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55 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 9, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 4, 2004 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — Tuesday’s rains helped draw more summer steelhead upstream toward the middle and upper Rogue, while they slowed late-season fishing for chinook salmon in the lower Rogue. A fair coho fishery is happening near Grants Pass, and the upper Rogue remains good for summer steelhead in the bait section and fair to good in the flies and lures section. The best bet, however, remains the Grants Pass area, where a mix of wild summer steelhead and coho make for an interesting fishery. Use roe or small egg flies and concentrate now near the mouths of spawning creeks or the waters immediately downstream of Savage Rapids Dam. Driftboat fishing is best, and water conditions have improved. The flows at Grants Pass on Wednesday were about 2,000 cubic feet per second of water, now a little less gin-clear than recent weeks. Look for the steelhead more in riffles than holes. In the upper Rogue, the flies-only season ended Sunday night, and fishing with roe and lures is good to very good from the deadline at the Rogue Elk Park boat ramp upstream to the Hatchery Hole. Steelhead are staged throughout that stretch, mostly in slower riffles and in pockets amid the rocks. The Hatchery Hole is good for summer steelhead and hatchery coho, which are starting to storm upstream in force. As of Oct. 28, 9,935 summer steelhead have crossed the dam, and that’s the most recent report available from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The migration is less than 100 new fish a day, but that’s standard for this time of year, when summer steelhead creep into the upper Rogue daily through December. Downstream of the Rogue Elk ramp is open to flies and lures, so side-drifting egg fly patterns with scent on them will work well. Lures like crayfish patterns also are legal and effective in the no-bait zone. Catches of adult steelhead, coho salmon and some late-run chinook are all happening in the Agness area, while half-pounder fishing remains very good in the lower portion of the Wild and Scenic Section. Advertisement All wild coho and all wild steelhead must be released unharmed. Chinook fishing upstream of Hog Creek remains closed, so anglers still after fall chinook are hitting the canyons downstream of Galice. Outflows from Lost Creek Lake have crept up to 1,215 cubic feet per second. That’s a 20 percent increase from last week. Bans on keeping more than one wild chinook are now off for the remainder of the year downstream of Gold Ray Dam when angling is allowed. Remember, all wild steelhead must be released unharmed for the remainder of the year. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call (800)472-2434. CHETCO — Fishing for fall chinook has slowed as the water levels have dropped and cleared. Chinook are scattered throughout the system, with good catches coming from driftboats using Kwikfish. Lots of 30-pounders in the mix, and a few 50-plus pounders caught last week in Morris Hole. ELK/SIXES — The Sixes is out-fishing the Elk, but there are fresh chinook salmon in both systems. UMPQUA — Chinook fishing is fair around Elkton, but steelhead fishing is slow in the main-stem and fair to good in the North Umpqua. The South Umpqua is closed to all angling until Nov. 15. Coho fishing is good in the main stem, and all wild coho must be released unharmed. COOS/COQUILLE — Chinook fishing remains good in Coos Bay and the Coquille, with recent rains distributing fish throughout both systems. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake is closed for the season. HYATT — The lake is closed for the season. DIAMOND — The lake is closed for the season. LOST CREEK — Trout fishing remains good with bait for shallow trollers. The lake is at its winter low for flood control. The lake is open year-round for trout and bass fishing, with trout anglers out-numbering bass anglers throughout the cold-weather months. APPLEGATE — Fishing for stocked chinook and rainbow trout around 12 inches long is good in the mornings and evenings. Bass fishing is good near the dam. Both boat ramps remain operational. 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. No bass between 12 inches and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. Ocean Outlook The chinook salmon season is over off the mouth of the Chetco. Anglers, however, can fish for chinook salmon off the mouth of the Elk and Sixes rivers. Effort is light. Anglers are banned from fishing for black rockfish, lingcod, greenling and cabezon, leaving surfperch and a few other species open. Tuna fishing remains slow. Yellowtail rockfish fishing is open outside the 40-fathom line. Crabbing remains slow. Shellfish harvest is open for all species except razor clams on the south and central coast. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — More good weather has helped late-season buck hunters in Southern Oregon. Recent high-elevation snow has gotten deer on the move, so intercepting them along migration lanes is a good bet. The general season ends Friday evening. Bowhunters can expect a good second season, with conditions and good buck numbers in their favor. Blue and ruffed grouse hunting is good as is Mountain quail. Look for quail near high-elevation water sources. Local duck and goose hunting is fair, with the best waterfowl shooting along uninhabited stretches of the Rogue River. Cougar hunters can expect an average year. Cougars are abundant throughout with indicators pointing to stable or increasing numbers and distribution. Hunting cougar is a challenge because these animals are very secretive, but harvest success is greatest adjacent to private land with high deer populations using a predator call. DOUGLAS — Rifle hunters are doing better at the tail end of the buck season, which closes Friday evening. The deer are migrating in force toward low-elevation winter range. Blue and ruffed grouse hunters can expect a better than average year thanks to above-average production countywide. Same with mountain quail. KLAMATH — Weather fronts have helped early season waterfowl hunters hunting over decoys along the marshy areas. BAKER — Counts were well above average for chukars and quail this year throughout the county except for the upper Powder River, where chukar counts were low. Numbers of Hungarian partridges also appear low. With good precipitation this summer, expect birds to be scattered. SUMMER LAKE — Relatively poor hunting conditions at the SummerLake Wildlife Area made for low hunter success for waterfowl. The next wildlife area bird counts will be available next week. 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. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities