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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend May 11, 2006 Fishing & Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Spring chinook salmon fishing remains pretty slow, but it’s the only game in town for mid-May as the river continues its transformation from winter steelhead season to salmon season. The best bet appears to be springer fishing in the Pearce Riffle area and waters just downstream of Savage Rapids Dam, where the spring fill of the reservoir upstream of the dam will slow migration into next week. Boat anglers are finding an occasional springer in the boil hole near Pearce as well as upstream and right across from the boat ramp, but catches are light for this time of year. Bank anglers using beads are also hitting a few fish a day. The Rainie Falls area also has been slow for springers, but fresh fish are visible. The lower Rogue remains hit-and-miss for spring chinook, with catches spotty and weather a bit tough. Catches were good at the old mill site 4 miles up from Gold Beach recently, but heavy afternoon winds have chased fishermen off the water. The water temperature has hit the mid-50s just upstream of tidewater. Lower Rogue springers are caught mainly from anchored boats with spinning anchovies bounded behind them. Incoming tides have been best. Advertisement In the upper Rogue, the early-run spring chinook numbers are very low. Just 470 spring chinook over Gold Ray Dam as of Sunday, and only a handful have reached Cole Rivers Hatchery. Also, flows are fluctuating in the upper Rogue. Releases from Lost Creek Lake were down about 500 cubic feet per second this week to 2,613 cfs Wednesday. Flows at Dodge Bridge were just shy of 3,000 cfs, while flows at Gold Ray Dam were down to 3,500 cfs and the flows were at 3,616 cfs at Grants Pass. For spring chinook, the limit is two chinook a day, but the wild chinook limit now is one per day and no more than three per year. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. UMPQUA — Sturgeon fishing remains very good in the estuary for oversized fish that all must be released unharmed. Also, striped bass fishing has started to heat up in the lower river as well. The main-stem river remains spotty for spring chinook salmon, with the most action coming between Scotts Creek to Scottsburg Park. The wild winter steelhead harvest in the main-stem Umpqua is over. The South Umpqua is closed to steelhead fishing. On the North Umpqua, where late-run winter steelhead have slowed due to cold water conditions. COOS — The river closed to steelhead fishing Sunday. A few striped bass have been caught recently, and shad fishing has yet to take off. The Charleston boat ramp is now open in the lower end of Coos Bay. COQUILLE — The winter steelhead season is over. A few striped bass have been reported in the Prospect area, but catches and effort have been light. KLAMATH RIVER — Fishing for native redband trout has improved on flies and lures. River fishing from Keno Dam downstream to Topsy Reservoir is very slow due to high flows. Angling in the cold water reach from J.C. Boyle Dam to the powerhouse is fair for small redband trout, most of which are under 12 inches. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake’s water temperature is improving daily and trolling for trout has picked up over last week. Trolling is best, with anglers doing fairly well near Grizzly Campground as well as around the Howard Prairie Resort. The feeding trout are mostly in waters around 10 feet deep. Needlefish and black Panther Martins are popular. Still fishing is best with worms or PowerBait, but catches have been slow. A few bass are starting to show up in the catch. The lake’s limit remains five trout over 8 inches long per day, but only one of those trout can be over 20 inches long. HYATT — The lake is ice-free and full, and trout fishing is slowly picking up amid cold water conditions. A few trollers are working the shallows around the lake, but effort has remained light. Hyatt Lake normally heats up by late May for trolling, with evening trolling of Needlefish or Tasmanian Devils a good bet. The lake’s limit remains five trout over 8 inches long per day, but only one of those trout can be over 20 inches long. DIAMOND — The lake is ice-free and open for angling, with the new 20-fish daily limit and no size restrictions kicking in Saturday. Fresh rainbow trout are set to be stocked this week near the resort. LOST CREEK — The lake remains just shy of full as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is spilling a hair less water than is flowing into the lake. The surface temperature has jumped to 59 degrees, which has made trolling for trout good near the dam and marina. The water is still a little cold coming in to fish at the upper end of the lake. Smallmouth bass fishing is improving and is good now in the shallows, and look for bass fishing to improve with every warm day. A few early salmon flies have been reported. EMIGRANT — Fishing has improved slightly in the reservoir for warmwater fish as the water starts to warm and clear in the lake’s upper ends. The lake is full. Trout fishing has picked up a bit in the lower reaches of the reservoir. Mercury levels in smallmouth bass have created a warning against eating anything but the lake’s trout. APPLEGATE — Trout fishing has heated up on both legal and lunker rainbow trout stocked this spring. Trolling, still-fishing with worms or PowerBait is good around the dam and the intake tower, while trollers are doing well with worms or lures. Bass and panfish fishing is improving as well amid increasingly warm days. The lake is less than three feet from full, which means the Seattle Bar area will be a good weekend option for still-fishing, casting of small lures and fly-fishing from float tubes. The Hart-Tish boat ramp and store are open. 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. Also, no bass between 12 and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. WILLOW — The lake is ice-free and recently stocked with legal-sized and lunker-sized rainbow trout. The boat ramp and store are open and trout catches have been very good for trollers. Crappie fishing is also starting to heat up. ALL SPORTS POND — The pond was stocked recently with larger-than-normal rainbow trout, and fishing has remained good with worms and bobbers or PowerBait along the bottom. WHETSTONE — The pond at the Denman Wildlife Area was stocked again recently with legal-sized trout for the recent kids’ derby. Adults and kids can fish the pond. Catch these trout with worms, small spinners and PowerBait. SELMAC — The lake near Selma was stocked recently with larger-than-normal rainbow trout, and catches were still good with worms or rainbow-colored PowerBait. KLAMATH/ AGENCY LAKES — Fishing for large redband trout is slow. Bank anglers around the south end of the lake and Algoma pond are using dead minnows and are starting to catch redband up to 9 pounds. Ocean Outlook Razor clam harvest has opened in beaches north of Florence, but domoic acid levels mean south coast beaches remained closed to all clam harvest. The ocean chinook salmon season for recreational anglers opens Monday in the Klamath Management Zone, with a two-chinook daily limit. Early catches are expected to be light. Crabbing has been good in South Coast bays. Lingcod fishing is excellent throughout the coast. Red tail perch and even lingcod are getting caught off the beach near Gold Beach as these species move closer to shore. The new aggregate limit is six marine rockfish a day. Hunting Outlook JACKSON/JOSEPHINE — The spring turkey season has remained steady over the past week, but the birds are starting to get less talkative. Weather conditions should remain very favorable through the weekend. The birds are most active right at dawn. Cougar hunters can expect an average year and will find greatest success using a predator call in areas that have good deer numbers. When snowfall occurs, hunters should look for fresh cougar tracks and pursue. Good cougar hunting opportunities exist throughout southwest Oregon. 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. CURRY — Aleutian Canada geese are passing along the coast toward wintering grounds in Northern California. Look for them around Cape Blanco. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s