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42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, March 4, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend November 20, 2003 Fishing and Hunting Report River Outlook ROGUE — The upper Rogue should improve for summer steelhead fishing now that rains will raise the river and get the sluggish fish moving, while summer steelhead fishing is very good in the flats around Grants Pass. The lower Rogue bay is devoid of anglers, but those hitting the riffles around Agness are finding excellent summer steelhead fishing on flies, lures and bait. But the best bet for the week is still summer steelhead fishing in the Grants Pass area, where wild summers remain stacked near creek mouths waiting to spawn. The percentage of hatchery fish in the catch is very light, but the action can be good for catch-and-release fishing. Use roe or single-egg flies. Some spinners can work well, but the steelhead continue to key in on eggs so you might as well match it. Coho schools are also starting to show in the Grants Pass area, with anglers casting black marabou jigs doing decently at Rainie Falls, the base of Savage Rapids Dam and in some of the deeper canyon holes in the Grave Creek area. In the upper Rogue, the steelhead bite has remained slow, but look for a good boost when the water raises from Wednesday’s rains. The fish will be on the move, and very susceptible to plugs while they bolt through riffles either en route to the hatchery or to stage off a spawning tributary. Upstream of Rogue Elk Park, fishing is best with small clusters of roe, while fly-casters using single salmon egg flies and an Ugly Bud dropper are picking up fish in the slower glides. The water from Lost Creek Lake is a chilly 43 degrees and the 900 cubic feet per second out-flow continues to be low. Advertisement Bank fishing is fair at the Hatchery Hole, with bait out-producing flies. However, look for a good mix of summer steelhead and coho this weekend as the coho surge toward the hatchery. If they’re going to bite anywhere consistently in the upper Rogue, it will be the hatchery hole. At Gold Ray Dam, 13,010 summer steelhead have been counted as of Nov. 3, which is the most updated count available. Also, there are 24,435 fall chinook in the upper Rogue as well, but only a handful are still alive after their spawning. Almost 2,400 coho have been counted over the dam as well, and look for those numbers to increase dramatically. For cohos, try red spinners, pink or red flies or roe. Most of the cohos will be caught by anglers targeting summer steelhead. Only fin-clipped steelhead and coho may be kept, and an extra fin-clipped coho is allowed along with your regular daily limit of two salmon and/or steelhead. The Lower Rogue Canyon and Agness areas are fishing very well for summer steelhead and halfpounders, with low-water conditions helping fly-fishermen and bait fisherman locate halfpounders in riffles. Some large adult summer steelhead have been caught the past two weeks in the lower Illinois, where fishing is allowed only with artificial flies and lures. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. APPLEGATE RIVER — The river has some summer steelhead in the lower section, but the river is closed to steelhead fishing until Jan. 1. However, fishing for trout is legal, with catches and effort light. The spawning fall chinook are off-limits to even catch-and-release angling throughout the Applegate. Water releases are holding steady at 270 cubic feet per second. The river is open to angling downstream of the deadline below Applegate Dam. The trout limit is two adipose fin-clipped trout per day with an 8-inch minimum length. UMPQUA — Chinook fishing is poor, but coho fishing is good now in the main-stem river, where anglers can keep up to three fin-clipped coho a day. The Scottsburg area has slowed for salmon and steelhead fishing, and cold weather has caused the fly-fishing to drop off for summer steelhead in the Steamboat area. The South Umpqua is open to angling Saturday. ELK/SIXES — Strong tides and recent rains have helped move large numbers of fall chinook salmon into the lower tidewater portions of the Elk, while fresh fish are moving into the Sixes as well. At the Elk, fishing is best near the mouth with anchovies, Blue Fox spinners and orange or chartreuse flies all working well. But the rains will definitely get the salmon headed upstream, and drifting the river from the hatchery could be a good option soon. If so, roe and Kwikfish are the top producers. At the estuaries, fishing is best on the top end of the out-going tides. Limits are two chinook a day. The Elk has some wild coho salmon showing up in some catches. These fish must be released unharmed. DESCHUTES — The lower Deschutes was fair for summer steelhead, with angling open through the end of the year. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed. COOS — Fishing for fall chinook and fin-clipped coho is good with anchovies or spinners in the bay and Isthmus Slough. COQUILLE — Fishing for fall chinook salmon was good for those trolling spinners in tidewater. Anglers are reporting schools of striped bass in the Riverton and Johnson Pond areas, with the bass hitting worms or surface lures. Fishing is best at dawn and dusk. CHETCO — Fishing has slowed for fall chinook, which are widely spread in the system but mired in low-water conditions. The first schools of winter steelhead have already moved into the Chetco, with catches reported as high as Ice Box by bait anglers targeting salmon. Some anglers, however, have already switched to steelhead. