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Mark Freeman Your life is tough enough, so take a break, go fishing By MARK FREEMAN It's cold, there's deep snow in the mountains and the truck needs an oil change. Those are precise reasons why you should go fishing. Know rules before wetting line By MARK FREEMAN Thousands of anglers will take to their favorite rivers, lakes, ponds and streams April 24 for the traditional Opening Day of the spring trout season and the unofficial start of the angling year. But many of those who cast, troll, jig or plunk their way toward catching their favorite fish will do so illegally -- and often unknowingly. Photo from Mail Tribune files More than a quarter-of-a-million anglers will break out their gear on Opening Day. Nasty new trout puts up a fight By MARK FREEMAN ROSEBURG -- There's a new trout in town at Diamond Lake, and the people stalking it better bring strong line in their reels. A predatory trout planted in the high Cascade lake north of Union Creek has brought a silver lining of sorts to anglers suffering through the storm of tui chubs overtaking the lake. Deep freeze hits Hyatt, Howard Prairie Opening Day could be iced out as result By MARK FREEMAN ASHLAND -- Old Man Winter is giving thousands of Southern Oregon anglers the cold shoulder, threatening the spring Opening Day tradition on the Dead Indian Plateau. A harsh winter followed by a strangely chilly and snowy spring have left Hyatt and Howard Prairie lakes covered with ice heading into mid-April. Clubs offer chance to be involved By MARK FREEMAN There are several fishing or fish-related groups people can join in the Medford and Grants Pass areas. ROGUE FLYFISHERS ASSOCIATION : Medford-based association meets monthly to discuss flyfishing, fly tying and also holds outings. Willow lures bass anglers BUTTE FALLS -- Willow Lake will open its second consecutive summer season without a concessionaire to run the lake's resort operations. But enough facilities remain for camping, boating and fishing throughout the summer season at this popular trout and bass lake in the Cascades near Butte Falls. Chinook recycling returns to the Rogue By MARK FREEMAN State fish biologists will return to an old trick this season for helping upper Rogue River anglers catch more hatchery spring chinook salmon this season. Excess adult spring chinook at Cole Rivers Hatchery will be trucked back downstream to TouVelle State Park and released throughout June to give upper Rogue anglers a second chance at catching them. MT file photo Striking out for precocials can be precious By MARK FREEMAN Several local lakes and ponds are already stocked with young male steelhead that can turn a regular day's trout fishing into something truly special. The hatchery raised steelhead are called "precocials" because they sexually mature too early to survive a trip from Cole Rivers Fish Hatchery to the ocean like normal hatchery fish. Events mark Free Fishing Day By MARK FREEMAN Fishing groups throughout Oregon again will try to get kids away from their Nintendo machines and introduce them to the virtues of angling come early June. Oregon this year will mark its 10th anniversary of Free Fishing Day with a host of festivities throughout the state June 12-13. Emigrant could yield trophy crappie By MARK FREEMAN ASHLAND -- The black crappie darting in and out of the submerged willows at Emigrant Lake are part of a new experiment to see if fishing regulations can create a trophy crappie fishery here. Beginning this year, anglers will be limited to keeping only crappie of 8 inches or larger at Emigrant Lake, making the shallow reservoir near Ashland Oregon's first and only water with any sort of limit on crappie catches. Chinook on Lost Creek, Applegate menus By MARK FREEMAN TRAIL -- The Great Chinook Experiment is starting to look like a good one at Jackson County's two largest fishing lakes. The two-year test planting of infant chinook salmon in Lost Creek and Applegate lakes has helped create an alternative to trout and bass fishing at these two popular deep-water reservoirs. Generous season boon to ocean angling By MARK FREEMAN BROOKINGS -- Sport anglers are gearing up for a summer season of offshore salmon fishing this year that likely will lead to even more chances to pull a chinook salmon from the deep blue sea than last year. The Pacific Fishery Management Council has set a 70-day summer salmon season for sportsmen in the six ports of Southern Oregon and Northern California that make up the so-called Klamath Management Zone. More halibut fishing days come our way By MARK FREEMAN BROOKINGS -- Jim Welter made a reasonable request to the government and actually got a bigger piece of the pie than he lobbied for. Welter, a 70-year-old sport-fishing advocate in Brookings, had wanted Southern Oregon to have its own summerlong halibut sport-fishing season with a tiny quota. MT file photo There are plenty of fish out there for everybody. Why not make fishing family affair By MARK FREEMAN OK, Mom and Dad, this is for you. So Johnny wants to go fishing with that rod and reel grandpa bought him for Christmas, and you feel like you have a better chance of catching beach balls in your mouth than a trout on a hook. Regional fishing report Here's the Oregon Spring Fishing Forecast as compiled by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife: Outdoor Journal main page Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA