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Shad fishing on the main Umpqua River and an improving smallmouth bass fishery, also on the Umpqua, are the best bets this week for area anglers.
Following are reports from sources who deal with the fisheries on a daily basis.
“Everybody has pretty much given up, but there are still some chinook in the (Umpqua) river. The moss in the river is a little on the heavy side and doesn’t help.
“Shad fishing has been excellent. They’re in their areas where they hang out. Smallmouth bass fishing has been picking up.
“We went sturgeon fishing Monday, but didn’t do any good. But it was an impressive morning because we saw a gray whale off the Coast Guard station and then followed it upriver to about a quarter mile below Buoy 12. I’ve got photos to prove it. A whale that far upriver is rare.
“We didn’t catch any sturgeon. Some have been caught and some greens are showing up.
“Crabbing down lower in the bay is not good yet.”
<b>Bob Greig
Elkton Bait and Tackle
Elkton</b>
“The fishing is slow. A few early summer steelhead, a few chinook are being caught. The water conditions are good, but there’s just not that many fish here yet.
“A lot of jack salmon are being caught. Those are under 24 inches.”
<b>Anthony Wilson
Idleyld Trading Post
Idleyld Park</b>
Following is the weekly Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fishing report that is compiled daily by regional fisheries biologists.
<b>Southwest </b>
Note: Trout angling in most streams, tidewaters and bays opens Saturday.
COOS RIVER BASIN: Shad fishing should take off once we get a couple warm days in a row. Most shad fishing takes place on the lower Coos and Millicoma Rivers. Surf perch and other marine fish are available in Coos Bay. Anglers should concentrate around rock structure or pilings. Trout angling re-opens Saturday. Angling above tidewater is restricted to flies and lures.
COQUILLE RIVER BASIN: Striped bass are available in the Coquille estuary, anglers usually do better fishing after dark. Shad fishing is just around the corner. A few warm days and shad should start biting. Most angling occurs around Sturdivant Park. Trout season opens Saturday.
DIAMOND LAKE: Bank and boat anglers are catching limits of fish. The fish have spread throughout the lake, although the best fishing remains near the lodge. Boat anglers were doing well anchored up and waiting for the fish to find the bait. Power bait has been the most effective. Anglers need to remember that the limit is five fish per day, and only one trout over 20 inches may be harvested per day.
ILLINOIS RIVER: The river below Pomeroy Dam will reopen to trout and steelhead angling Saturday but biologists anticipate few fish will be available.
LEMOLO LAKE: Fishing at Lemolo has remained good. Brown trout fishing remains good at the lake. Fishermen were catching limits of browns and rainbows at the lake. Fishing should remain good at the Lemolo.
ROGUE RIVER, LOWER: Water temperatures dropped week of May 21, but very few spring Chinook are moving. Only a handful of fish are being caught each day, mainly by boat anglers. Best fishing has been early morning or late afternoon, with most fish picked up on anchovy or an anchovy with spinner blade.
ROGUE RIVER, MIDDLE: Angling for spring chinook is fair with anglers are having the best success below Rainie Falls, Savage Rapids Dam, and Gold Ray Dam. Flows were 2,530 cubic feet per second at Grants Pass as of Monday morning. The Rogue River will reopen to trout angling this Saturday; remember only adipose fin-clipped rainbow trout may be kept.
ROGUE RIVER, UPPER: Angling for spring chinook remains fairly slow, with few fish available in the upper river. A total of 13,238 winter steelhead and 1,248 spring chinook salmon have been counted at Gold Ray Dam as of May 15. The outflows from Lost Creek Reservoir were 2,256 cubic feet per second and the outflow temperature was 50 F as of Monday morning. The Rogue River will reopen to trout angling Saturday; however, only adipose fin-clipped rainbow trout may be kept.
ROGUE RIVER, ABOVE LOST CREEK DAM: Legal-sized rainbow trout will be stocked at most of the campgrounds and major access points along the river between Prospect and Minnehaha Creek week of May 21. Brook trout and a few brown trout will be available as well.
SODA SPRINGS RESERVOIR: Soda Springs reservoir is open all year round for brown and rainbow trout. The road to Soda Springs dam is currently closed due to a high volume of dump trucks and heavy equipment. At this time the only access into the reservoir is at Medicine Creek bridge.
SMITH RIVER: Stripers are being caught in the Smith River estuary. Most striper fishing is done by boat in the lower 10 miles of the estuary. Trout season will open on Smith River Saturday. Mainstem Smith River below Sisters Creek is catch and release only on trout. Tributaries and the mainstem above Sisters is open for harvest of trout
TENMILE BASIN: Trout season opens Saturday.
