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P/SUNNY Temp: 50 °F Wind: WSW at 8 mph Tuesday, April 1, 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 March 27, 2003 Fishing and hunting report River Outlook ROGUE — The lower Rogue is getting a good shot of early spring chinook salmon, and the upper Rogue is starting to produce some winter steelhead. But most of the river stretch in between is too high and muddy for steelhead fishing now, making the two extremes of the Rogue the only places to fish. The best bet is the lower Rogue’s top of tidewater, where bank fishermen and boat anglers are catching a few dozen fresh spring chinook daily. Those catches could wane this weekend, however, if water levels rise too much. But that will depend upon water releases from Lost Creek Lake and if this week’s rains dirty the lower Rogue too much. If not, look for 20- to 30-fish days for spring chinook anglers. Boat anglers are anchoring in the Elephant Rock and John’s Hole area, with best success coming on anchovies with green-bladed spinners. Bank anglers are doing very well at places like Huntley Park and Lobster Creek, with anchovies or purple ghost Spin-Glo’s the top choices. In the far upper Rogue, water releases from Lost Creek Lake were up to 3,800 cubic feet per second Wednesday. Coupled with dirty flows from Big Butte Creek and Elk Creek, most of the upper Rogue was too murky for winter steelhead fishing. However, the stretch from the Hatchery Hole down to Casey State Park is definitely clear enough for winter steelhead fishing, and catches have been good for bank anglers in the Hatchery Hole and boat anglers around the New Bridge Hole and waters near the Sand Hole. Bait is out-fishing plugs, but that’s because most anglers are bait-fishing and shying away from plugs in the high water. Already 756 fresh adult winter steelhead have entered Cole Rivers Hatchery, indicating that the fish are well distributed now in the upper Rogue. Downstream of Big Butte Creek had poor water conditions Wednesday, and the water in Shady Cove was high and muddy. When the river drops and clears, look for some very good winter steelhead fishing throughout the upper Rogue. The Grants Pass area was too high and muddy for winter steelhead fishing Wednesday, with turbidity measured at 47 NTUs at Grants Pass. The river needs to drop to 15 NTUs to start fishing, with clarity levels of 6-10 NTUs best for bait angling. High flows out of Lost Creek Lake make midge fishing and leech fishing poor in the "Holy Water" impoundment between the dam and Cole Rivers Hatchery. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, telephone 1-800-472-2434. Anglers can keep one wild steelhead over 24 inches as part of their two-fish daily limit throughout the Rogue through April 30. APPLEGATE — The river was too high for winter steelhead fishing and prospects for any end-of-the-season angling are poor unless flows from Applegate Lake are drastically cut back and tributary flow slows dramatically. Flows from the lake were up to 1,604 cfs, so most fishing spots are a wash-out for winter steelhead. The flats in the far upper reaches of the open river waters can be effective for migrating fish, which are hugging the river’s edges. Bait- fishermen trying these stretches should concentrate on worms and watermelon corkies or small roe clusters and focus on the slowest water available or on the inside corners of gravel turns. The river closes to all angling Monday night. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed. No fishing from floating devices is allowed and honor No Trespassing signs. CHETCO — The river was high and fishable, but most of the catch is spawned-out winter steelhead headed back to the ocean. Bait is out-producing plugs, and the spawned-out fish should be released unharmed. Anglers may keep one wild winter steelhead a day, and up to five wild steelhead a year, under new bag limits. The river closes to angling Monday night. ILLINOIS — Winter steelhead fishing was a bust amid high and dirty water flows from recent rains that pounded the Illinois drainage. The Illinois is open only to catch-and-release fishing, with only artificial flies and lures allowed. No bait is allowed. COOS/COQUILLE — Winter steelhead fishing was slow because of high and muddy water conditions, but look for catches to be good this weekend if rains subside. Most of the steelhead are spawned-out now. Both streams close to steelhead angling Monday night. ELK/SIXES — Both streams were high but still fair for winter steelhead, as long as anglers used bait and focused on deeper stretches and along the inside turns of gravel bars. Rains Wednesday threatened to push both rivers into poor angling shape. Catches have been a mix of fresh and dark steelhead. Anglers can now keep one wild winter steelhead a day, and up to five a year, from the Elk and Sixes. Both rivers close to angling Monday night. UMPQUA — Spring