Fishing Reports News

This week’s rain should improve the movement of fish in the Umpqua River system. Fall chinook, silvers and winter steelhead have all been caught in the last week on the main Umpqua.

Following are reports from sources who deal with the fisheries on a daily basis.

“It’s been raining here all morning. Hopefully the fish will come flying up the river.

“Some guys did really well here yesterday (Wednesday), picking up quite a few Chinook and silvers. It was really cold, but they did catch fish. The chinook are 18 to 20 pounds and the silvers 10 to 14 pounds.

“There were also a few steelhead caught a week ago. There were three fin-clipped steelhead caught in one day that I know of. One was 16 to 17 pounds, one was 12 pounds and the other somewhere in between. Most of the fish are being caught right below the rapids here and down below the low water bridge below Scott’s Creek.

“Boats are making drifts from here to Scott’s Creek for a short trip or to Scottsburg Park which is a long day. Some are bait fishing with roe and some are running plugs.

“With this big gush of rain, the fish should go surging up through here.”

Shane Whitley
Sawyers Rapids RV Resort
Elkton

Following is the weekly Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fishing report that is compiled by regional fisheries biologists.

Southwest Region

Trout angling closed Oct. 31 in many streams, rivers, and bays. Please consult the fishing regulations for more details.

CHETCO RIVER: Anglers are fishing the Chetco from the mouth up to Social Security bar for fall Chinook. This time of year anglers have a choice of trolling the estuary or fishing tidewater holes. Some of the preferred methods for fishing in tidewater holes is fly fishing, bobber fishing sand shrimp, eggs, or anchovies, or plunking eggs or anchovies.
The Chetco River flows are below 80 cfs which may trigger a river closure. Currently, ODFW has no plans of closing the river to Chinook fishing.

COOS RIVER BASIN: Chinook fishing in Coos Bay is slow and probably about done for the year. Fish are being caught in the tidewater area of the South Coos and Millicoma Rivers. Coho retention is prohibited above Chandler Bridge. Below Chandler Bridge, adipose fin-clipped coho are legal to keep as part of your daily limit. Most fish are caught trolling spinners, or casting a bobber and eggs. Bank anglers have a great opportunity to catch salmon in the South Coos near Daniels Creek and along Isthmus Slough. Trout angling closed Oct. 31 in streams, rivers, and bays

COQUILLE RIVER BASIN: Chinook fishing in the lower Coquille River has also slowed down now but fish may be available in upper tidewater areas. Trolling spinners can be effective around Coquille and above. Retention of coho is prohibited above Lampa Creek at river mile 11.5. Trout angling closed Oct.31 in streams, rivers, and bays.

FISH LAKE: Fishing is slow, with trout hitting on Power bait. The best technique is to drift fish from a boat near the East end of the lake. The US Forest Service boat ramp is usable at this time.

ILLINOIS RIVER: The Illinois River up to Pomeroy Dam is open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead and trout between May 27 and Dec. 31. Tackle is limited to artificial flies and lures only.

LAKE SELMAC: Fishing for Largemouth bass has picked up recently, while the harvest of panfish has slowed with the recent decline in temperature. Black crappie fishing is still good in grassy areas.

LOST CREEK RESERVOIR: Trout fishing is good at Lost Creek, with near limits being reported. Rainbow trout are averaging 12-16 inches. Anglers trolling spinner and worm combinations have been catching fish, and lures and flies will likely produce as water temperatures cool with fall weather. The combination of a wedding ring and worm fished below an egg sinker works well and an angler fishing a roostertail caught fish recently. Green and rainbow floating bait will work for bait anglers. Bass anglers should have good success on smallmouth bass. Casting worms into shore can be very good along the north bank of the reservoir.

PACIFIC OCEAN & BEACHES: Ocean salmon fishing closed Oct. 31. Good spots for surfperch are around Horsfall Beach and Bullards Beach. Bottom fishing has been excellent recently when ocean conditions permit. Pacific halibut and cabezon are now closed due to the quota being reached.

ROGUE RIVER, LOWER: The Rogue River bay has slowed as most of the coho and fall Chinook have moved up river. Anglers wishing to still fish the bay should target the mouth of Indian Creek as Chinook are stacking up waiting to move up Indian Creek to the hatchery. Bank fishing can be excellent this time of year with anglers mainly fishing anchovies under a bobber or throwing spinners.
The lower Rogue River has slowed as few steelhead are moving up river. Anglers are moving often to find fish. The best fishing has been around Agness, with anglers using a mix of eggs, spinners, or flies. Anglers should keep an eye of Rogue flows as anything over 3000 cfs will make for tough fishing.