TOKETEE LAKE: Fishing is open in Toketee all year round. As water temperatures slowly increase German Brown fishing will improve.
UMPQUA ESTUARY: Crabbing remains slow. Sturgeon fishing has been spotty, some sturgeon are being picked up in the Big Bend area. Striper fishing continues to improve, with some stripers being picked up by spring chinook fishermen. Pink fin perch fishing has been slow, but will improve as more pink fin move into to spawn.
UMPQUA HIGH LAKES AND FOREBAYS: Fishing is open in Toketee Lake all year round. Fishing in the forebays below Lemolo Lake was good this weekend. Limits of brown trout were caught in the Lemolo forebays. High lake stocking has been slowed by snow and slow growth rates on hatchery fish. These lakes should get stocked as the snow melts off.
UMPQUA RIVER MAINSTEM: Spring chinook fishing has finally picked up a little. Spring chinook are being caught, in low numbers, from River Forks to Scottsburg. Many people have given up on spring chinook for this season, although according to reports from the Wells Creek area fishing was very good for a couple of days last week. Water flows are high enough to provide good access to most spring chinook hole by drift boat or sled. Shad fishing is good. Anglers are catching shad from Sawyers Rapids to River Forks. Smallmouth fishing is also picking up, with a number of large fish being caught around Elkton. Fishing for shad will last into August. Remember this section of the river is closed to wild steelhead retention.
UMPQUA RIVER, NORTH: Spring chinook and summer steelhead numbers crossing at Winchester Dam are slow. Chinook fishing at Amacher Park is sporadic, with some chinook being caught. Boat anglers need to remember to fish below the deadline, if anglers are caught fishing above the deadline they will be ticketed by OSP. Fishing remains sporadic. Last week fishing picked up in the Rock Creek area with a number of spring chinook being caught. This is a good time to visit and see spring chinook and steelhead in the viewing windows at the dam. Winchester Dam counts show that 848 spring chinook and 54 summer steelhead have passed over the dam through May 8th.
UMPQUA RIVER, SOUTH: The South Umpqua will open for trout season Saturday.
WINCHESTER BAY: Crabbing has been slow but should improve as smaller crabs grow to legal size. Sturgeon fishing has also been slow but should improve as more food enters the estuary.
Following are reports from sources who deal with the fisheries on a daily basis.
“Everybody has pretty much given up, but there are still some chinook in the (Umpqua) river. The moss in the river is a little on the heavy side and doesn’t help.
“Shad fishing has been excellent. They’re in their areas where they hang out. Smallmouth bass fishing has been picking up.
“We went sturgeon fishing Monday, but didn’t do any good. But it was an impressive morning because we saw a gray whale off the Coast Guard station and then followed it upriver to about a quarter mile below Buoy 12. I’ve got photos to prove it. A whale that far upriver is rare.
“We didn’t catch any sturgeon. Some have been caught and some greens are showing up.
“Crabbing down lower in the bay is not good yet.”
<b>Bob Greig
Elkton Bait and Tackle
Elkton</b>
“The fishing is slow. A few early summer steelhead, a few chinook are being caught. The water conditions are good, but there’s just not that many fish here yet.
“A lot of jack salmon are being caught. Those are under 24 inches.”
<b>Anthony Wilson
Idleyld Trading Post
Idleyld Park</b>
Following is the weekly Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fishing report that is compiled daily by regional fisheries biologists.
<b>Southwest </b>
Note: Trout angling in most streams, tidewaters and bays opens Saturday.
COOS RIVER BASIN: Shad fishing should take off once we get a couple warm days in a row. Most shad fishing takes place on the lower Coos and Millicoma Rivers. Surf perch and other marine fish are available in Coos Bay. Anglers should concentrate around rock structure or pilings. Trout angling re-opens Saturday. Angling above tidewater is restricted to flies and lures.
COQUILLE RIVER BASIN: Striped bass are available in the Coquille estuary, anglers usually do better fishing after dark. Shad fishing is just around the corner. A few warm days and shad should start biting. Most angling occurs around Sturdivant Park. Trout season opens Saturday.
DIAMOND LAKE: Bank and boat anglers are catching limits of fish. The fish have spread throughout the lake, although the best fishing remains near the lodge. Boat anglers were doing well anchored up and waiting for the fish to find the bait. Power bait has been the most effective. Anglers need to remember that the limit is five fish per day, and only one trout over 20 inches may be harvested per day.
