Rogue River closures keep spring chinook safe

GRANTS PASS — A 12-mile section of the upper Rogue River will remain closed to the harvest of wild adult spring chinook salmon to protect the fish, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials announced this week.

The Rogue River from Gold Ray Dam upstream to Dodge Bridge, will remain closed to harvest of wild (no adipose fin clip) adult spring chinook salmon through July 31. ODFW is initiating a rule process to extend the closure through August 31. Wild jacks and abundant hatchery (adipose fin-clipped) spring chinook may be retained.

According to Rogue District Fish Biologist Dan VanDyke these closures were needed to protect spawning spring chinook salmon.

“We need to reduce angling impacts on wild adult spring chinook so as many of them spawn as possible,” he said. “We've had similar emergency closures in the previous three years. There are hatchery spring chinook available to harvest, and anglers can still keep wild jacks.”

VanDyke said biologists do not believe counts of returning wild spring chinook will meet the conservation criteria adopted in the 2007 Rogue River Spring Chinook Conservation Plan. The plan, developed with input from a citizen's advisory committee, calls for a minimum return of 3,500 wild spring chinook in any given year and a three-year average return of 5,000.

“The 2009 run is an improvement over the last several years, but we still expect it to fall below the spawning escapement needed to meet — or even exceed — the plan's criteria,” VanDyke said.

Similar harvest closures on other parts of the river were announced in late May.

The mainstem upstream to Hog Creek Boat Landing is closed to wild adult spring chinook harvest through July 10. Anglers may continue harvesting wild jacks and hatchery spring chinook. Beginning July 11, wild chinook salmon may be retained with a bag limit of two adult salmon or steelhead per day, 20 per year, of which only 10 may be wild chinook salmon.

Closed to harvest of wild adult spring chinook through July 31 is the section of river between Hog Creek Boat Landing to Gold Ray Dam. Anglers may currently harvest wild jacks and hatchery spring chinook.

Following is the weekly ODFW fishing report.

Southwest Region

BEN IRVING RESERVOIR — The reservoir west of Winston has been stocked with 4,000 trout so far.

COOPER CREEK RESERVOIR — Cooper Creek has been stocked with about 9,050 trout to date. About 50 of these were trophy trout.

COOS COUNTY LAKES — There are still a few trout being caught in the area lakes like Powers Pond, Empire Lakes, Tenmile Lakes, and Eel Lake. Still fishing with your bait near the bottom or under a bobber is an effective technique for catching trout. Another way to catch trout is by trolling a flasher or a worm.

Fishing for largemouth bass and bluegills in some of the area lakes is good. To catch bluegills use a piece of worm on a small hook or small jig under a bobber. For catching largemouth bass use jigs, plastic worms, crankbaits, or spinners. Concentrate your fishing near structure or weedlines to catch largemouth bass and bluegills.

COOS RIVER BASIN — Trout fishing is open in Coos Bay and the rivers. Angling is restricted to artificial flies and lures in streams above tidewater.

A few sturgeon have been caught in the Coos River but overall fishing for sturgeon has been slow. Fishing for rockfish in the lower Coos Bay estuary has been good. Fish near submerged rock piles for the best success and use sand shrimp or a jig and twister tail.

DIAMOND LAKE — Last year's fingerlings are now about 12 inches long, while other fish stocked last year are 16 to 22 inches long. The largest fish checked this year was six to seven pounds. Overall, fishing is fair to good. We anticipate nearly 140,000 catchable sized trout in the lake this year from the 200,000 fingerlings released in 2008 plus another 25,000 catchable fish leftover from last year's stocking.

ELK/SIXES RIVER — Anglers will want to fish early morning or late evening for the best fishing. Small spinners or flies will work equally well.

FLORAS LAKE — The lake is located a few miles south of Langlois. Bank access is limited, but there is a boat ramp at Boice Cope County Park. Fly fishing or slow trolling wedding ring spinners can work really well. Anglers should keep an eye on the weather as it can be very windy.

GALESVILLE RESERVIOR — Galesville Reservoir is open to angling year-round. The reservoir was stocked in 2008 with about 55,000 adipose-clipped hatchery coho which are now about 13 inches. In Galesville Reservoir, all landlocked salmon are considered trout. Thus, there is a five per day trout limit, with only one trout over 20 inches in length allowed for harvest.

The 2009 stocking season has begun and so far about 8,000 trout have been stocked. Some fingerlings were stocked recently, so be sure to release trout under 8 inches long. Angling from the bank and from a boat has been slow to fair for 11 to 13-inch coho. Anglers are reminded all bass between 12 and 15 inches must be released, and only one bass over 15 inches may be taken per day.

PACIFIC OCEAN AND BEACHES — When the ocean has been “calm” fishing for rockfish, greenling and lingcod has been good. Fishing for rockfish and greenling has been decent fishing from shore. Concentrate your fishing near rocky outcroppings and drop-offs.

