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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Father has no clothes or toys for his kids ... Mail Tribune 100, Dec. 18, 1915 ... State parks host New Year's Day hikes ... Father has no clothes or toys for his kids ... Mail Tribune 100, Dec. 18, 1915 ... State parks host New Year's Day hikes ... FISHING REPORT Fishing Report: Friday, Dec. 18 MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 18, 2015 @ 12:01 am Posted Dec. 18, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> OCEAN OUTLOOK COASTWIDE : South Coast ocean anglers will remain stormwatchers this week as the ocean coastwide kicks up as it often does in late December when fresh storms move in. Winds up to 25 knots and seas up to 12 feet are forecast for this weekend, keeping everyone at bay. Forecasts call for a bit of a let-up around Christmas but not much before that. The ocean remains closed to crabbing from Heceta Head near Yachats south to the California border because of high domoic acid levels in crabs. The bays also are closed to crabbing until further notice, and that closure will be in place at least until the ocean calms down enough for Dungeness sampling for domoic acid testing, likely this weekend. Near-shore jigging for black rockfish and lingcod has been good when anglers can get out, but that has been rare lately. Razor clamming is closed statewide and will possibly remain closed for the rest of the year, but bay clams and butter clams are available coastwide. Mussels are open north of Yachats but closed on the South Coast. Evening minus tides are expected through Tuesday, but the beaches are no place to be, due to the heavy surf surges. Before digging, check the shellfish hotline at 1-800-448-2474 for updates. LAKE OUTLOOK AGATE : The lake has risen dramatically this past week and was listed Thursday at 22 percent full, but fishing pressure has been nonexistent thanks to very turbid water. The boat ramp is now usable. No trout stockings are planned. Look for some midday bass fishing when a patch of warm days occur. The lake closes at dusk. APPLEGATE : The lake is fishing poorly for smallmouth bass and trout as the water levels are fluctuating regularly during freshets and post-storm water releases. The lake level was up to 1,888 feet above sea levels and out-flows of 1,000 cubic feet per second as hydrologists look to lower the reservoir to its winter flood-control level. When things settle down, troll for trout up to 16 inches with Wedding Ring lures spiced with a piece of worm and small flashers. The Forest Service has improved conditions at the French Gulch ramp, adding gravel to make the ramp usable for small boats. However, the approach can get slippery, so four-wheel-drive vehicles are encouraged. The Copper ramp also is usable. DIAMOND : Access to the lake has been blocked by heavy snow and downed trees, and the Diamond Lake Resort is running on generators for power. The lake is starting to ice over but it is far from thick enough for safety. When the lake does get hard enough for ice fishing and access is possible, jigs and worms or even PowerBait fished five feet or so under the ice will work well. The lake's eight-trout limit ends New Year's Eve, reverting to the statewide five-trout limit on Jan. 1. The fingerlings stocked in spring are eclipsing the 8-inch minimum size now and should be around 12 inches or more by spring. EMIGRANT : The lake is rising slightly amid recent runoff but it remains very low and murky, which has pushed most angling efforts away. The lake was only 12 percent full despite recent rains. FISH : The lake is up a hair to 29 percent full and starting to ice over but the lake remains unsafe for ice fishing and fishing activity has been nonexistent. A sno-park permit is required to park at the Forest Service ramp. HOWARD PRAIRIE : The lake is closed until Jan. 1. In-flows, however, have increased the lake to 16 percent of full and rising. HYATT : The lake is closed until Jan. 1. In-flows have increased the lake to only 8 percent full as most precipitation there has been snow with little runoff. LOST CREEK : Rising inflows have dirtied the lake and that has turned anglers away. The reservoir may not settle out until sometime late next week as more inflow is forecast from the current rain storm that should add snowmelt to the runoff by this weekend. The Stewart State Park ramps remain closed. The lake's elevation is still listed at 1,808 feet above sea level and forecast to reach normal minimum pool of 1,812 by Saturday. LAKE OF THE WOODS : The lake is starting to ice over but the thickness is unsafe now for angling. Lots of snow around the lake's resort. WILLOW : Trout fishing is very slow with few even bothering to try. The boat ramp remains usable and the lake is open year-round. Water levels have improved. RIVER OUTLOOK ROGUE : Rogue anglers will be in a wait-and-see mode at least through the weekend and probably through Christmas as water levels are rising and the vast majority of the Rogue is turbid from runoff and water releases from Lost Creek Lake. The best bet is the mile or so stretch from the Cole Rivers Hatchery dike to the mouth of Big Butte Creek. From there on down, it looks like a river Willy Wonka would create. Flows out of Lost Creek Lake were upped Thursday to 1,000 cfs but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is still looking to add four more feet of water to the reservoir to get it back to its normal December flood-control elevation of 1,812 feet above sea level. Fly-fishing with nymphs and egg patterns or spin-fishing with worms and watermelon corkies has worked in the far upper stretch for late-run summer steelhead. The New Bridge Hole has been the most popular, followed by the Hatchery Hole. When fishing resumes in the upper Rogue, it will remain wide open upstream of the Shady Cove ramp, including bait for summer steelhead. Downstream of the Shady Cove ramp remains open for artificial flies and lures only, with scented yarn balls and plugs equally good for driftboaters, but the best bet for bank anglers. The summer steelhead are getting ripe. Only fin-clipped steelhead may be kept. On Jan. 1, bait fishing again will be allowed river-wide for steelheaders. Flows at Dodge Bridge were at 3,200 cfs Thursday and rising rapidly, forecast to hit about 8,000 cfs Saturday and then to drop before surging up to a foot below flood level Tuesday. Flows at the old Gold Ray Dam station are forecast to peak at about 19,000 cfs Saturday before dropping and then resurging to about 2 feet from flood stage Tuesday. In the lower Rogue, plunkers using pink-pearl Spin-Glo's fished right against the bank in 2 feet of water were hitting fresh winter steelhead downstream from Agness on Wednesday, then the river surged out of shape even for plunking Thursday. Flows are forecast to hit 35,000 cfs at Agness on Saturday then peak for the week Wednesday at a foot below flood stage. When flows subside, look for winter steelhead with plugs or roe from boats and roe and Spin-Glo's from the bank at places such as Lobster and Quosatana Creek gravel bars. Fly-fishing for half-pounders likely won't recover until a few weeks after the storm. CHETCO : Winter steelhead fishing was a bust and likely will remain that way deep into next week as the recent set of storms are really hammering the Coast Range. The Chetco on Thursday was at 10,000 cfs and rising rapidly, forecast to peak around 28,000 cfs today. It will drop but remain high as a second storm wave moves in, bringing enough rain for forecasters to predict the river will peak at 34,600 cfs Wednesday. ELK : The river was at 6.4 feet and rising rapidly Thursday at Elk River Hatchery, with the water muddy and getting muddier. The river likely won't fish deep into next week, then look for a mix of late-run fall chinook and winter steelhead from the hatchery on down. Side-drifting roe will be best. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 18, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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