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake is closed to all fishing. HYATT — The lake is closed to all fishing. DIAMOND — The lake is closed to all fishing. LOST CREEK — The lake is open year-round for trout and bass fishing, with trout anglers out-numbering bass anglers throughout the cold-weather months. Trolling for trout is fair to good near the base of the dam, where the Takelma Ramp is the only useable ramp for this winter. Bank angling is fair with PowerBait, while trollers are using worms with Wedding Ring lures. The lake’s surface temperature was 50 degrees Wednesday. APPLEGATE — Few people are fishing for rainbow trout or bass, but good smallmouth fishing can be had on calm days near the dam. Worms, small crankbaits and grubs all work. Trolling for stocked coho is slow. The lake is open year-round. EMIGRANT — Trout fishing in the lower sections of the lake is fair from the bank or wind-drifting worms off the bottom. The lake is open year-round. Ocean Outlook Beginning today and running through December, late-season bottomfishing is allowed only inside the 27-fathom curve, where canary rockfish and lingcod will be off-limits for harvest. Black and blue rockfish catches have been good, but effort has been light as inland salmon fishing takes precedence. Storm conditions have kept most recreational anglers at bay, but a few are trolling for chinook salmon off the Elk River mouth with only fair to poor success. Crabbing has been good off public docks at Brookings, Port Orford and Charleston. Ocean beaches and bays north of Tillamook Head are open to razor clamming because recent testing showed domoic acid levels to be in the safe zone. Ocean beaches south of Tillamook Head remain closed to the harvest of clams due to the continuing presence of domoic acid along the central coast and paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) along the south coast. Mussel harvest is allowed from ocean beaches between Tillamook Head and Coos Bay. Bay clamming between Tillamook Head and the California border is open for all clam and mussel species, except razor clams. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Late-season archers should do very well for blacktails that are now on the march in force toward winter range. Decent fall turkey hunting has occurred in the oak savannas ringing the valley, with flocks hovering near orchards as well. Turkey tags are still available at point-of-sale licensing outlets, and the season runs through November. Bears are on the move toward the valley floor, and most late-season bears are taken by deer hunters who carry a bear tag. General-season bear tags can no longer be bought for this year. APPLEGATE — The Coast-Valley elk season for the Applegate Unit closes Friday. Elk are scattered around Mount Ashland, and success is expected to be light. KLAMATH — Waterfowl hunting success has been scattered throughout the basin, with recent poor weather causing the birds to fly well and leave open water. The Klamath Wildlife Area is open on a permit basis. SUMMER LAKE — Success at the Summer Lake Wildlife Area was slow this past week due to poor hunting conditions and low bird counts. The weekly bird count conducted on Nov. 12 found nearly 17,000 ducks and 6,900 geese present on the wildlife area. Habitat conditions are good, with the entire wildlife area remaining open and ice-free at this time. Summer Lake proper is rising thanks to increased inflow from Ana River. Marsh units continue to fill. 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. SUMMER LAKE — Viewing opportunities remain very good because of the increased activity of fall migrants and post-breeding dispersal. Waterfowl are staging in good numbers now, but are difficult to identify due to being in the eclipse plumage. The molt into the breeding plumage is occurring and some drakes are becoming very colorful. Canada geese are dispersed throughout the wildlife area, and their use of recently hayed and re-flooded meadows will afford excellent viewing opportunities along Highway 31. ODELL LAKE — Kokanee, landlocked sockeye salmon, can be seen spawning from early October through November at Odell Lake. The best place to see these colorful fish is in Trapper Creek at the Trapper Creek Campground on the west end of the lake. WILLAMETTE — Snowshoe rabbits are found in both the coast range mountains and in the Cascade mountain areas. In the coast range, these rabbits are brownish in color all year. In the Cascade mountains and throughout the rest of their range, these rabbits turn white in the winter. They are very conspicuous during years when winter snows are late in arriving and they have already molted into their white winter coat. These rabbits can be observed by driving slowly on logging roads early in the morning or by following tracks in fresh snow to where they are hiding. NORTHWEST — Brown pelicans are common along the northern Oregon coast in the fall. They can be seen roosting along the south jetty of the Columbia River, and on many offshore rocks along the coast. They are also frequently seen feeding in estuaries. Great egrets are tall, white heron-like birds that can be seen along the northeastern portions of Tillamook Bay, especially Larson’s and Miami coves. They often are seen feeding on the mud flats at low tide, but sometimes roost in trees along the edge of the bay. Peregrine falcons have finished nesting, but still can be seen along the coast feeding on seabirds and waterfowl. They sometimes can be spotted resting on near-shore rocks, such as Three Arch Rocks. 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 3 WEEKS FREE! 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