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03/17/2017 - Fishing Report
Fishing on Applegate River gets trickier with increased flow (Fishing report)Local river conditions may be suspect this weekend, but a number of stocking runs by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife scheduled for next week will kick the spring fishing season into high gear.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began increasing outflows from Applegate Reservoir and Lost Creek Reservoir to account for runoff from melting snowpack.Outflows on the Applegate are expected to rise to 1,500 cubic feet per second by later today.The Rogue River won't be as impacted by releases from Lost Creek, though it is already running high at nearly 8,000 feet per second in Grants Pass."With the water continuing to rise, I don't know if the Rogue will blow out before the water drops Saturday," local fishing guide Troy Whitaker said. "The water color is so good right now on the Applegate, I don't think raising it will change much."Whitaker, of U-Save Gas and Tackle, has heard of spring chinook salmon being caught in Gold Beach, so they could arrive in Grants Pass as early as next week.Also scheduled for next week are trout deposits into Lake Selmac, Lost Creek Reservoir and Reinhart Volunteer Park Pond.The ODFW is set to put 20,000 trout into the Lost Creek, 5,000 into the lake and 300 into the pond.Whitaker recommends trolling Wedding rings or using Wicked Lures topped with a piece of maggot or nightcrawler at Lost Creek.Lake Selmac has cooler water right now, so he figures anglers should only have to go down 15 feet to find trout.PowerBait or Pautzke Fire Bait are Whitaker's best bets for fishing on the lake.People looking to make plans into next month should note the statewide free fishing days on April 22 and 23 in conjunction with Earth Day.No licenses are required for those days. Other ODFW regulations must be followed.• DIAMOND LAKE. The moderating weather conditions have been having an impact on ice conditions in many areas. With ice thinning and starting to pull away from shore, anglers should be increasingly cautious when stepping out on the ice.Take the following precautions: use the "buddy system," wear a PFD in case of thin ice, carry a throw-rope, and use a heavy metal staff to check for thin-ice.There are plenty of legal-sized holdover trout currently in the lake from previous years' stockings. PowerBait should provide anglers excellent opportunities for catching trout at Diamond Lake.• ILLINOIS RIVER. Wild steelhead over 24-inches long may be harvested in the Illinois between Klondike Creek and Pomeroy Dam at a rate of one per day and five per year. Fishing is restricted to artificial flies and lures.The Illinois is currently in great fishing shape and there are reports of fish being caught. It's a great week to fish this remote river.
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