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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 FISHING AND HUNTING REPORT River Outlook ROGUE — The Rogue is trying to transition from a winter steelhead stream to a spring chinook stream, but the best fishing remains farther down as low-water conditions appear to be stalling migration. Some decent late-run winter steelhead fishing is occurring in the upper Rogue, but the fish are dark and many of the wild fish have hit the tributaries to spawn. That makes the best bet the lower Rogue, where anglers just east of Gold Beach are hitting fresh spring chinook with regularity. The Elephant Rock area has been the best producer for boat anglers, while bank angling has just been fair at usual hot-spots like Huntley Park and Lobster Creek. Farther upstream, catches have been poor as fish are moving more than biting. In the middle Rogue, bank anglers are doing fairly well for spring chinook salmon in their usual haunts as well, with Rainie Falls and the waters below Savage Rapids Dam leading the way. Some boat anglers are picking up spring chinook in the Boil Hole at Pearce Park, but catches taper off the farther upstream you go. Flows were decent at Grants Pass for this year — 1,900 cubic feet per second of 53-degree water with 5 NTUs. But the flow is significantly lower than it normally is at this time of year. And only 60 springers have been counted at Gold Ray Dam as of Saturday. That indicates how late the run is. But the upper Rogue has received more than 10,700 winter steelhead, and most of these are dark and in spawning mode now. Catches have been off-and-on, with bait fishing best. The river is loaded with migrating smolts mistakenly deemed trout, and targeting these fish is illegal until the second trout opener on May 28. Rogue anglers can now keep up to one wild winter steelhead 24 inches or greater a day and no more than five wild steelhead a year. Spring chinook anglers now have a two-fish daily limit, but only one of those can be a wild chinook. The wild spring chinook limit is three per year. Advertisement For daily flow reports out of Lost Creek Lake, call 800-472-2434. APPLEGATE — The river remains closed to all angling until May 28. CHETCO — The river is closed to all angling. UMPQUA — The Umpqua is starting to see some decent spring chinook fishing in the main-stem river. Sturgeon fishing has picked up in the lower river as well. COOS/COQUILLE — The four forks on the Coquille are all closed to winter steelhead fishing, but the main-stem remains open. A few fish remain, but mostly they are spawned-out steelhead headed back to sea. The main-stem Coos remains open for steelhead fishing, which is spotty. Striped bass have moved into the lower Coquille and have been caught as high as Arago. TENMILE — The creek remains open to winter steelhead fishing through April, and most of the fish present are spawned out and heading back to sea. Lake Outlook HOWARD PRAIRIE — The lake opens to angling Saturday, and prospects for the opening weekend are excellent. The lake is ice-free and slightly more than half-full. Trolling and still-fishing will both be good, with still-fishing best in shallower water where the trout are feeding most. Stay mobile. The daily limit remains five trout per day, with an 8-inch minimum length. Only one of those trout per day can be more than 20 inches. HYATT — The lake opens to angling Saturday, and prospects for good fishing are excellent. The lake is about 85 percent full and ice-free, with the waters warm enough that the trout are actively feeding. Still-fishing during the day is best, while trolling at dusk near shore also should be good. The daily limit remains five trout per day, with an 8-inch minimum length. Only one of those trout per day can be more than 20 inches. DIAMOND — The lake opens to angling Saturday. The lake is ice-free and in excellent angling shape, with plenty of hold-over rainbow trout and stocked chinook salmon. The lake also has been stocked with fresh trout this month for the opener. Action will be best near shore, with trolling near weed lines very good. Still-fishing with PowerBait also will be prime. The daily limit remains five trout per day, with an 8-inch minimum length. Only one of those trout per day can be more than 20 inches. LOST CREEK — Trout fishing as well as small-mouth fishing have both improved. Trollers near the dam are doing well for rainbows, while most of the shallows have been producing good catches of small-mouth. A few brown trout have been taken in the far upper reaches of the reservoir while drifting the bottom with night crawlers. The lake has filled rapidly this past week and is now about 14 feet from full. The surface temperature also climbed to about 50 degrees since recent storms subsided. The lake is open year-round for trout and bass fishing, with trout anglers out-numbering bass anglers throughout the cold-weather months. EMIGRANT — Fishing for small-mouth and large-mouth bass has been very good during the days, especially during the warmer weather. The shallow lake warms faster than most area waterways. Fishing for trout has improved. Crappie fishing remains poor, but the yellow perch are getting very active. ALL-SPORTS POND — The pond near Grants Pass recently was stocked with rainbow trout. Fishing is good with bait. APPLEGATE — Fishing for stocked chinook and rainbow trout around 12 inches long is fair during mid-day, especially on warmer days. Bass fishing is improving. No recycled winter steelhead have been stocked yet this season. 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 winter steelhead yet have been recycled from the Applegate River to the reservoir. No bass between 12 and 15 inches can be kept, and only one bass larger than 15 inches can be kept. EXPO POND — The pond has been stocked with rainbow trout. FISH — The lake is ice-free and boat anglers are doing well for rainbow trout. Ocean Outlook The ocean has finally calmed down in time for bottomfish anglers to target lingcod moving closer to shore. Bottomfish effort has been light. Surf perch are active in the Rogue River estuary between the jetties. Beaches around Port Orford, Gold Beach and Brookings remain closed for razor clam. To check for updates on the closure, call the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Shellfish Hotline at 800-448-2474. Hunting Outlook ROGUE — Turkey hunters are doing well in the early season, with good weather helping hunters gobble with active birds. A good opening weekend has been followed up with good successes this week. The season runs through May 31, and tags are available throughout the season. Cougar hunters can expect an average year. Cougars are abundant throughout with indicators pointing to stable or increasing numbers and distribution. Hunting cougar is a challenge because these animals are very secretive, but harvest success is greatest adjacent to private land with high deer populations using a predator call. DOUGLAS — Spring turkey hunters have found good success during opening weekend. Most hunting has focused on oak savannas where the birds are most dominant. Seek permission before entering private property. 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 WILDLIFE AREA — Wintering waterbird populations are still present and northward migrants are appearing in good numbers now. Migrant goose numbers (esp. snow geese) are in excess of 25,000. Early nesting Canada geese and mallards have paired and are beginning to establish nesting territories. Nesting Canada geese have been observed recently. Waterfowl and other waterbirds are widely dispersed throughout the Area, taking advantage of excellent habitat conditions and very favorable weather. An influx of migrants, especially arctic nesting geese (lesser snow and greater white-fronted) and ducks is now occurring. Tundra swans are beginning to depart the area en route to northern staging areas and ultimately arctic breeding grounds. Snow geese are scattered in several flocks in the Area, with one large raft on Summer Lake . Major movements to feeding areas occur near dusk each day. Tule greater white-fronted geese are most numerous in the Gold Dike Impoundment 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. 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