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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News AP Entertainment Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Holiday Guide Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend December 21, 2006 New set of steelhead recycled into TouVelle By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Perhaps the best last shot at a Christmas steelhead from the upper Rogue River comes today at TouVelle State Park, where a thick school of steelhead arrived Wednesday with a little assistance from some angling elves. And if this latest set of "retread" summer steelhead recycled into the Rogue at TouVelle doesn't fill your holiday plate, then another recycling effort planned next week could delivery a New Year's Eve steelhead to your table. Cole Rivers Hatchery workers are taking advantage of a slew of extra steelhead recently entering the facility by doing two late-December recycles of these fish. On Tuesday, 730 adults were recycled from the Trail-area hatchery to the TouVelle State Park boat ramp, says David Pease, the hatchery's assistant manager. Many of these fish shot into the hatchery from the upper Rogue last week after heavy rains and increased flows from Lost Creek Lake enticed steelhead to migrate, Pease says. Advertisement "And the way they've moved in, I'm hoping to do another collection next Wednesday, meaning we could do another recycle (Dec. 29)," Pease says. Though late in the run, these fish are hearty enough for the barbecue or smoker. Danny Casey of Central Point got wind of Wednesday's recycling effort. Standing on the boat ramp with a handful of fishing pals, Casey cast flies with a spinning rod, catching the porpoising steelhead with a regularity far greater than normal on the upper Rogue. "I probably catch 15 steelhead in an hour, and you can do better if you stick around longer," Casey says. "They're fun. When bass fishing slows, these are the next best thing." Since bait remains banned until Jan. 1 on the TouVelle stretch of the upper Rogue, egg flies, prince nymph flies, pink rubber worms or Panther Martin lures are the offerings of choice for retreads. First tried in the early 1990s, retread steelhead are the Rogue version of recapped snow tires or television reruns. These are adult summer steelhead whose premature return to Cole Rivers Fish Hatchery this fall has earned them a one-way ticket back downstream for another swim past upper Rogue anglers. Marked by paper-punch holes through their gill plates, these excess steelhead are recycled into the upper Rogue as many as four times as part of an effort to get as many hatchery-raised fish into anglers' hands as possible. Typically, the recycle program ends Dec. 31 to reduce straying onto wild summer steelhead spawning grounds, so next week's releases likely will be the last for the season, Pease says. Through Tuesday, Cole Rivers Hatchery has seen 2,962 adult summer steelhead return. Tuesday's releases bump the recycle program almost 2,500 excess fish this year. That's about 500 fish more than last year but far under the 2004 recycle of more than 4,300 adults, he says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] . Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Men's Clothing Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Discount Hotel Reservations Send Flowers Casinos Canada Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Trunks, Footlocker Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com