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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, April 22, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 21, 2005 Trout anglers excited about opening weekend By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune ASHLAND — As has been his routine over the past 31 years, Jack Bird hauled his boat from Ashland to Howard Prairie Lake on Tuesday to check out the water before docking in the slip he’s rented since 1974. "I like to look around the lake a little bit," says Bird, 75. And Bird likes what he sees for the contingent of trout anglers who make Howard Prairie their destination of choice for the opening weekend of the annual trout season, which starts there Saturday. More than 200,000 anglers across Oregon will return to their favorite lakes and streams closed to angling since Halloween. Of the local waters closed since then, Hyatt and Howard Prairie lakes east of Ashland will draw the lion’s share of Rogue Valley anglers who make their pilgrimages to the Dead Indian Plateau for what have become regular fishing traditions. Advertisement They will be met with ice-free lakes offering the promise of very good fishing for rainbow trout. A student of Howard Prairie, Bird says years with ice-free conditions allow the hold-over trout from last year’s fingerling plant to grow more than during frozen years. "The small ones ought to be a foot long," Bird says. He’s not the only one in the know. The lake’s reputation as a top-drawer trout fishery has its campgrounds sprinkled with local anglers as well as regular visitors from Seattle to Los Angeles. "If there was a better lake closer to them," Bird says, "they wouldn’t come here." Diamond Lake, a popular trout-fishing destination in the Cascades of eastern Douglas County, re-opens to trout angling as well. Diamond Lake also is ice-free and should be in very good shape for opening weekend angling. Also opening are the east and west forks of Ashland Creek, including their tributaries, upstream of Reeder Dam. And the little-fished Jenny Creek system east of Ashland also opens to trout fishing. Trout fishing remains closed until May 28 in the Rogue River downstream of Cole Rivers Hatchery to protect out-migrating smolts. Though Bird’s boat is ready for Saturday’s opener, Bird might not be. He might wait for the weekend warriors to clear out before hitting the water. "Monday I’ll have the whole lake to myself," Bird says. "But I’m sure I’ll change my mind on the last minute and go." For Bird and others who do go fishing on opening weekend, they will need to pack more than enough worms, hooks and refreshments in their boats this weekend. The Oregon State Marine Board is encouraging boaters to ensure they have the proper registration and safety equipment on board as well as offering the advice that life jackets should be worn while boating on lakes and rivers. Check your life jackets. Make sure there are appropriately sized life jackets on board for everyone in your boat. Kids 12 and under must wear their jackets at all times. Others must have them accessible, but they should be worn. Check your boat-safety equipment. A sound-making device like a whistle or horn is a common required safety item not found on motorized boats. Also, make sure you have a working fire extinguisher if you have an enclosed gas tank for your boat motor. For a complete list of safety requirements, check your boating handbook. Check your boat registration. If you forgot to register your boat, head down to a licensing agent and get it done now. While you won’t get your tags in time, you can get a temporary operating permit that will cover you until your tags arrive in the mail. Get your boater-education card. The one-time issued cards are required this year for anyone 45 and younger who operates a powerboat with motors greater than 10 horsepower. Also kids 12 to 15 years old also need a boater education card when operating boats 10 horsepower or less and alone. When operating boats greater than 10 horsepower, a card-holding adult (16 or older, 18 for personal watercraft) must be on-board to supervise. Last-minute boater-education courses and tests can be accessed through the Marine Board’s Web page at www.boatoregon.com . Don’t clog boat ramps. Stock your boat with gear before you back down the ramp so you spend as little time as possible in the ramp. Be prepared for cold weather. The weather man may say sunny and temperatures in the high 40s, but it can get awfully cold in a boat on a windy lake early in the morning. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Tatoos Advertisement s