains open through December, but no new bear tags are available for sale. KLAMATH — Waterfowl hunting success has been poorer now that recent cold weather has frozen some of the wetlands and forced birds out of the basin. COOS — Upland bird hunters are reporting good success hunting ruffed grouse and mountain quail in Coos County. Due to relatively low populations of blue grouse, hunters are less likely to encounter these birds. Blue grouse move up- slope as winter approaches in many areas because they feed in tall conifers near ridge tops in winter. These are the places for hunters to concentrate their efforts if they are targeting blue grouse. Hunters interested in finding ruffed grouse and mountain quail should concentrate in creek bottoms, around grassy clear cuts and along closed forest roads. SUMMER LAKE — Waterfowl hunting success during the past week was fair, primarily due to favorable weather conditions that came to the wildlife area late in the week. Bird numbers were low, but cold temperatures provided for fair to good decoy hunting. Low temperatures in the high teens and low 20s combined with highs in the 30s and 40s resulted in a large portion of the area being frozen over. Habitat conditions remain fairly good, but many of the larger ponds and still-water areas have frozen over. Moving water below headgates, in the canal, and the Ana River remain open. Summer Lake proper continues to increase in size due to increased inflow from Ana River and as marsh units in the wildlife area continue to spill. 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 located on Whetstone Pond, just north of the ODFW office. WILLAMETTE — Snowshoe rabbits are found in both the coast range mountains and in the Cascade mountain areas. In the coast range, these rabbits are brownish in color all year. In the Cascade mountains and throughout the rest of their range, these rabbits turn white in the winter. They are very conspicuous during years when winter snows are late in arriving and they have already molted into their white winter coat. These rabbits can be observed by driving slowly on logging roads early in the morning or by following tracks in fresh snow to where they are hiding. NORTHWEST — Brown pelicans are common along the northern Oregon coast in the fall. They can be seen roosting along the south jetty of the Columbia River, and on many offshore rocks along the coast. They are also frequently seen feeding in estuaries. Great egrets are tall, white heron-like birds that can be seen along the northeastern portions of Tillamook Bay, especially Larson’s and Miami coves. They often are seen feeding on the mud flats at low tide, but sometimes roost in trees along the edge of the bay. Peregrine falcons have finished nesting, but still can be seen along the coast feeding on seabirds and waterfowl. They sometimes can be spotted resting on nearshore rocks, such as Three Arch Rocks. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times