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CLEAR Temp: 67 °F Wind: NW at 4 mph Monday, August 11, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend July 24, 2003 Fishing & Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — The Rogue is a cornucopia of angling opportunities, ranging from early-run fall chinook in the lower Rogue bay to a good bite on late-run spring chinook in the upper Rogue. An early contingent of summer steelhead and the first few halfpounders of the season round out the Rogue’s offerings. The best bet for the week is spring chinook fishing in the upper Rogue, where a good contingent of late-run fish are keeping anglers busy from both the bank and from boats. The upper Rogue’s chinook bite has been good early in the morning from Gold Ray Dam up to the Hatchery Hole, but boat anglers are out-fishing bank anglers. Roe and sandshrimp are out- producing Kwikfish for boat anglers. Most of the boat catches have come in traditional holes like the Betts Hole, Buzzard Hole and Glass House. Wild fish are out-numbering hatchery fish. For bank anglers, the bite has slowed at the Hatchery Hole, where first light still is the best time to fish. Glow-in-the-dark beads and yarn are most common. The out-flow from Lost Creek Lake remaindropped to 1,601 cubic feet per second, and the water-release temperature also has dropped to just under 48 degrees. That’s cold for this time of year. Advertisement Through July 7, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has counted 32,694 spring chinook over Gold Ray Dam, and 11,786 of them have already reached Cole Rivers Hatchery as of July 14. Summer steelhead fishing sporadic in the upper Rogue, where there are plenty of early-run steelhead. Through July 7, the ODFW counted 3,103 summer steelhead over the dam — an excellent count for that period — and at least 100 are coming over the dam daily. Through July 14, 619 of those hatchery fish have reached Cole Rivers Hatchery. About 400 of those fish were recycled to Modoc last week and fishing was good for about a day before those extra steelhead ran back up-river. These early steelhead are very aggressive biters, willing to take all kinds of flies as well as roe, worms, sandshrimp and most small plugs. The lower Rogue is fair to good for a mix of fresh fall chinook and some late-run spring chinook, but fresh fall chinook are out-numbering the late springers. Trolling is the only way to go, with anchovies with G-Spot spinners the main bait, with straight anchovies second. No one is using herring yet. Only about 60 boats have been working the bay regularly now, and some fish in the lower 40-pound range are common among the catch. Salmon are also biting just below Lobster Creek, which gives boat and bank anglers an extra option. Smelt are in the bay now, and the first few halfpounders of the season are getting caught by fly-fishermen and bait anglers in the Lobster Creek area. In the Grants Pass area, some chinook have been seen rolling in some parts of the river, but these likely are late-run spring chinook and not the fresh fall chinook that Grants Pass anglers are waiting for. Summer steelhead catches are fair at best, with most of the fish speeding through the middle Rogue en route to the Shady Cove area. The river is open to trout fishing, with anglers catching primarily steelhead and chinook juveniles. Only fin-clipped fish over 8 inches long may be kept as part of the legal trout limit. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, telephone 1-800-472-2434. Anglers can no longer keep any wild steelhead as part of their two-fish bag limit. Wild spring chinook, however, are legal to keep as part of the two-fish limit. APPLEGATE RIVER — Angling for resident rainbow trout and large juvenile steelhead is fair, with water releases holding steady at 270 cubic feet per second. The river is open to angling downstream of the deadline below Applegate Dam. The limit is two adipose fin-clipped trout per day, 8 inch minimum length may be kept downstream from the Applegate Dam. All non-adipose fin-clipped trout and steelhead caught downstream of the dam must be released unharmed. UMPQUA — Warming water temperatures have improved the smallmouth bass fishing in the Elkton area as well as the Roseburg area. WOOD/WILLIAMSON — Trout fishing has been good in both streams for fly-fishermen. The annual grasshopper hatch has not yet kicked in. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The hot weather is sending the trout into deeper water, so most trollers are abandoning the flashers and instead using bait in some of the deeper parts of the lake. The best luck is with Velveeta cheese followed closely by rainbow or chartreuse or yellow Powerbait with glitter. The best bait fishing is at Buck Island, usually the north side, in 30-40 feet of water or in front of the dam. Red Rock Cove, and out in front of Klum Landing are still producing well too. Trolling early in the mornings in the 25-30 foot range is a good bet, with Wedding Ring spinners spiced up with a worm or a Tasmanian Devil considered good options. The best trolling is still taking place along the eastern shoreline from the resort to the dam. Fly fishing has tapered off. Dusk is best with Brown Baileys and brown woolly buggers the best bet. Excellent bass fishing continues, with plenty of fish around 3 pounds getting caught. The resort jetty and in front of the dam continue to be the best places. Flipping jigs and casting Panther Martins or Rooster Tails works. The limit is five trout over 8 inches a day, with only one of them allowed to be more than 20 inches. HYATT — The lake’s bass are starting to bite plastic worms fished along the lilly pads and weed lines throughout the day. Trout fishing remains good, with the best bet for trollers right around dusk along the southeastern and southwestern portions of the lake. Trollers can use Triple Teasers or black Roostertails, while still-fishermen should focus