ROGUE RIVER, MIDDLE: Fishing for summer steelhead has been fair to good with boat anglers doing best on plugs in the Middle Rogue recently. An eleven year old girl recently caught an 8 pounder. Fly fishermen have been doing best with glow-bugs and bank fishermen have been using cured and rubber eggs. The harvest of adipose fin-clipped steelhead is allowed year-round. The Rogue is open for adipose fin-clipped coho Aug. 1- Dec. 31. The Rogue River downstream from Hog Creek near Merlin is open to the harvest of chinook salmon.
Flows at Grants Pass averaged 1,280 cubic feet per second on Monday morning. For steelhead, fly angling with an egg pattern can be very effective at this time of year, or anglers can cast spinners (black and gold Panther Martins). Bait anglers can do well fishing eggs. Night crawlers fished with a corky have also been successful. Boat anglers have had success with plugs. Bank access for steelhead can be found at Chinook Park, Matson Park, Griffin Park and Robertson Bridge. Additional access is available below Hellgate Canyon. Gold Hill to Rogue River and Robertson Bride to Hog Creek are popular drifts for boat anglers. Steelhead anglers must take care to avoid disturbing actively spawning chinook. Never step on or fish from a redd.
The Rogue is open for trout fishing with a limit of five adipose fin-clipped trout per day, 8 inch minimum length. All nonadipose fin-clipped rainbow and all cutthroat trout must be released unharmed.

ROGUE RIVER, UPPER: Good numbers of summer steelhead are available in the upper Rogue, but reports of angler success are mixed. A total of 7,754 summer steelhead and 276 coho salmon have been counted at Gold Ray Dam as of Oct. 18. Upper river anglers are mostly catching steelhead in the 3-5 pound range, with some resident cutthroat and rainbow trout in the mix. The river is open to the harvest of adipose fin-clipped steelhead year-round. The Rogue is open for trout fishing with a limit of five adipose fin-clipped trout per day, 8 inch minimum length, but all nonadipose fin-clipped rainbow and all cutthroat trout must be released unharmed.
Angling regulations on the upper Rogue change this week. Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, angling between Gold Ray Dam and the boat ramp (just downstream from the Hwy 62 Bridge) at Shady Cove Park is limited to artificial flies and lures, while angling between Shady Cove and Cole Rivers Hatchery is open to the use of bait.

ROGUE RIVER ABOVE LOST CREEK RESERVOIR: Fishing above Lost Creek Reservoir ended Oct. 31.

TENMILE BASIN: Trout angling in Tenmile Creek closed Oct. 30.

UMPQUA ESTUARY: Sturgeon fishing is slow. The river opened for fin-clipped coho on Aug. 1. Chinook and coho are currently being caught in the bay below the 101 bridge although fishing has been very slow. Fishing has been slow in Winchester Creek.

UMPQUA RIVER MAINSTEM: Main-stem Umpqua closed to the retention of all non-finclipped steelhead, but remains open year round for fin-clipped steelhead. Fall chinook and coho fishing is slow but may pick up with some weather.

UMPQUA RIVER, NORTH: Summer steelhead are still being caught although fishing has been slow. A few coho have been caught and fishing will improve as more coho cross Winchester Dam. Winchester Dam counts show 1,124 coho and 6,914 summer steelhead through Oct. 8. The final count for spring chinook was 6,081

UMPQUA RIVER, SOUTH: Fishing is closed in the South Umpqua until Nov 30.

SHELLFISH

The entire Oregon coast is now open for razor clams, bay clams, and mussels. Always check for health advisories by calling the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Shellfish line at 800-448-2474 for updates. For more information about razor clams and current status of particular areas see the ODFW razor clam web page at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/razorclams
Crabbing is good now but a few soft ones are still showing up in the catch. Crabs will fill out with meat as we move into fall. Crabbers should consider releasing crabs that have little meat in their legs. The Coos Bay shoreline along the inside of the North Spit from Empire to Charleston is a good area for crabbing. Public crabbing docks can be found in Winchester Bay, Bandon, Charleston, and Empire.

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