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CLOUDY Temp: 38 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Wednesday, April 2, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 13, 2003 Lost Creek Lake to host spring break bash for teens By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune TRAIL — Fort Lauderdale, Cancun, and Mazatlan are all destinations of choice for American students seeking the party life over spring break. But Lost Creek Lake? Yes, that cold-water reservoir of northern Jackson County will host a different kind of spring bash March 20, the first day of spring break in Medford and Ashland school districts. Trout rods and worms will replace string bikinis and dance parties during a free trout-fishing tournament for teenagers at the lake, off Highway 62 near Trail. "Everybody goes on spring break to Cancun or Fort Lauderdale," says Dave Nadler, the tournament’s organizer. "I thought, let’s do a spring break to celebrate here." The tournament is called Spring Break 16 Over & Under. Its format is simple: The first kid under 16 years old who brings Nadler a Lost Creek Lake rainbow trout more than 16 inches long wins a rod and reel combination. The winning trout must be caught March 20 at the lake some time between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. It will be held at the Takelma Park facilities across from the Takelma Ramp, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility on the lake’s southwest side near the face of Lost Creek dam. Nadler says he chose March 20 because it is the de-facto start of spring break, which was elongated this year in response to state cuts to Oregon school funding. Nadler, 45, runs the Medford-based Oregon Trouters Society, which he bills as a trout-angling club through which he also books fishing excursions for clients. Nadler says he got the idea for a trout derby while watching a spring break trip last week on The Travel Channel. Nadler then dreamed up the 16 over-under format. The society bought an ultra-lightweight Bingo rod and reel for the prize, he says. "I’d like to see 50 to 100 kids out there, just fishing and having fun," he says. Under Oregon angling laws, Nadler needs no permit or official approval to run the derby because the prize amounts are less than $1,000, says Mike Evenson, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The 16-inch trout sought by derby entrants will be those left over from plantings of legal-sized rainbow trout at Lost Creek Lake over the past few years. Several Southern Oregon waterways will be brimming with fresh, but smaller, rainbow trout as the ODFW stocks local lakes with legal-sized fish. Agency employees plan to stock trout into Emigrant, Selmac, Willow and Lost Creek lakes sometime next week. The Expo Ponds in Central Point and the All Sports Pond near Grants Pass also will get a complement of new trout. Lost Creek Lake will get 27,500 legal-sized rainbows next week from nearby Cole Rivers Hatchery, which also will provide 4,900 legals to Willow Lake and 3,500 to Emigrant Lake. These fish are all 8 to 10 inches long, placing them within the legal size limit for anglers to catch and keep. Lake Selmac, which received 4,400 legals from Cole Rivers Hatchery last month, will get a repeat of that dose again next week. The ODFW will buy trout from private hatcheries for stocking in the Expo Ponds and the All Sports Pond under an Oregon Legislature law requiring the agency to buy a portion of its trout stock annually from private facilities. Elsewhere, Ben Irving, Cooper Creek, Galesville and Plat I reservoirs in Douglas County will be stocked during the week of March 24. Also, Loon Lake between Scottsburg and Reedsport will be stocked that week as well. In Coos County, Bradley, Upper and Lower Empire lakes will be stocked with lunker trout of a pound or more during the week of March 31. Garrison Lake in Curry County will be stocked with legal-sized trout that same week. Cyber-anglers who want all updated fish-stocking plans can get the information through the ODFW’s Web site at: www.dfw.state.or.us Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S