Spring Chinook popping up in Rogue River
The Rogue River should have the best opportunities to catch a nice steelhead, as last week the reports were good from bank fishermen. Fishing near Huntley Bar and Canfield Riffle using a brown trout pattern Spin Glow produced the best bites.
The outstanding news is at least three spring Chinook were taken in the Rogue. Guide Rick Howard of Bandon landed two nice steelhead and a very good springer. Let’s hope this is a start to a very good spring Chinook season.
As the Elk and Sixes rivers fell back into shape, both produced some good, bright winter steelhead.
Reports from the South Fork of the Coos River were not as good, as the steelhead fishing has slowed and the numbers of spawned-out fish has increased.
The Coquille River is falling back into shape after the recent rains, and fish were being picked up on the North Fork. Fishermen also reported a larger number of spawned-out fish that they released. Fishing on Tenmile and Elk creeks has slowed as well.
The Chetco River in Brookings is also falling back into shape, and the lower river from Icebox downstream to the Social Security Bar produced the best bite.
As I reported in last week’s article, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is now stocking legal-sized trout in most of our local lakes gearing up for spring break. Fishermen at Empire Lakes were very pleased with their catches last week, and Empire Lakes offers great family-friendly fishing.
The ODFW reported that their sampling of Garrison Lake in Port Orford showed good numbers of cutthroat trout and rainbow trout in the lake. As water temperatures start to rise, these trout should be on the bite.
Crabbing reports from the Charleston area show that many boaters still are getting limits of Dungeness crabs and the quality has been excellent. Crabbing in Bandon has slowed because of high, fresh water. A word of caution — recently, a large snag has lodged itself at Weber’s Pier and crabbers have been getting their crab rings hung up on it.
The Bay Area Sportsman’s Association will be holding its 23rd Annual Sportsman’s Banquet at the Bay Area Boys and Girls Club tonight at 5:30 p.m. The money raised from this event is used to support the Boys and Girls Club, local athletic teams and many of our STEP programs. They still have a few tickets available and you can contact Mike Helfrich at 541-297-0654 for more information.
The San Francisco Pier 39 sea lions that showed up in great numbers at the Sea Lion Caves in Oregon last fall have started to disappear. The sea lion mystery began four months ago when volunteers counted more than 1,700 of them at Pier 39 and by Thanksgiving, fewer than two dozen remained. We can only hope their trip south is a non-stop one and they won’t stop to feast on our springers.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Department has implemented a trip plan form for all their outdoorsmen. The form is to be filled out and left with a responsible person prior to an outdoor excursion. The trip plan form includes the purpose of the trip, the general area, landmarks, the starting time of your trip and the time you’re expected to return. In the event that you don’t return from your trip as stated on the form, it will be given to law enforcement and search and rescue organizers. This trip plan form is available on the Douglas County Sheriff’s Web site and can be used by anyone. I highly suggest using the form to all outdoorsmen as your life may depend on it.
Good luck fishing and hunting.
