SUMMER STEELHEAD A GOOD TARGET FOR THE WEEKEND ON ROGUE RIVER
The middle Rogue River in Grants Pass is between runs of salmon, making summer steelhead the go-to fish for the moment.
The spring chinook runs have been exhausted for the most part, and the fall run probably won’t begin for about two to three weeks.
Troy Whitaker of U-Save Gas and Tackle said the only salmon viable for local anglers are being found in the Shady Cove area.
“You might see a fish come through here and there,” Whitaker said. “But the spring run is basically done, and it’ll be at least another week before we start seeing fall fish in the Grants Pass area.”
With the warm weather, the steelhead mostly have been found in the riffles. Copper spinners and spoons, along with small plugs, have been a good bet. Anglers fishing from the bank have found some success side-drifting nightcrawlers.
Lake Selmac
The bass fishing on Lake Selmac, which has been good all season, has continued to produce large fish. Anna Piersall caught a 6-pound lunker this past week. Whitaker said top-water baits have been working well, with frogs, hoppers and rebel poppers producing fish.
The bite for crappie, bluegill and brown bullheads also has been good. Many of the fish have been caught close to the bank.
Applegate Reservoir
The bite has continued to stay strong at Applegate Reservoir with anglers catching their limits in many cases. Anglers trolling deep have had success on trout and spring chinook this past week.
Fishing for smallmouth bass is good for boats casting along the shoreline. Approximately 2,200 largemouth bass have been stocked in Applegate in recent weeks to help restore numbers and the fishery. The reservoir was 77 percent full as of Monday.
Diamond Lake
As of July 15, Diamond Lake is under a health advisory due to high levels of algae found in the lake. Drinking, swallowing, and skin contact with water should be avoided.
Fish caught in affected waters pose unknown health risks. If you choose to eat them, remove all fat, skin and organs before cooking because toxins are more likely to collect in these tissues. Boating still is an option at the reservoir, but speeds should be kept low enough to avoid spraying passengers with water.
Emigrant Reservoir
Those seeking rainbow trout have found some success in the deeper areas of the lake and around the dam. Fishing for bass and panfish should be good. The reservoir was 75 percent full as of Monday.
Anglers should be aware that a health advisory has been issued recommending limits on consumption of all fish from Emigrant except rainbow trout. Information on the Emigrant Reservoir advisory, along with general information on mercury and fish can be found on the DHS website.
Galesville Reservoir
The coho smolts that have been stocked the past couple of years have been biting recently, with anglers taking them in at about 12 to 14 inches. All of the coho smolts have been adipose fin-clipped.
In Galesville Reservoir, all landlocked salmon are considered trout. Thus, there is a five-per-day limit, with only one trout more than 20 inches in length allowed for harvest.
Galesville also was stocked with about 1,000 adipose clipped steelhead. To date Galesville has been stocked with about 8,000 legal sized trout. Anglers are reminded all bass between 12 and 15 inches must be released, and only one bass longer than 15 inches may be taken per day.
DAVE 7/27/2010 9:09:02 pm
HI ZACH IM only a fisherman and what Ive seen since lost creek dam was put in I watched it fill after completion a few years later trout had lice then a few more years later the fish out of the hatchery were sent to willow lake trout had lice wasnt worth buying a tag Ive also caught salmon on the rogue with yellow spots on them [ Report abuse ]
Zach 7/27/2010 8:14:13 pm
Those are great. Thanks Jim! [ Report abuse ]
Jim 7/27/2010 7:00:24 am
Photos of our last trip to Caribou Lake: http://picasaweb.google.com/jeagar52/CaribouLake805#. [ Report abuse ]
Jim 7/27/2010 6:57:43 am
We're been backpacking in the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area for years. It is beautiful, and less people than you'd think. You'll be going to an area similar to the high Sierra, with white granite. Enjoy! [ Report abuse ]
Tom 7/19/2010 9:18:08 am
U rulz, zak! [ Report abuse ]
Zach 7/15/2010 7:53:36 am
tehshiv -- Actually, there seems to be a couple of reasons. Here's a pretty good story on it. http://www.thedailycourier.com/eedition/?pdate=2010-07-12&pb=0&pg=A1&py=2010&pm=06&pd=21&opd=2010-06-21&opb=0 Rob -- Thanks a lot, I think it's something we're working on. [ Report abuse ]
tehshiv 7/14/2010 2:45:48 pm
Any idea why IV is so popular now? I went there just after the 4th on a weekday even and it was more crowded than it used to be on weekends. The interesting thing to me was that we went to Applegate Lake the next day and the place was pretty much empty. [ Report abuse ]
rob 7/2/2010 2:05:29 pm
You should get a photo gallery started on here so we can see even more details of the trips. Your pictures are fantastic. [ Report abuse ]
Nat 6/30/2010 9:17:53 am
We own property in Grants Pass and have been following your blog in anticipation of when we move there and can do our own exploring and hiking. Thanks so much for all of the great information and suggestions. I could not get the photo of the cabin in today's blog to appear. [ Report abuse ]
Zach 6/24/2010 7:45:07 pm
Yes, I did not spell "Rogue" correctly in my last post, though one of the good people on the web staff fixed it for me. Sorry about that. I was pounding out a quick blog before I took off for a couple days on the Applegate and got careless. Hopefully the river wasn't too offended. [ Report abuse ]
Sam Christie 6/24/2010 6:33:13 am
I don't know if you are a native, But I suspect not. I would think as a native, you would know how to spell Rogue. [ Report abuse ]
tehshiv 6/23/2010 9:06:36 am
Wow, you're not kidding about all the private land on the Applegate. I was looking at the BLM maps, and it looks like there's only a small one mile stretch of public land downstream from Cantrall...other than that, it's all private. Geocommunicator.gov has a great interactive surface ownership map if anyone's interested. [ Report abuse ]
Overrated 6/22/2010 5:02:05 pm
Hey Ryan, why should you get to read sports coverage for free? Buy a paper. Or start a blog. [ Report abuse ]
Zach 6/18/2010 4:30:01 pm
Hey Tehshiv -- I don't happen to know offhand, but I just put an email into costal fishing expert Dave Pitts. I've never met anyone who knows more about it than him, so give me a few and I'll get you an answer! Zach [ Report abuse ]
tehshiv 6/18/2010 3:38:08 pm
Hey Zach (or anyone that knows), when do the tuna start coming in on the coast? I hear July from some people, but is there some magic water temp or weather event to look for? [ Report abuse ]
orygun 6/17/2010 10:19:09 am
yeah ok, downtown oakland is "civilized" and there isn't a meth problem in California. [ Report abuse ]
VernFrol 6/14/2010 11:56:35 am
@orygun - No, meth addicts and crappy job market keep your southern (or any civilized) "neighbors" away. [ Report abuse ]
ryan 6/8/2010 10:14:52 pm
zach you need to tell your publisher or editor to make for free under premium content all sports stories click on pdf part of website without having to subscribe online to your online newspaper/this would be providing a great public service info wise to us local hs parents and fans which would be a improvement from your sports video coverage only currently [ Report abuse ]
orygun 6/8/2010 7:55:03 am
The weather is a blessing in disguise...it keeps all our southern "neighbors" away. [ Report abuse ]
ryan 6/7/2010 9:04:13 pm
thank you zach for emailing those allstar team lists to me / i am glad your sports dept has a open door to the public who always trying to find info somehow someway [ Report abuse ]