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66 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, July 7, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds 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 Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 3, 2004 FISHING AND HUNTING REPORT River Outlook ROGUE — Spring chinook salmon continue to migrate up-river, but catches have been relatively slow lately amid warming water conditions. The run continues to be late, but fresh fish are charging through the lower Rogue now and June could bring a boost in catches to the fish-hungry upper Rogue. The best bet for springers remains the upper Rogue’s Hatchery Hole, where anglers continue to hook fish consistently early in the morning despite relatively low numbers of springers in the upper Rogue so far. Good catches came Wednesday morning from the hatchery side of the hole, and the area is getting more and more crowded. The hole and other waters downstream to the Highway 62 bridge closes to all angling at 7 p.m. through July. Gold Ray Dam fish counts updated Friday by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife show the migration remains off-schedule. The run-to-date total as of May 25 was a sparse 8,082 adults, with about 400 fish counted daily over the previous weekend. Also, only 1,460 spring chinook were counted as of Tuesday at Cole Rivers Hatchery, and that continues to be the lightest return to date since the 1990s. Getting these springers to bite has been a problem all along the river. Catches spiked this week in the lower Rogue, where anglers report seeing plenty of fish charging up-river. Some good afternoon catches were reported this week, but effort has remained light during what typically is the tail-end of the spring season in the lower Rogue. In the middle Rogue, decent catches have continued this week among bank anglers below Savage Rapids Dam and at Finley Bend, but boat angling remains very slow for this time of year. The 63-degree water seems to be the biggest culprit, and bank anglers are heading toward Gold Hill to take advantage of cooler up-river water conditions. Bank anglers are using a mixture of red, orange and chartreuse beads; boat anglers are faring better on roe than Kwikfish. Advertisement In the upper Rogue, catches at the Hatchery Hole have been the best, with boat anglers spread out and doing fair. Look for a good spring chinook bite to happen once stronger numbers of fish cross Gold Ray Dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is starting to draw Lost Creek Lake down, but so far the drop has been very gradual. On Wednesday, the releases to the Rogue were 2,395 cubic feet per second of water, a slight increase over the past week. For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call (800)472-2434. Remember, all wild steelhead must be released unharmed for the remainder of the year. At the impoundment upstream of Cole Rivers Hatchery is starting to get a fair hatch of stoneflies, but the main flurry could come this week. Evening fly-fishing with dry flies is best in the impoundment. The far upper Rogue near Union Creek is getting stocked weekly with legal-sized rainbow trout, and catches of these fish are good on small lures, single salmon eggs, worms and flies. APPLEGATE RIVER — The river is open to angling for rainbow trout and cutthroat trout, and there should be a mix of late winter steelhead as well as steelhead smolts, some rainbow trout and some cutthroats. All wild fish must be released unharmed. Some fly-fishing can be good in the evenings. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — Trolling for rainbow trout remains excellent, especially very early in the morning, with the occasionally great bite early in the afternoon. Focus on the top 15 feet of water early, trolling a No. 2 Red Dot Frog Needlefish, red Midge Wobblers, or any of the natural colored Tasmanian Devils. Trolling with lead-core line is best. Still fishermen are starting in waters 10 to 15 feet deep early in the morning, but by 10 a.m. they are working in the 30-35 foot range. Velveeta cheese and light colored Powerbait are the most productive baits, although a lot of people are picking fish up on red eggs as well. The limit remains five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches a day allowed. HYATT — The lake is sporting better-than-average trout fishing, with trolling and still-fishing generating excellent catches. Concentrate angling effort on the very early morning and around dusk. Still-fishing with PowerBait will be best, while worms and single salmon eggs are good back-ups. The limit remains five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches a day allowed. DIAMOND — The lake’s anglers are still targeting the large Williamson River rainbows, with several over 10 pounds caught so far this spring. Another batch of 3,500 Desert Springs rainbows are scheduled for stocking this week, and catches of them will immediately be good around the Diamond Lake Resort boat ramp. Trollers should use Rapalas, Needlefish and Flat Fish lures, especially those that look like chubs. The limit remains five trout a day, with only one over 20 inches a day allowed. LOST CREEK — Trolling for trout remains very good near the dam and off the points near the marina, with lots of trout hovering about 40 feet from the surface. Troll slowly, with flashes and Wedding Ring lures or even worms. Bass fishing remains best off rocky points and near the shoreline. A few stoneflies are starting to fly over the dam and plop on the surface, where they are getting the attention from rainbows as well as smallmouth in the evenings. The lake is starting to drop slowly and the surface temperature has risen to 63 degrees. Bank fishing remains good for trout with PowerBait near the Takelma ramp and off the intake tower. The lake is open year-round. APPLEGATE — Fishing for trout is improving at Seattle Bar and around the rim at the far end of the lake. Trolling flies or worms is best. Bass fishing has improved around willows, submerged trees and rocky points. Anglers can keep up to five rainbow trout, stocked salmon or recycled winter steelhead a day, but only one fish can be more than 20 inches long. No bass between 12 inches and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. FISH — Fresh legal-sized rainbow trout were scheduled to be stocked this week, and catches should be good with bait near the resort. Trolling for rainbows also has been good along points and coves. Fish are starting to move toward deeper water. WILLOW — Fishing for trout and bass is improving as warmer weather comes in. Bass are hovering off points and along weedlines. LAKE of the WOODS — Fishing for rainbow and brown trout is starting to pick up. The lake still has many of the 500 extra trout stocked last week around the resort marina. The resort and marina are open Thursday through Sunday. EMIGRANT — Smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing remains good, but the lake is dropping rapidly and the lack of depth is exposing most of the willows. For smallmouth, concentrate on the rocky points regardless of depth, and fewer of the willows are now submerged. Ocean Outlook Chinook catches have been good 3-5 miles out of Brookings, and excellent catches have occurred the past few days 40 to 50 feet deep. Lots of 18- to 22 inch chinooks are also in the mix. Chinooks must be at least 20 inches long to be kept as part of the two-chinook limit. Ocean conditions have been very good. The fin-clipped coho season does not start until June 19. Surf perch fishing remains very good at the mouth of the Rogue River, at Winchuck Beach near the California border and at Nesika Beach just north of Gold Beach. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Spring turkey hunting ended strongly Monday, with good late-season hunting early in mornings. Hunters are awaiting the controlled-hunt draw, with notification of success in drawing big-game tags due June 20. KLAMATH — Turkey hunting closed Monday. 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 — A few spring migrants linger, but most have departed for northern breeding areas. Breeding ducks remain active in courtship displays, while at the same time bachelor groups of drakes are beginning to form. Broods are becoming more apparent now, especially for mallards. Breeding sandhill cranes are well dispersed throughout the Area on their breeding territories. 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