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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 1, 2005 Change in angling regulations begins today Outdoor Notes By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune The new sea-change in angling regulations for the upper Rogue River begins today under new "compromise" angling rules drafted last fall to quell complaints about fall bait- fishing bans there. Anglers fishing from Gold Ray Dam upstream to the Hatchery Hole may use only artificial flies now through October during the summer steelhead fishing season. During this season, anglers can use any type of rod and reel, but no lead-core fishing lines are allowed and no other weights or attachments can be used except bobbers and other forms of floats. This historical switch away from bait fishing for summer steelhead is a move designed to keep steelhead anglers from hounding spring chinook salmon now spawning in upper Rogue gravel bars. Beginning Nov. 1, the main shifts over the bait-ban controversy begins. Advertisement On Nov. 1, sport anglers will be allowed to use bait, lures or flies through December when fishing upstream of the Shady Cove Park boat ramp. In the previous four years of fall bait-bans, the downstream deadline for legal bait-fishing was the Rogue Elk boat ramp about seven miles farther upstream. Downstream of the Shady Cove Park ramp, fishing will remain open only to artificial flies and lures through December. The change was enacted by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission as a compromise between bait- and fly-fishing interests over angling methods each November and December on the upper Rogue. Those who opposed bait fishing argued that bait harmed catch-and-release fishing for native summer steelhead, which all must be released unharmed. The argument was presented despite an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife opinion that banning bait helped a negligible number of wild steelhead survive catch-and-release fishing. To settle the dispute, the commission divided the area in hopes of providing enough river for guides to run full days of November bait-fishing for steelhead while keeping bait out of more than half the upper Rogue during those two months. While steelhead anglers are breaking new ground on the Rogue today, bowhunters across Oregon are mired in a familiar start to their season. Hot weather once again has marred archers who are struggling against the elements in their quest for deer and elk in southwest Oregon. Extreme fire danger after an unusually hot summer also has hurt access to some private forested areas across Oregon. In other words, it’s a typical opener for bowhunters. "I don’t think things have started off very well," says Don Pritchett, owner of DewClaw Archery Supplies in Medford. "This year just seemed to be so hot for so long without a break. That will affect it, for sure." And just how bad was it? According to the National Weather Service in Medford, the 40 days between July 14 and Aug. 22 featured 11 days with high temperatures of 100 degrees or hotter and 27 days that were at least 96 degrees. The heat statewide was enough to trigger public-access closures in several industrial timber holdings across Oregon. Locally, most areas are open, though vehicle access is restricted in some areas. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Mark Vargas says he had hoped bowhunters would get a little help when cold weather moved into the region Sunday. However, ODFW biologists and Oregon State Police troopers checking the woods found few hunters and very poor success, Vargas says. That’s the give-and-take of early archery season, Vargas says. Though hunters are in the woods during the elk rut, the weather can cancel out that benefit, he says. "Sometimes it’s a wash," he says. "Sometimes it’s a hindrance and sometimes it’s a benefit." While evening low temperatures have not been low enough to jump-start the bow season, they’ve been more than enough to send dove hunters into mourning. Mourning dove numbers were high until last week, when cooler climes send the doves south en masse just before today’s opener. "It’s not a common year when everything lines up to where there’s a good start to archery hunting and dove hunting," Vargas says. The dove season runs through Sept. 30, with a 10-bird daily limit. Though the majority of doves have left, fair numbers of doves do remain. Doves can be best found in oak areas where there also are water sources. Cut-over grain fields can also house plenty of birds. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail Change in angling regulations begins today ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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