OCEAN PERSPECTIVE
ALL THE COAST: A small craft advisory remains in effect until Friday evening. Winds of up to 25 knots and 6-foot swells are expected in the afternoon on Friday, followed by winds of up to 20 knots and swells down to 5 feet on Saturday. Sunday’s forecast calls for winds to drop to 5 knots and swells to drop to 4 feet.
Ocean salmon fishing has slowed a bit for a mix of chinook and coho salmon in southern Oregon as the currents shift. Chinook fish on downriggers from 80 to 150 feet with anchovies. Cohos get caught higher in the water column and closer to the boat. The season is open seven days a week.
After a brief flurry of tuna, no new catches were recorded last week.
Bottom fishing has been excellent for black rockfish, cod and halibut when the weather allows. Halibut have been found in waters up to 100 feet.
Surfperch fishing is likely to be very good again this weekend as perch move into river mouths to spawn and the ocean appears to be flat. Shrimp and mussels are the best baits, with plastic sand worms and shrimp as secondary options.
Bay clams should be good despite the lack of less morning tides that have been very helpful the past two weeks.
Clam digging is open south of Tillamook Head after domoic acid levels in clams south of Cape Blanco were finally cleared to safe levels. However, Clatsop County beaches are now under annual conservation closure. Clam digging has been poor on the South Coast, but look for good clams on the South Coast, especially around Charleston in Coos Bay. Before you dig in, call the Seafood Hotline at 1-800-448-2474.
Recreational crabbing is open in the ocean and catches have been excellent in the ocean and bays such as lower Coos Bay in Charleston. Many Dungeness begin to harden after molting. Be sure to cut off the soft ones because the amounts of meat are not ideal.
PERSPECTIVE OF THE LAKE
AGATE: The lake had 4,000 legal-sized trout in June, and that’s it for the season. Trout fishing has been slow. Bass and perch fishing has been very good with warm weather and warm water. The lake was rated at 58 percent on Thursday, with water murky and dropping rapidly due to demand for irrigation water amid triple-digit heat. Electric fishing motors are fine. The park closes at dusk.
APPLY: The boat ramp and dock at Hart Tish Park are open and there is plenty of water for the boat ramps. The lake was last stocked with rainbow trout in June. Fish for rainbows with PowerBait or bank worms or slow troll Tasmanian devil baits seasoned with a piece of worm. Bass fishing has been good on plastic worms and grubs fished slowly on the bottom along rocky points and flats on warm days. The lake is dropping rapidly now that inflows have dropped off the charts as they normally do in the middle of summer. The lake was 31 feet below full, with outflows holding steady at 300 cf. The lake was 62% full on Thursday. Remember the 10mph speed limit at the depot.
DIAMOND: The lake is fishing pretty well for rainbow trout, with the best catches on the south end near the pizzeria, in the Silent Creek channel, or on the far side of the lake near Scout Camp. Most of the action is in shallow water in the morning and evening, tapering off midday amid warmer temperatures. Fish deep with PowerBait during the day. The mosquitoes are thick along the shore, but thin out as you get further from the shore. PowerBait and small leech flies fished slowly will work best, with worms under bobbers near the bottom another good bet. All tiger trout must be released unharmed. Some are eclipsing 5 lbs.
EMIGRANT: The lake has filled to 18% as the heat has increased demand for irrigation water diverted from the reservoir. Fishing activity is primarily for smallmouth and largemouth bass from rocky points with crankbaits and rubber worms worked on the bottom. Little trout fishing activity. Some catfish shoal fishing with chicken livers has been reported. During the warmer days, more bass fishing has occurred.
EXPO: State wildlife biologists stocked 1,500 legal-size rainbow trout here nearly two months ago, and their numbers are now low. Catch them on Panther Martin lures, single salmon eggs or worms under bobbers. Parking fees are required.
FISH: Rainbow trout fishing has been best near the springs as irrigation withdrawals have diverted the lake significantly. However, no full reading percentage was available Thursday in Fish Lake. This makes locating the sources much more important. PowerBait and worms work best, plus trolling lures that look like a small chub tui. The tiger trout must be released unharmed. Some of the most accessible springs are located at the Fish Lake Resort Marina.