Fishing for adipose fin clipped coho opened this past weekend. Most anglers have been fishing in 30-50 fathoms with mixed results. The daily limit is three coho salmon with a healed adipose fin clip.

POWERS POND — Legal-sized trout were stocked in Powers Pond earlier this month. Bluegill and crappie fishing has been good but is starting to slow down. Fish for bluegills and crappie in the southwest corner of the pond. Bluegills are biting almost all day long and crappies are biting best during the early morning and late evening. There is a lot of aquatic vegetation in the pond making it difficult to fish but suspend your bait two feet or less under a bobber. Best baits to use are small jigs or a piece of worm on a small hook.

ROGUE RIVER, LOWER — Warmer water temperatures and lower flows have slowed salmon fishing in the river. Anglers will want to start turning their attention to the Rogue River estuary for early arriving fall chinook and late spring chinook. Anglers are reminded that emergency regulations are in effect.

Summer steelhead are in the river, but the warm water has kept them off the bite. Anglers targeting steelhead will want to be on the river at first light, when water temperatures are the coolest and steelhead are in shallower water.

Emergency regulations are in effect for the Rogue River and anglers are reminded to release all non-adiposed clipped (wild) chinook. Anglers can retain wild chinook jacks per zone regulations.

ROGUE RIVER, MIDDLE — Fishing for spring chinook from Grants Pass to Gold Ray Dam has been slow. A few steelhead are being caught. The flow at Grants Pass on June 29 was 2,970 cubic feet per second and the water temperature was 63 degrees F.

ROGUE RIVER, UPPER — Angling for spring chinook has been slow. As of June 24, 9,470 spring chinook and 320 summer steelhead have been counted at Gold Ray Dam. On June 29, the flow out of William Jess (Lost Creek) Dam was 2,800 cfs and the water temperature was 53oF. The flow at Gold Ray Dam, was 2,980 cfs.

Trout fishing has been good. Anglers should try using flies or small lures. Only adipose fin-clipped trout may be retained.

ROGUE RIVER, ABOVE LOST CREEK RESERVOIR — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will stock legal-sized rainbow trout again this week at several locations in the Rogue River and some of its tributaries along Hwy 62 above Prospect. In addition to the stocked rainbow, brook trout and a few brown trout are available to anglers as well. Fishing has been good with worms, eggs, and wooly bugger flies.

UMPQUA ESTUARY — Both sturgeon and striped bass fishing have been slow in the lower Umpqua. Crabbing has been slow to fair. Note change in measuring sturgeon on page 19 of the 2009 Angling Regulations booklet.

UMPQUA HIGH LAKES AND FOREBAYS — Clearwater Forebay No. 2 has been stocked with about 3,500 trout this year. Other high lakes such as Maidu, Bull Pup, Connie, Skookum, Calamut, Fuller, Wolf, Cliff, Buckeye, Linda, and Big Twin Lakes were stocked with brook trout in 2008. Roads and hiking trails to these lakes are now open.

UMPQUA RIVER MAINSTEM — Due to high mortality of hatchery steelhead, smolt releases in 2007 were much lower than normal. Consequently, fewer hatchery steelhead will be returning to the Umpqua basin. Angling opportunity and catch rates throughout the basin will still be good due to the strong wild steelhead population, however only hatchery steelhead can be harvested.

Most of the chinook fishing has moved upstream to the North Umpqua. Remember to release the smolts! Shad fishing has been reported as slow. Remember the main stem Umpqua is closed to wild steelhead harvest, but remains open year-round for adipose fin-clipped steelhead.

NORTH UMPQUA — Summer steelhead counts across Winchester Dam are 170 and over 5,800 spring chinook thru May 26. Fishing in the Rock Creek area for chinook is fair to good. Summer steelhead angling is slow. 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.

SOUTH UMPQUA — The South Umpqua is opened to trout and bass angling. In the Umpqua River basin, anglers can harvest 10 smallmouth bass per day of any size.

WINCHESTER BAY — Fishing for sturgeon is slow. Note new sturgeon measuring method in the 2009 Angling Regulations. Crabbing has been slow to fair.

RECREATIONAL SHELLFISH — The entire Oregon coast is open for recreational shellfishing. In addition, only the adductor muscle of scallops are safe to eat; consumption of whole scallops from the recreational fishery is not recommended. 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 slow but has improved slightly. Crabbers are encouraged to return soft crabs with little meat back to the water. Crabbing from public docks or boat if available is a great opportunity for families to catch a delicious dinner. Kids often enjoy sorting out the smaller crab that can be abundant. Public crabbing docks can be found in Winchester Bay, Bandon, Charleston, and Empire. There are marginal low tides during daylight hours for digging clams this week.