Fish trout at Empire Lakes for easy angling
Last weekend there were reports of at least 50 spring Chinook salmon being taken on the lower Rogue River. These salmon are running between 20-30 pounds, and the best bait is anchovies. The area from Elephant Rock up river seems to be the most productive. I also had reports of springers being caught on the Umpqua River in the Sawyer Rapids area. The recent rains have both rivers on the rise and you’ll need to check their height. As they fall back into shape, springer fishing should really take off.
Winter steelhead still were being caught just below Powers on the Coquille River.
The Coos River system reported some steelhead around the upriver acclimation sites, and these fisheries still have bright fish, but are really slowing down.
Trout fishing at Empire Lakes has been red hot. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is planning to release another 6,000 legal-sized trout into the lakes this week. This brings the total trout released to 18,000, and an additional 400 trophy trout were released this year.
Fishing near the block wall on the north lake using power bait just off the bottom was producing limits in less than 30 minutes for many anglers. If you’re not catching any of them, you may need to change your tactics. One old angler told me in jest that if you drive by slowly with your car window down, you should be able to catch your limit.
Trout fishing also was excellent at Garrison Lake in Port Orford and Bradley Lake in Bandon.
Tenmile Lakes reported very good trout fishing last week, and the south lake had the best bite. Their largemouth bass fishing has started to pick up, but the water temperatures are still cold and the fish are a little sluggish.
During the good weather last week, anglers reported good catches of black rockcod and an occasional lingcod while fishing inside Coos Bay. One angler reported that he changed his tactics and drifted near the north jetty casting 3?4-ounce jig heads with blue plastic worms, and that produced a very good catch of rockcod. He said he was casting right up to the jetty rocks and the fish would hit as the jig was dropping. It reminded him of fishing for largemouth bass by using this presentation.
Fishing for lingcod and rockcod outside forty fathoms is closed until Sept. 30. Another closure to be aware of is the new ODFW regulation banning the retention of green sturgeon in all Oregon waters.
The ODFW will be hosting a meeting to explain the daily limit and the total bag limit for our in-river Chinook fishery and the proposed coho fishery on the Coquille River and Tenmile Lakes. The meeting will take place at the North Bend Public Library from 7 to 9 p.m. on April 26.
A kokanee catch at Wallowa Lake broke a record again. Wan Teece of Enterprise caught a kokanee weighing 8.23 pounds, measuring 26.25 inches in length and a girth of 16 inches on March 24, breaking the Oregon state record for kokanee and possibly a national record. Bill Knox, assistant district fish biologist in Enterprise, said: “From what we currently know, this kokanee is the largest ever caught in the United States.” He went on to say, “Only the current world record kokanee from Lake Okanogan in British Columbia is bigger (9 pounds, 6 ounces).”
April 1 was the opening day of spring bear season and the ODFW has predicted a very good season.
The ODFW will present a range of options for the ODFW Commission to consider pertaining to the use of mandatory blaze orange for all hunters in the state. The Oregon Hunter’s Association would like folks to comment on this proposal. If you go to the Oregon Outdoors Radio show Web site (www.oregonoutdoorsradio.com), you can get complete information.
Good luck fishing and hunting.
Listen to the Oregon Outdoors Radio Show Thursdays from 2-5 p.m. on KWRO 630 AM and rebroadcast on Friday mornings from 7-10 a.m. on ESPN 1230 AM. Oregon Outdoors can now be heard on KDUN 1030 AM from Eugene to Port Orford on Friday evenings from 3-5 p.m. and on Saturday mornings from 6-8 a.m.
thanks for the great fishing report. be back soon for more great fishing reports.