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42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, February 26, 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 January 22, 2004 Fishing and Hunting report River Outlook ROGUE — Winter steelhead fishing is early and good throughout much of the Rogue, with schools of fresh fish found anywhere from just outside of tidewater all the way to Grants Pass. Upper Rogue anglers also are still picking up late- run summer steelhead as well. But the best bet is the middle Rogue, where the early winter steelhead have generated good action from the mouth of the Applegate River downstream to Rainie Falls. Water conditions are excellent, and catches are best on roe and puffballs from those fishing out of driftboats. The run past the Applegate mouth near White Horse Park is the most congested as anglers target winter steelhead bound for the Applegate. Some plug fishing is occurring in the Grants Pass area, but most of the action is on roe. Most are using size No. 4 hooks and small clusters of roe and 8-pound leader. In the lower Rogue Canyon, steelhead fishing is very good for a mix of adult winter steelhead, a few spawned-out summer steelhead heading downstream and halfpounders. Roe is best, with worms and corkies good as well. In the lower Rogue, steelhead fishing is very good. Bank fishing is best for winter steelhead there, and anglers try to set up their plunking rigs along the inside turns of gravel bars. The trick is to get a large Spin-Glo scented with sardine or sand shrimp to spin in about 5-6 feet of water just off the gravel bar. Most use 5-8 ounces of lead. As the schools of steelhead move upstream, one inevitably bites the Spin-Glo. Boat anglers are setting up in the same locales, using Hot Shots to intercept the migrating steelhead. Catches have been very good this past week, and water conditions are excellent. Advertisement From the mouth to Whiskey Creek near Rainie Falls, anglers can now keep one wild steelhead over 24 inches a day and up to five a year as part of their two-steelhead bag limit. The waters upstream of Whiskey Creek do not open to the harvest of wild steelhead until Feb. 1. The rule is designed to allow harvest of some wild winter steelhead but reduce impacts to summer steelhead, a run of wild fish considered less strong than the winter run. In the upper Rogue, catches of late-run summer steelhead and recycled hatchery steelhead remain good from TouVelle all the way up to the Hatchery Hole. Roe and worms are the best offerings now. Bait-fishing is back to the entire upper Rogue now. The Modoc Unit is a good bet for hold-over recycled steelhead. Wild steelhead are staging off creek mouths and they must all be released unharmed. The upper Rogue has the highest concentration of both wild and hatchery steelhead, with 676 steelhead over the dam during the first two weeks in January. Most of these fish are actually late-run summer steelhead, but they are classified as winter steelhead. Water conditions are very good in the upper Rogue, with only 1,069 cubic feet per second of 41-degree water released from Lost Creek Lake. Coho salmon are migrating now in the upper Rogue, but they are tough to catch. Almost 15,000 coho are reported over Gold Ray Dam by Dec. 2. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, telephone 1-800-472-2434. APPLEGATE RIVER — Early winter steelhead catches have been reported as high as Cantrall-Buckley Park, and the early shot of winter steelhead comes to great delight for Applegate anglers. However, no fresh fish have been entering the river since the last rains swelled the Applegate, and those fish in the system are hunkering down in holes and under overhanging trees until fresh rains come. Fly-fishing with prince nymphs or single egg flies is good, and streamer fishing is fair. Small spoons and spinners also work well for steelheading there as well. The 406-cubic feet per second of water now released from Applegate Lake is 41 degrees. No fishing from a floating device is allowed, and anglers should ask permission before fishing on private lands. The river is open to steelhead angling downstream of the deadline below Applegate Dam. The limit is two hatchery steelhead a day. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed. UMPQUA — Winter steelhead fishing is good throughout the main-stem river as well as the South Umpqua, where bait and fly-fishing are good in the Canyonville area. For main-stem anglers, plunking off the bank in 5-feet of water has been good around Elkton and Scottsburg. ELK/SIXES — Winter steelhead catches have improved and late-run salmon fishing has fallen off in both rivers. Bait is out-producing plugs. Both rivers are now open to the harvest of one wild steelhead a day and up to five a year as part of the two-steelhead daily limit. COOS — Fishing for winter steelhead was very good recently in the Coos and Millicoma systems, with bait and corkies best and plug fishing very uncommon. COQUILLE — Winter steelhead fishing was very good in the South Fork downstream from Powers, where water conditions and catches were prime. Bait is out-producing plugs. CHETCO — The river was dropping and clearing, but catches of winter steelhead continue to be good. Anglers are starting to use lighter leaders and smaller gobs of roe to match conditions, and the fish keep responding. One 18- pounder was caught Monday, but most of the steelhead are in the 10-12 pound range. Most boat anglers are fishing downstream from Miller Bar, with bait out-producing plugs. Bank angling in the Social Security Hole area has been very good. Fish are averaging about 12 pounds, and a few 20-pounders have been reported. Look for catches and effort to rise over the next two weeks. 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. SILTCOOS — The lake is closed to angling for wild coho salmon. TAHKENITCH — The lake is now closed to angling for wild coho salmon. LOST CREEK — The lake continues to raise daily as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins the process of filling the reservoir, and that’s causing the trout to go off the bite at times. Pressure is light, and most of the effort is centered at the reservoir’s lower end. Lake levels were about 8 feet higher than they were two weeks ago, and hydrologists look to add about four inches of water each day. 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 good near the base of the dam, where the Takelma Ramp is the only useable ramp for this winter. The lake’s surface temperature dropped to 45 degrees Wednesday, so look for the trout more toward the surface than farther down the water column. APPLEGATE — Few people are fishing for rainbow trout or bass, but good smallmouth fishing can be had on calm and sunny afternoons near the dam. Worms, small crankbaits and grubs all work. Trolling for stocked coho is slow. The lake is open year-round. EMIGRANT — The lake was stocked recently with more than 900 adult summer steelhead that were excess fish captured at Cole Rivers Hatchery. They can be caught on worms, woolly bugger flies or spinners. The limit is one over 20 inches as part of the five-trout daily limit. These fish are not required to be logged on a salmon-steelhead tag. Most of the action is in Emigrant Creek or the upper lake area near the creek’s mouth. Ocean Outlook The ocean was calm and flat earlier this week, offering excellent bottomfishing opportunities for locals who still had their boats in the water. Boats leaving the Chetco River bar were combining near-shore crabbing with bottomfishing, and success was very good for both. The coast is re-opened to the harvest of shellfish, with no species limited due to health risks. Crabbing has gotten good again at Brookings, Port Orford and Charleston because the high freshwater runoff has subsided and the salinity levels in the estuaries have become more crab-friendly. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Late season duck and goose hunting closes Sunday, and end-of-the-season effort is light here. Grouse hunting is now closed as well. UMPQUA — Cougars are secretive and difficult to hunt. Douglas County has a large number of cougars, and there is a chance of seeing one. The best opportunities for finding cougar are in areas that have good deer numbers. Predator calls work best. KLAMATH — Waterfowl hunting success has been poorer now that recent cold weather has frozen some of the wetlands and forced birds out of the basin. COOS — Upland bird hunters are done with blue and ruffed grouse after a good season. Late-season waterfowl hunting is slow. Seasons end Sunday. SUMMER LAKE — Habitat conditions remain fairly good, but many of the larger ponds and still-water areas have frozen over. Moving water below head gates, in the canal, and the Ana River remain open. Summer Lake proper continues to increase in size due to increased inflow from Ana River and as marsh units in the wildlife area continue to spill. 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. 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 nearshore rocks, such as Three Arch Rocks. 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