HOWARD PRAIRIE: The lake is open to fishing, but water levels are very low and no legal-sized trout have been stocked this spring. There are a few remaining trout being caught by anglers using PowerBait on the edge of the dam. Little other action. The lake level dropped slightly Thursday to 8 percent full as water is diverted to Emigrant Lake for irrigation use.
Hyatt: The lake was holding steady at a pitiful 3% full as it is being drawn to feed Emigrant Lake for irrigation purposes. Some fishing remains in the trout catch area. The limit is five trout per day, with one over 20 inches. No trout were stocked last year, so trout numbers are very low. Some warm water fish, such as blackfish, appear in the catch.
LAKE OF THE FOREST: The lake continues to fish well for rainbow trout in shallower water. A lot of perch are caught outside the resort ramp.
LOST CREEK: The lake again got a new addition of catchable legal size rainbow trout late last month at the Takelma ramp. Inflows are decreasing and releases are holding at 1,700 cfs, so the lake is dropping pretty quickly for the first time this year. School of fish on PowerBait near the Takelma ramp or Medco access point on Hwy 62. Windworms drifting over Peyton Bridge have been good. Bass fishing has been good near the rocky outcrops of late, with crankbaits and rubber worms the main offerings. The lake was rated 65% and 32 feet full Thursday, which is good for this time of year amid the drought.
MEDICAL: The lake was stocked last month with 2,000 legal-sized trout. Catch them on PowerBait or worms.
SELMAC: The lake was restocked with 1,000 legal-sized trout about a month ago, and that’s it for the season. Fish them with worms or PowerBait.
WILLOW: The lake received another 2,000 legal-size rainbow trout late last month. Catch them on worms or PowerBait near the county boat ramp where the fish were released.
PERSPECTIVE OF THE RIVER
ROUGH: The upper Rogue is now only partially open for spring chinook, but is fully open for summer steelhead which are now getting more interest. The mid-Rogue remains slow for steelhead and a no-go for fall chinook salmon that have not yet made it upstream. The lower Rogue continues to have a decent fall chinook bite, with a 41-pounder caught Wednesday.
That 41 pounds alone is worth creating a change in this week’s best bet to the lower Rogue, despite good steelhead catches on the upper Rogue.
The Lower Rogue early fall chinook fishery has slowly picked up this week as the 68 degree river water is forcing the chinook to stay in the cooler reaches of the bay. Troll anchovies with chartreuse and copper leaves or other combinations of chartreuse, yellow and bronze. Look for catches to improve as more fish begin to move into the bay.
Lots of smaller chinook this year, and get used to it because the run is expected to be dominated by 3-year-old fish in the 14-pound range, but there will still be a good showing of very large chinook.
The estuary is also loaded with perch, and their taste for anchovy can be frustrating. For those targeting perch, use perch flies, sand shrimp or anchovy chunks.
The return of fish to Cole Rivers Hatchery remains encouraging, for a change. Hatchery technicians harvested 64 spring chinook last Wednesday to bring the numbers to 4,304 fish, the best since 2015. Additionally, another 139 summer steelhead arrived at the hatchery, bringing those numbers to 1,926 fish. This is the best since at least 1993, the last year records were available. This week’s collections were not available on Thursday.
Boat anglers are finding big spring chinook on the upper Rogue downstream of the Dodge Bridge, mostly goats and shrimp bouncing back or plugs from drift boats. Salmon fishing is now closed upstream of the Dodge Bridge. Steelheaders use everything from worms and pink plastic worms to various plugs and a range of flies, ranging from streamers to ugly bugs and prince nymphs. Early steelhead are aggressive, so open the fly and tackle boxes for these guys.
Flows at the Dodge Bridge were eerily steady at 1,883 cfs Thursday and are expected to decrease slightly each day throughout the week as tributary flows fall off the charts.
The summer steelhead fishery is open year-round, but all wild steelhead must now be released unharmed throughout the rest of the year throughout the river. Steelhead are biting everything from worms and small groups of salmon eggs to nymph flies and an assortment of smaller plugs. The best ones include pink, black and/or silver.
The Hatchery Hole is now open for shore and wading steelhead fishing. no boat fishing. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed throughout the river.
In the middle Rogue, a few summer steelhead are being caught on worms and corks as they make their way to the upper Rogue. Some of these early fish can be in the 10 pound range.
