UMPQUA FISHING REPORT: Smallmouth bass continues to be best bet for anglers

Smallmouth bass continues to be a good bet in the Umpqua River system. They bite best in hot weather.

On the North Umpqua, the fishing season for adipose fin-clipped coho opened today. Summer steelhead fishing is improving. Anglers are reminded only fin-clipped fish may be taken. The springer season on the North ended Thursday.

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

“The only fishing that seems to be going on now is for smallmouth bass. We haven’t seen any steelhead. We’re anxiously awaiting the fall fish. Hopefully by the end of the month we’ll see some coho jacks, some mature coho, some fall chinook and then winter steelhead about the first part of November.

“The water is still a lot higher than it normally is, but people are getting into some nice size bass. The bass are probably averaging a pound or so, with a few in the 2 to 2 1/2 range.

“There’s not a lot of angling pressure ... just a few weekend warriors gettng into the bass. It’s a lot quieter than it normally is.”

Melissa 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

BEN IRVING RESERVOIR — Ben Irving Reservoir, west of Winston, has been stocked with about 4,000 trout to date. In addition to trout fishing, angling for bass has improved with the hot weather.

COOPER CREEK RESERVOIR — Cooper Creek has been stocked with about 9,000 catchable trout to date. The reservoir also received some trophy sized trout in February and then again in early June. Nearby Plat I reservoir has also been stocked with about 3,000 catchable trout.

DIAMOND LAKE — Fishing has been good, but anglers are having to spend some time on the lake to achieve their limits. Many people are catching trout in the 14 to 17 inch size and some people catching trout in the 20-inch size range. If anybody observes somebody using live bait, please record as much information as possible such as the boat number, description of the boat or vehicle license plate and contact Oregon State Police with a date and time.

GALESVILLE RESERVIOR — Galesville Reservoir is open to angling year-round. Galesville has been stocked with about 8,000 catchable size trout to date and the 25,000 sub-legal size trout stocked last fall are now legal-sized. 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 — Herbert’s Pond is a small pond just east of Canyonville on Tiller Highway. The pond has a good warm water fishery for kids including bluegill, crappie, and bass. The pond was stocked with a couple hundred trout in early June 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 — Lemolo Lake has been stocked with about 5,000 catchable trout plus some trophy-sized rainbow trout to date. Anglers have been successful at catching both rainbow and brown trout.

LOON LAKE — Loon Lake has been stocked with about 7,000 catchable trout plus some trophy 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 — With sport catch of some rockfish higher than anticipated, the marine fish bag limit for anglers went from six to five. Sport anglers may still retain two lingcod, but that fishery is also restricted inside of 20 fathoms. The regulation changes took effect July 7 and are scheduled to continue through December 31.

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.

ROGUE RIVER, LOWER — Chinook fishing picked up over the weekend. Most of the chinook have been caught downstream of the Highway 101 bridge. The afternoons have been the best lately with the minus tides in the morning moving most of the chinook back into the ocean. Expect the bite to pick up in the mornings later in the week. As usual, an anchovy with a spinner blade is the number one bait, but straight bait or a spinner being a good second choice.

ROGUE RIVER, MIDDLE — Angling for spring chinook has been slow. Summer steelhead fishing is picking up as summer progresses. Try crawdad plugs, spinners and glowbugs. Fly anglers may have success fishing riffles in mornings and evenings. More summer steelhead are expected to push up river in coming weeks and fishing will likely improve. Anglers are catching a few nice cutthroat trout by casting flies and lures to structure in the pools. The flow at Grants Pass on July 28 was 3000 cubic feet per second.

From Aug. 1 through Dec. 31, between Elephant Rock and Hog Creek boat landing, no more than 2 adult non-adipose fin-clipped chinook may be kept per day as part of the daily limit. No more than 10 non-adipose finclipped chinook may be kept per year with 5 applying to the SW zone aggregate.

From Aug. 1 through Sept. 30, from Hog Creek boat landing to Gold Ray Dam, no more than 2 adult non-adipose fin-clipped chinook may be kept per day as part of the daily limit. No more than 10 non-adipose finclipped chinook may be kept per year with 5 applying to the SW zone aggregate. From Sept. 30 through Dec. 31, Hog Creek boat landing to Gold Ray Dam is closed to chinook angling.

ROGUE RIVER, UPPER — As of July 28 the flow out of William Jess Dam (Lost Creek) was 2726 cfs and the outflow temperature was 54 degrees. As of July 19, 10,956 spring chinook and 1983 summer steelhead have been counted at Gold Ray Dam. Angling for spring chinook is slow. Some anglers are catching summer steelhead while fishing for chinook. Some flyfishers targeting summers are reporting modest catches of fish in the evening hours. Trout fishing has been good on flies and lures. Pressure has been light to moderate.

Emergency harvest restrictions were enacted on the Rogue River to protect wild spring chinook salmon due low numbers of adults returning to the river. As of Aug. 1, from Gold Ray Dam to Cole Rivers Hatchery is closed to chinook angling.

SODA SPRINGS RESERVOIR — Soda Springs Reservoir and the tributaries upstream are open for trout angling.

SMITH RIVER — Open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead from mouth to Spencer Creek and North Fork from mouth upstream to Johnson Creek. Fall chinook season is open from mouth to Spencer Creek (check for special regulations). Trout season opened to Sept. 15. 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. Angling for small mouth bass should improve now that the water is warming.

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. Open for adipose fin-clipped Coho Aug. 1-Dec. 31. Starting Aug. 1, check special regulation for fall chinook. Smallmouth bass angling best bet with the hot weather.

UMPQUA RIVER, NORTH — So far over 6,600 spring chinook and 3,700 summer steelhead have passed Winchester Dam through July 10. Open for adipose fin-clipped coho Aug. 1. Springer fishing in the North Umpqua closes July 31. Summer steelhead fishing is now improving. 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 is now open for trout and bass fishing. Water temperatures are exceeding 70 degrees, so fishing for smallmouth bass should be good to excellent.

WINCHESTER BAY — Fishing remains slow for sturgeon. Sport fishing for ocean coho opened June 22. Only adipose-clipped coho can be harvested. Winchester Bay is a popular port for ocean sportfishing and has been one of the more successful ports to date. Smallmouth bass angling is improving up river in the Umpqua.

RECREATIONAL SHELLFISH — The entire Oregon coast is open for recreational shellfishing. Always check for health advisories by calling the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Shellfish line at 1-800-448-2474 for updates.

Crabbing has been a little slow but picked up recently. Crabbers are encouraged to return soft crabs with little meat back to the water. Crabbing in Coos Bay is decent for people out in the bay with boats. Public crabbing docks can be found in Winchester Bay, Bandon, Charleston, and Empire.

Digging for clams in Coos Bay has been excellent. A few of the popular digging areas are Charleston Flat, Pigeon Point, Fossil Point and Clam Island.