ILLINOIS RIVER: The river below Pomeroy Dam will reopen to trout and steelhead angling Saturday but biologists anticipate few fish will be available.
LEMOLO LAKE: Fishing at Lemolo has remained good. Brown trout fishing remains good at the lake. Fishermen were catching limits of browns and rainbows at the lake. Fishing should remain good at the Lemolo.
ROGUE RIVER, LOWER: Water temperatures dropped week of May 21, but very few spring Chinook are moving. Only a handful of fish are being caught each day, mainly by boat anglers. Best fishing has been early morning or late afternoon, with most fish picked up on anchovy or an anchovy with spinner blade.
ROGUE RIVER, MIDDLE: Angling for spring chinook is fair with anglers are having the best success below Rainie Falls, Savage Rapids Dam, and Gold Ray Dam. Flows were 2,530 cubic feet per second at Grants Pass as of Monday morning. The Rogue River will reopen to trout angling this Saturday; remember only adipose fin-clipped rainbow trout may be kept.
ROGUE RIVER, UPPER: Angling for spring chinook remains fairly slow, with few fish available in the upper river. A total of 13,238 winter steelhead and 1,248 spring chinook salmon have been counted at Gold Ray Dam as of May 15. The outflows from Lost Creek Reservoir were 2,256 cubic feet per second and the outflow temperature was 50 F as of Monday morning. The Rogue River will reopen to trout angling Saturday; however, only adipose fin-clipped rainbow trout may be kept.
ROGUE RIVER, ABOVE LOST CREEK DAM: Legal-sized rainbow trout will be stocked at most of the campgrounds and major access points along the river between Prospect and Minnehaha Creek week of May 21. Brook trout and a few brown trout will be available as well.
SODA SPRINGS RESERVOIR: Soda Springs reservoir is open all year round for brown and rainbow trout. The road to Soda Springs dam is currently closed due to a high volume of dump trucks and heavy equipment. At this time the only access into the reservoir is at Medicine Creek bridge.
SMITH RIVER: Stripers are being caught in the Smith River estuary. Most striper fishing is done by boat in the lower 10 miles of the estuary. Trout season will open on Smith River Saturday. Mainstem Smith River below Sisters Creek is catch and release only on trout. Tributaries and the mainstem above Sisters is open for harvest of trout
TENMILE BASIN: Trout season opens Saturday.
TOKETEE LAKE: Fishing is open in Toketee all year round. As water temperatures slowly increase German Brown fishing will improve.
UMPQUA ESTUARY: Crabbing remains slow. Sturgeon fishing has been spotty, some sturgeon are being picked up in the Big Bend area. Striper fishing continues to improve, with some stripers being picked up by spring chinook fishermen. Pink fin perch fishing has been slow, but will improve as more pink fin move into to spawn.
UMPQUA HIGH LAKES AND FOREBAYS: Fishing is open in Toketee Lake all year round. Fishing in the forebays below Lemolo Lake was good this weekend. Limits of brown trout were caught in the Lemolo forebays. High lake stocking has been slowed by snow and slow growth rates on hatchery fish. These lakes should get stocked as the snow melts off.
UMPQUA RIVER MAINSTEM: Spring chinook fishing has finally picked up a little. Spring chinook are being caught, in low numbers, from River Forks to Scottsburg. Many people have given up on spring chinook for this season, although according to reports from the Wells Creek area fishing was very good for a couple of days last week. Water flows are high enough to provide good access to most spring chinook hole by drift boat or sled. Shad fishing is good. Anglers are catching shad from Sawyers Rapids to River Forks. Smallmouth fishing is also picking up, with a number of large fish being caught around Elkton. Fishing for shad will last into August. Remember this section of the river is closed to wild steelhead retention.
UMPQUA RIVER, NORTH: Spring chinook and summer steelhead numbers crossing at Winchester Dam are slow. Chinook fishing at Amacher Park is sporadic, with some chinook being caught. Boat anglers need to remember to fish below the deadline, if anglers are caught fishing above the deadline they will be ticketed by OSP. Fishing remains sporadic. Last week fishing picked up in the Rock Creek area with a number of spring chinook being caught. This is a good time to visit and see spring chinook and steelhead in the viewing windows at the dam. Winchester Dam counts show that 848 spring chinook and 54 summer steelhead have passed over the dam through May 8th.
UMPQUA RIVER, SOUTH: The South Umpqua will open for trout season Saturday.
WINCHESTER BAY: Crabbing has been slow but should improve as smaller crabs grow to legal size. Sturgeon fishing has also been slow but should improve as more food enters the estuary.
