Steelhead fishing should heat up soon

Winter steelhead fishing is just getting started. Fish are being caught in the East Fork Millicoma River near Nesika Park. A few steelhead also are being caught in the main stream of the Coquille River. The lower portions of the south fork of the Coquille also are producing a few fish. LaVerne Park proved to be the lucky area for one angler who caught a limit of steelhead.

Early last week, anglers on the lower Elk River had some good Chinook fishing and with extremely high tides, bright fish are being pushed into both the Elk and Sixes rivers. The rivers should be falling back into good fishing conditions after recent rains.
The lower Rogue River had been running low and clear and steelhead were moving into the system, but they have been difficult to catch. Fishermen on the Rogue are looking forward to winter steelhead fishing to get started with the month of January being their best month.

With recent bad weather, some anglers have found that local lakes allowed them to keep fishing and they’ve reported good catches of rainbow trout. These sheltered lakes give you an opportunity to take a youngster who’s on holiday break on a fun fishing experience.

Crabbers still were successful in the Bandon area this past week. The river hasn’t risen enough yet to push the crabs back into the ocean. Coos Bay also is experiencing some nice crabbing.

Bad weather and high winds were good news for duck hunters. More birds have come in and hunting has picked up.

The Oregon Court of Appeals heard arguments in the dispute that arose when news organizations sought to obtain the list of people who have concealed handgun permits. Tillamook County Sheriff Todd Anderson, who is the President of the Oregon State Sheriff Association, said “People hold these permits for safety reasons. This is not information that they would like to be released.” A ruling on this appeal should be out in the next few weeks, and I will keep you up to date.

Patrons will have a chance to buy a 12-month Oregon State Parks day-use pass for $20. The price will increase Jan. 1, 2010, so take advantage of the low price this month before the increase. Passes are sold through the Oregon State Parks Information Center and you can call them at 800-551-6949.

Now for some really good news: The technical committee advising Columbia River fisheries managers has released its forecast for the 2010 spring Chinook run. If the fish show up as projected, the forecast of 470,000 spring Chinook will be the largest return to the Columbia River system since 1938. The forecast run is up significantly from last year’s final count of 169,300 fish.

A recent study by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that some cured eggs, which are a popular bait, are harmful to juvenile salmon and steelhead. See a related story on this page for more information.

And now for an update on our shooting range, the Tioga Sports Park project. The Sports Park association currently is studying options and conceptual operation plans. The study is expected to be finished by the middle of January 2010. The next step is engineering and architectural drawings that will be presented to the Coos County Planning Department. The shooting park will provide a safe place for hunter education, law enforcement and the general public to practice shooting sports and training programs.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year. Good luck fishing and hunting.