Southwest Oregon Fishing Reports
From ODF&W
Bottomfishing is now open to fish at all depths. Fishing for lingcod and rockfish was very good this past weekend. Many anglers caught big lingcod while fishing out past 40 fathoms. The daily bag limit for marine fish is 5 plus 2 lingcod.
The harvest of cabezon along with copper, quillback, and China rockfish are now all closed to boat anglers. Shore anglers will still be able to harvest these rockfish species (but are encouraged to release them) and 1 cabezon a day.
Anglers may also choose to fish the offshore longleader fishery outside of the 40-fathom regulatory line, which is open year round. The longleader fishery has a daily bag limit of 10 fish made of yellowtail, widow, canary, blue, deacon, redstripe, greenstripe, silvergray, and bocaccio rockfish. No other groundfish are allowed and offshore longleader fishing trips cannot be combined with traditional bottomfish, flatfish or halibut trips. Find information about a longleader setup here.
Ocean salmon fishing for Chinook salmon from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt is open 7 days a week through Oct. 31. The non-selective coho season is now closed. Chinook must be a minimum of 24-inches long.
Halibut anglers may now keep two halibut per day. All halibut seasons will end on Oct. 31 if we have not attained the quota before then. The Nearshore Halibut season is open Monday through Thursday each week in the Central Coast Subarea. As of Oct. 6, there is 55 percent of the Nearshore quota remaining. The summer All-Depth season for the Central Coast Subarea is open every Friday through Sunday through October 26 or attaining the quota of 67,898 lbs. As of Oct. 6 there is 31 percent of the All-Depth quota remaining.
The Southern Oregon Subarea is open seven days a week for halibut. There is still 68 percent of the quota remaining for the Southern Oregon Coast halibut season.
Lost Creek Reservoir was stocked the week of Oct. 2 with legal-size and larger trout and both Tekelma and the Marina boat ramps are accessible. This is probably the best lake for launching larger trailered boats at this time and the trout fishing will continue to be good throughout the fall.
Trout fishing should be good as water temperatures are cooling. Trolling a wedding ring and worm combination behind an oval egg sinker is always a good bet. Some bass may still be biting, especially near the dam or near any submerged structures.
Lost Creek Reservoir is 42 percent full.
Expo pond was stocked last week with legal-size and some larger fish. The fish should be biting with the cooler temperatures we are experiencing, try still fishing some bait from the bottom.
Fishing for bass and panfish has been reported to be good lately, anglers should concentrate on submerged vegetation or other structures. Expo Pond has some surprisingly large bass with decent bank fishing opportunities this time of year as vegetation dies back.
The Southern Oregon RV Park developed by Jackson County offers parking in the lot to the right as you drive in Gate 5. A $4 day use fee to park applies here, or an annual parking permit can be purchased from Jackson County Parks Department.
Reinhardt Park Pond was stocked last week with legal-size and some larger trout. These fish should be biting well with the cooler water temperatures we have been experiencing, try still fishing bait in the deepest parts of the lake.
Fishing for bass and panfish has been reported to be good lately, especially around submerged structures or near the bubblers in the middle of the lake, try lures.
This is a great place for a family to explore with very easy access for everyone. A relative simple set up that includes either a nightcrawler fished below a bobber
As we ease into fall/winter weather, the water temperature will continue to drop, which should encourage some fish to move up river on the lower Rogue. Bay fishing has slowed some, but anglers are still fishing and catching chinook and steelhead below the Hwy 101 bridge.
Most boating anglers are trolling some type of in line flasher with an anchovy. Keep an eye on the weather forecast. When expecting rain and rising river levels, some people may want to consider switching tactics to anchoring up and back-bouncing eggs.
Steelhead fishing has slowed some in the lower river. Anglers swinging flies or tossing spinners are having the best luck.
Half-pounder fishing has been good in the Rogue Canyon, especially below Blossom Bar. Keep in mind it is now artificial fly and lures only from Foster Creek to Whisky Creek until Oct. 31.
Adult steelhead fishing continues to be good throughout the river, spinners and flies are bringing in some nice large fish and they will continue to move upstream during rainfall events. Wild steelhead must be released unharmed
Some good fall chinook fishing has also been reported upstream of Rainy Falls, but keep in mind Chinook is now closed above Hog Creek to protect spawning fish.
Boaters floating from Hog Creek to Graves Creek should be familiar with the rapids in this section of river, and know their takeouts. Experienced oarsmen/woman are recommended here. There are many BLM public access points to bank fish from Hog Creek to Graves Creek. This is often referred to the “Galice area.”
Above Hog Creek, Chinook fishing is now closed, as well as it being artificial fly only above Fishers Ferry until Oct. 31. Summer steelhead and trout remain open in the upper Rogue, and summer steelhead fly-fishing has been good.
This has been a great run of summer steelhead with not only many fish available, but larger fish as well. With the Chinook fishing now closed in this area, it’s a great time to fly-fish while there is less pressure.
As of Oct 16, 11 new summer steelhead had entered the trap at Cole Rivers, for a total of 2,899 steelhead to date. Excess hatchery adult summer steelhead from Cole River Hatchery are being recycled back into the fishery and anglers are reporting success in catching these fish.
Some summer steelhead have red tags extending from the top of the fish near the dorsal fin. ODFW encourages anglers that catch these fish to call the upper Rogue office at 541-826-8774.
Chinook fishing is winding down in the lower Umpqua River, but there are often some fall Chinook caught in the river through October. Please note there is no retention of unclipped coho salmon in the river, but fin-clipped coho is open in the river as part of your two adult salmon daily limit. The river regulations start at the tips of the jetties.
Bass fishing has still been good in most of the main.
Fish Lake is filling back up and is now 16 percent full. The Forest Service boat ramp and the resort ramp are unusable due to low lake levels. Inflatables and kayaks may have trouble at the Forest Service boat ramp due to mud — try the resort area. Trout fishing remains good with good clarity and cool water temperatures. Anglers can try trolling bait from a kayak or inflatables for good results.
Upper Empire Lake was stocked with fall trout the week of Oct. 14. Because of low water levels, Lower Empire Lake will not be stocked. Instead, those fish will be released into Upper Empire and Butterfield lakes. Anglers are catching trout by casting spinners or fishing PowerBait near the bottom.
Several SW Zone waterbodies, including Lake Selmac, Expo Pond, Reinhart Park Pond, Saunders Lake, Upper Empire Lake, Butterfield Lake, Bradley Lake and Powers Pond were stocked last week with some legal size and larger trout. Thanks to cooler temperatures, many of these fish should be around and ready to bite.