Reeves hauls in 40-pound salmon

Richard Reeves of Idleyld Park won the annual Idleyld Trading Post Salmon Derby with a 40-pound spring chinook catch from the North Umpqua River on June 11.
The fish measured 45.25 inches long.

Jerry Harryman of Glide finished second with a 37-pound salmon that was 44 inches long.

The fishing on the North Umpqua has been very good recently with the most success coming during the early morning and evening hours. There has been numerous anglers fishing in both the bait water and in the fly water of the river.

Bait fishermen are using mainly salmon roe and sandshrimp.

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

Southwest Region
BEN IRVING RESERVOIR — Ben Irving Reservoir, west of Winston, has been stocked with about 4,000 trout to date. Fishing should improve as the water temperatures rise.
COOPER CREEK RESERVOIR — Cooper Creek has been stocked with about 9,000 catchable trout to date. The reservoir also recieves 50 or so 4 to 5 pound trophy trout each February. One lucky angler caught a 9 pound trout out of Cooper Creek that was probably left over from a year ago. Nearby Plat I reservoir has also been stocked with about 3,000 catchable trout.
DIAMOND LAKE — Diamond Lake has had very good fishing. Anglers are reminded the boat speed limit will be 10 mph all day. This is the same speed limit that it was in the past prior to the negative impact of the tui chub. In addition to the 50,000 2007 “fingerlings” which are now 12 – 15 inches long, the ODFW is also stocking additional catchable trout. About 56,000 additional trout have been stocked. Of these, about 6,000 were trophy sized. Fishing has been good with several people catching trout in the 20-inch size range.
GALESVILLE RESERVIOR — Galesville Reservoir is open to angling year-round. Galesville has been stocked with about 6,500 catchable size trout to date the 25,000 sub-legal size trout stocked last fall are also now legal size. Galesville was stocked about a month ago with about 55,000 adipose-clipped hatchery coho. These fish are now legal size. In Galesville Reservoir, all landlocked salmon are considered trout. Thus there will be a 5 per day trout limit, with only one trout over 20 inches in length allowed for harvest.
HERBERT’S POND — A small pond just east of Canyonville on Tiller Highway, it has a good warm water fishery for kids including bluegill, crappie, and bass. The pond was stocked with a couple hundred trout to provide some additional fishing opportunity while the pond is still cool enough to keep the trout healthy. The pond has very good bank access.
LEMOLO RESERVOIR: Has been stocked with about 4,000 rainbow trout to date. Anglers have been successful at catching both rainbow and brown trout. The boat ramp at Poole Creek has been repaired to improve boat access.
LOON LAKE — Has been stocked with about 7,000 catchable trout to date. In addition, there were almost 6,000 sub-legal trout stocked last fall that are now 8 inches long for legal for harvest.
PACIFIC OCEAN AND BEACHES — Anglers have been getting out for bottomfish recently and reporting success. Bank anglers fishing from the rocks are catching a few fish and boat anglers are doing real well. Bottomfishing in the ocean always depends on ocean and weather conditions.
Spring can be a great time for surfperch fishing from the beaches. Some anglers have been reporting success recently fishing the ocean beaches when the surf is down. The best areas are generally the steeper beaches. Anglers should cast into the surf with enough weight to hold your setup from moving with the current. Sand shrimp is a common and effective bait but others can work well also.
SMITH RIVER — Steelhead season is now closed, but trout season opened May 24. Striped bass season is open year-round, 2 fish per 24 hours, 30-inch minimum size. The North Fork is open to Johnson Creek for stripers.
TOKETEE LAKE — Fishing is open in Toketee year-round. Fishing has been slow but the best fishing occurs early in the morning.
UMPQUA ESTUARY — Both sturgeon and striped bass fishing have been slow in the lower Umpqua. Surfperch have been caught recently in the Winchester Bay area.
UMPQUA HIGH LAKES AND FOREBAYS — ODFW stocked Clearwater Forebay #2 with 1,000 trout. Snow has blocked access and stocking at Hemlock Lake. However, there is access to Lake of the Wood, and it has been stock with about 800 trout. Anglers can also try Toketee which has good boat and bank access. Toketee is good for brown trout fishing, especially in the morning.
UMPQUA RIVER MAINSTEM — Remember the main stem Umpqua is now closed to wild steelhead harvest; it remains open year-round for adipose fin-clipped steelhead. Spring chinook fishing has been fair to good. Shad should start appearing in larger numbers soon and some anglers have been catching shad in the lower sections. Smallmouth bass angling will improve as the water temperatures warm.
UMPQUA RIVER, NORTH — The North has remained fishable. Fishing is switching from winter steelhead to spring chinook and summer steelhead. The final count for winter steelhead at Winchester Dam was 9,511 fish. So far nearly 3,000 spring chinook and over 400 summer steelhead have passed Winchester Dam. Springer fishing in the North Umpqua has picked up and some springers over 30-pounds were caught in the Narrows and Swiftwater areas. Remember that only adipose fin-clipped steelhead can be harvested on the North Umpqua. The North is open to catch and release trout fishing from the mouth upstream to Soda Springs Dam.
UMPQUA RIVER, SOUTH — The South Umpqua now open for trout and bass fishing. The water is clear but still fairly cold for bass fishing.
WINCHESTER BAY — Fishing remains slow for sturgeon.