on glittery PowerBaits or worms. The lake was recently stocked with 10,000 legal-sized rainbows and they are biting baits and trolled lures fairly aggressively already. Fly-fishermen using dragonfly nymphs and woolly buggers are also catching trout in the evenings near the resort. The upper end of the lake is choked with weeds and not fishing well. The lake has been stocked with legal-sized rainbow trout. The limit remains five trout more than 8 inches long, with only one of them allowed to be more than 20 inches long. DIAMOND — Trout fishing remains good along the lake’s south end despite an algae bloom that has led to a ban on water-skiing, swimming and wading at the lake. Fishing and boating remain open, but anglers are encouraged to avoid the algae scum and keep their dogs at home. Catches are a mixed bag of recently stocked legal-sized rainbow, some of the two-pound "lunkers" stocked this past spring and some of the large hold-over trout up to 10 pounds. Trollers are catching the majority of the fish, with Needle fish or medium-sized Rapalas the best choice when used with a half-ounce of lead to get your lure deeper. The limit remains five trout more than 8 inches long, with only one of them allowed to be more than 20 inches long. LOST CREEK — The lake is dropping slower now that the out-flows have been dropped. The lake is now 27 feet from full. Trout fishing upstream of Peyton Bridge is fair to good, with trolling deep and early in the morning good near the dam. The lake’s surface temperature has climbed to a blistering 77 degrees, which causes the fish to move deeper in the water column, so vary your depths when trolling. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife last month released 27,500 legal-sized rainbows into the lake, putting half at the Lost Creek Lake Marina and the other half at the Takelma boat ramp near the dam’s face. These trout are biting an assortment of offerings, from worms and PowerBait to small spinners and leech flies. Smallmouth bass fishing is improving in the shallows and around rocky structure. Grubs and crankbaits both have been good. The daily limit is five trout at least 8 inches long, but only one trout over 20 inches. For bass, the limit is five a day with no more than three over 15 inches long, but most bass fishing is catch and release. Angling is open year-round. APPLEGATE — Fishing for rainbow trout and stocked coho is fair to good for those trolling points and coves, as well as bank fishing in the upper portions of the reservoir. The lake is now 12 feet from full, and that is pushing the fish out of the far upper end of the reservoir. Worms, single salmon eggs and Velveeta cheese are the baits of choice. For fly-fishermen, the bigger rainbows are biting green or brown leeches or nymph patterns. The smallmouth bass bite has picked up amid warmer weather and better water temperatures. Bass anglers are reminded that they cannot keep any bass between 12 inches and 15 inches, and just one bass longer than 15 inches can be part of the five-bass daily limit. EMIGRANT — Fishing for legal-sized rainbows remains fair near the dam, but warming water has forced most of the trout into deep holes or near streams flowing into the reservoir. Bass fishing with crankbaits has improved in the upper arms, but schools of perch are dominating the catches there. Crappie fishing is very slow. KLAMATH/AGENCY — Fishing for rainbows near the springs has been good for fly-fishers and early-morning trollers. LAKE of the WOODS — The lake is fishing well for both rainbow trout and brown trout early in the mornings and evenings. The lake is open to night fishing as a way to target the brown trout. SELMAC LAKE — Trout fishing is fair to good with bait and lures, chiefly near the boat ramp. Bass fishing was very good at the lake, with grubs fished near submerged vegetation a good first choice. WILLOW LAKE — The lake was recently stocked with legal-sized trout and catches were good but activity was light. Bass fishing was improving as the weather and water has warmed. The campground, cabins and ramp at the Willow Lake Resort are open, but the restaurant remains closed. Ocean Outlook Chinook salmon fishing remains good out of Brookings, where anglers are running into far more coho than chinook as the coho schools move north. All coho must be released unharmed, and anglers should troll deeper and near the bottom to find the chinook. Windy days have been interspersed with nice ones. Most anglers continue to bottomfish for lingcod and other rockfish, with catches excellent for those jigging in 80-100 feet of water north of the port. The chinook season for southern Oregon is open daily and runs to Sept. 14, with a two-chinook daily limit and no weekly limit or mid-season closures. All wild and hatchery coho salmon must be released unharmed. At Coos Bay, ocean fishing for salmon and bottomfish remains very good for both, with lots of 8-9 pound hatchery coho making up the lion’s share of the salmon catch. Anglers are also catching lots of wild coho, which must be released unharmed, and some chinook are still available. Fishing is best now early, with afternoon winds kicking up daily. Surfperch fishing has slowed a bit in the Rogue River bay at Gold Beach, and it’s also good near the mouth of the Elk River, but wavy conditions have made afternoon fishing difficult. Clam necks or sandshrimp are good baits. Crabbing is slowing down, and crabs may begin to get soft-shelled as the spring and summer progresses. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Black bear hunting starts Aug. 1, and most bears will be found either in high-elevation timber areas and around berry sources or down closer to residential areas. KLAMATH — Squirrel hunting is good to very good. Remember to get landowner permission . 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. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. 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