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Anglers seek bait-ban repeal Steve Johnson photo John Thiebes, Rogue watershed manager with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, speaks to about 250 sportfishermen at a rally Thursday. The anglers voiced their opposition to new rules banning bait-fishing on the Rogue River. They hope 1,400 signatures on a petition to repeal the new rules will persuade the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to revisit the issue during its meeting today in Newport. By Mark Freeman GRANTS PASS � Sport-fishermen hope an army of 1,400 frustrated steelhead anglers will persuade Oregon�s seven top fish managers to repeal new rules banning bait-fishing on two stretches of the Rogue River. Opponents of the new bait-bans will travel to Newport today with an inch-high stack of signed petitions urging the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to repeal the new fishing rules set to begin Jan. 1 on the upper Rogue and the lower Rogue Canyon. The signatures are from anglers opposing the seven-member commission�s decision to ban bait-angling for summer steelhead in the upper Rogue during most of the fall. Petition-signers also oppose a similar bait-ban for September and October in the lower Rogue Canyon between Galice and Agness. "I�m hoping that seeing 1,400 signatures on petitions will sway four commissioners to reverse themselves," says Jim Broman, a Grants Pass tackle-shop owner. "If you sway four," he says, "you can repeal the law." But the half-dozen Rogue anglers set to testify at today�s commission meeting in Newport may at best get the commission simply to revisit the issues, says Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist John Thiebes. "If they choose not to rehear it, it�s a done deal," Thiebes told a crowd of about 250 bait-fishing sympathizers at a public rally Thursday in Grants Pass. But if they agree to revisit the proposals, the commission would then hold a public hearing at its regular monthly meeting in Portland � possibly as early as next month, Thiebes says. After that, they would then vote again on the two bait-ban proposals, he says. If unchanged, fishing on the Rogue upstream of Gold Ray Dam would be legal only with artificial flies and lures in August, November and December. The months are the most popular times for using roe and worms to catch hatchery and wild summer steelhead. They also sandwich the Sept. 1-Oct. 31 season when bait is already banned there. The commission also banned bait Sept. 1 through Oct. 31 on the 31-mile Wild Rogue Canyon stretch from Grave Creek downstream to Foster Bar. Unless changed, the rules will remain in effect from 2001 to 2004.The new Rogue rules mainly target the use of small clusters of roe to catch summer steelhead. Proponents believe the bait is far more likely than flies or lures to be swallowed by wild steelhead, which then are more likely to die after being released. However, ODFW biologist Mike Evenson says studies done elsewhere hint that the new rules would provide little benefit to wild steelhead, would discourage angling effort and increase the upper Rogue�s fall glut of excess hatchery steelhead. The commission, however, looked beyond Evenson�s opinion and adopted both rules unanimously Sept. 22 in Portland. Many opponents like Gary Enoch believed Evenson�s opposition would squelch the proposals. "I didn�t think it had a snowball�s chance in hell," says Enoch, who attended Thursday�s rally. "But look what happened. I�m still shocked." The angry anglers blame Don Denman, a Medford attorney who is vice-chairman of the commission, for what they see as an effort to set aside more fishing opportunities strictly for fly-casters. "Let the fly-fishermen fish, but let the bait fishermen fish as well," Medford fishing guide Craig Sutton says. "One group shouldn�t have a hold over a particular area." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.