chinook fishing has been good in the main-stem Umpqua around Scottsburg and Elkton, while steelhead fishing was fair to good in the North Umpqua and South Umpqua, but recent rains threaten to raise and dirty the water to a point where they become too poor for fishing. Sturgeon fishing is fair in tidewater. Lake Outlook LOST CREEK — Fishing for rainbow trout is improving now that a new complement of legal-sized rainbow trout have been released into the lake. The Lost Creek Lake Marina is in operation now, and more boaters are starting to use the facilities. The lake was less than 10 feet from full Wednesday, and surface temperatures remain a trout-friendly 47 degrees. Trolling has been the most productive, while still-fishing with PowerBait and nightcrawlers, or casting Roostertails and other small spinners from the bank, have worked well. No adult steelhead will be released into the lake this year over concerns about possibly contaminating lake water with viruses that could get into Cole Rivers Hatchery just downstream of the dam. 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 — About 500 adult winter steelhead were released into the lake Tuesday, and these fish have since spread out. There are probably some still milling around Hart-Tish Park, but look for the catches to be best around Carberry Creek as the steelhead look for spawning grounds soon. Trout fishing is improving for those trolling points and coves, while the smallmouth bass bite remains just fair. 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. The lake is open year-round. EMIGRANT — Fishing for legal-sized rainbow is good near the dam and in the upper arms, while early bass fishing is good for crankbaits fished near willows. All adult steelhead stocked into the lake are legally considered trout and can be kept as part of the regular trout bag limit of five a day, but only one of those can be over 20 inches long. LAKE of the WOODS — The lake is open to angling, with light effort. Try trolling very slowly and very deep for the lake’s large brown trout. The lake is open year-round. The lake’s ice has disappeared and re-appeared three times since Christmas, and a cold snap could re-freeze it again. Ocean Outlook Oregon beaches are closed to the harvest of all clam species. The harvest closure includes all beaches, ocean spits and jetties from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border. All bays remain open for the harvest of clams except for the jetties at the entrances to the bays. Harvesting of mussels and scallops is allowed, but only the adductor muscle meat should be eaten from scallops. Crab do not concentrate domoic acid in the meat and are not affected by this closure. However, recreational harvesters are advised not to eat the crab viscera (guts) at this time. For more information, call the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s shellfish line at 1-503-986-4728. Ocean-fishing was poor as the newest batch of storms has kept most anglers in bay. Fishing for surf perch was good in the beaches near Brookings, Gold Beach and Port Orford, when the surf was lower, and look for those catches to improve again a day or two after the waves subside. Clam necks are the best bait. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Spring bear hunting should be fair. Cougars are secretive and difficult to hunt, but numbers are high in southwestern Oregon. The best method of finding cougars is by predator calls in areas with good deer numbers. 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. KLAMATH — Viewing opportunities remain good throughout the Klamath Basin. A fair number of tundra swans still remain. Be sure to look for any trumpeter swans, which are larger than the tundra swans. More winter weather should improve viewing for bald eagles as they congregate in the Klamath Basin, most notably in the state line area near the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Fair numbers of rough-legged hawks can be viewed in pastures and fields hunting for rodents. SUMMER LAKE — Since most game bird hunting seasons are closed, many species will be easier to view. Fair numbers of wintering waterfowl are scattered throughout the Summer Lake Wildlife Area now, and early breeding species such as Canada geese and mallards are beginning to pair up and search for territories. Most passerine species have departed, but a few wintering species, especially song sparrows and marsh wrens, can be found throughout the marsh in tall emergent vegetation. Sparrows and other passerines can be found at wildlife area headquarters, the rest area and at homestead sites where they are attracted to the tree and shrub cover found at those locations. The major dike roads (Bullgate, Windbreak and Work roads) and the tour loop are now closed to motor vehicle traffic to reduce disturbance to nesting and migrant waterbirds. 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