From ODF&W
The mainstem of the Chetco is pretty warm. Adventurous anglers may be interested in exploring the tributaries for trout through the end of August. Trout fishing in streams above tidewater ends Aug. 31. The daily limit is 2 fish with an 8-inch minimum length. Rainbow trout over 16-inches are considered steelhead. The mainstem below tidewater is open for trout fishing through Oct. 31.
Streams and rivers are open to trout fishing in the Coos River Basin. Trout fishing in streams and rivers is slow to due to low water conditions. Anglers can use only artificial flies and lures in streams above tidewater. The daily limit for trout in streams is 2 fish per day and they must be 8-inches or longer.
From Aug. 1 through Sept. 30 salmon anglers with a two-rod validation will be able to use rods while fishing for Chinook salmon and hatchery coho salmon in Coos Bay. Salmon anglers had mixed results this weekend trolling from the BLM boat ramp up to California Street boat ramp with a few Chinook salmon caught along with several California halibut. One angler also hooked into a four-foot shark that cut their line at the boat. The peak Chinook salmon fishing will occur in late August and September.
Recreational fishing for bottom fish is open in the ocean along with bays and estuaries. The daily bag limit for marine fish is 4 plus 2 lingcod. The retention of cabezon is no longer allowed for the rest of the year. Fishing for rockfish and greenling inside Coos Bay near the north jetty and other submerged rock structures has been spotty this past week with good fishing one day and poor fishing the next.
Fishing continues to be good at Diamond Lake. Most anglers are taking home fish averaging 15-inches and we are starting to see more 17-inch or larger fish in creel surveys. Trolling seems to be the most effective technique, but using bait or flies has also been showing positive results.
Anglers are continuing to catch largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegills from the fishing dock and along the weedlines in Eel Lake. Fishing is typically the best in the mornings before the wind starts blowing in the afternoons.
Boat anglers are still catching trout while trolling spinners tipped with a worm on the main part of the lake. Anglers fishing from the fishing dock are still occasionally catching trout.
Fishing for bass and other warm-water fish at Emigrant Reservoir should be good. With the warm weather, anglers will have to fish deeper or fish early or late in the day. This is a popular recreational area, and with other water users and the warm weather, anglers will do best fishing deeper and early and late in the day. The lake is currently 26 percent full.
At Garrison Lake, trout fishing continues to be good. Anglers slow trolling spinners, flies, or wedding ring spinners tipped with a worm all did well. Bank anglers can access the fishery from the 12th street or Pinehurst boat ramps and off Paradise Point Road. Anglers can check the stocking schedule for the weeks the lake is expected to be stocked. The lake can be very windy. Anglers will want to check the weather before heading out.
Trout fishing continues to be good at Howard Prairie Reservoir despite low water conditions. Trolling wedding ring/worm combinations behind flashers and dodgers in the channel between the marina and the dam is producing fish. Still fishing PowerBait is also picking up fish: Hoxie Cove, Red Rock Cove and near the dam. Chartreuse PowerBait with glitter and green garlic PowerBait are still producing nice trout. Holdover trout to 17-inches continue to be caught.
Fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass is good. The lake is 43 percent full, and water clarity has been reduced somewhat due to some evidence of an algae bloom. All the boat ramps except Grizzly are open, but the ramps at Klum and Willow Point are limited to small boats. Larger boats should launch at the resort ramp.
Lemolo Lake can be a good option for fishing during hot weather and recent reports indicate brown and rainbow trout fishing has been good. Kokanee in Lemolo are considered trout and therefore fall under the daily limit for trout of 5 per day with only one of those measuring over 20-inches. Contact Lemolo Lake Resort at 541-957-8354 for weather/road conditions and additional information.
From Humbug Mountain to the OR/CA border, salmon fishing is open with a limit of two salmon per day but no retention of coho.
The All-Depth halibut quota has not been updated yet. If there is enough quota left the next All-Depth fishing days for the Central Coast will be Aug. 31-Sept 1. The Nearshore halibut season is open seven days a week and as of Aug. 12, there is 22 percent of the quota remaining.
For the southern Oregon Subarea, halibut is open 7 days a week through Oct. 31 or attaining the quota of 8,982 lbs. As of Aug. 12, there is 64 percent of the quota remaining.
Tuna have moved offshore over 50 miles. Most recreational tuna anglers have stopped fishing for tuna until they get closer.
On the lower Rogue, from Aug. 1 through Sept. 3, anglers with a 2018 two rod validation can fish for Chinook salmon and hatchery Coho salmon with two rods on the Rogue River from the mouth upstream to the Ferry Hole Boat Ramp (RM 5). Please note that anglers may only use one rod when angling for any other species.
People are reporting catch from the bay up to Indian Creek. For the most part, Chinook are holding in the tidal water.
Anglers on the coast that want to get out of the fog may want to head up river to fish for half-pounders and adult summer steelhead. They have both been moving up river in decent numbers. Lower flows are ideal fishing conditions for anglers swinging flies or tossing spinners.
Some anglers have reported some success fishing for Chinook outside the mouth of the Rogue. Please remember to check the marine forecast and current ocean salmon regulations before heading out as both change frequently.
On the middle Rogue, chinook salmon and summer steelhead are available. Anglers may keep both hatchery and wild Chinook salmon in the river downstream of Dodge Bridge. Anglers are picking up Chinook in the Gold Hill area and from Robertson Bridge to Graves Creek by back-bouncing roe or Kwikfish, or fishing wobblers in deep holes. Fishing has been relatively slow as most spring Chinook are in the upper river holding and early fall fish appear to still be waiting in the bay or spread throughout deep holes in the middle river. Look for Chinook rolling in deep holes. If you don’t see anything, move on. Fishing for Chinook salmon upstream of Dodge Bridge to Cole Rivers Hatchery is closed, effective Aug. 1.
Anglers are catching summer steelhead on plugs fished from a drift boat, or side planner and plug from shore, or drifting nightcrawlers or roe/yarn imitations. Wild steelhead must be released.
On the upper Rogue, anglers are reminded that all Chinook salmon fishing closes in the Upper Rogue from Dodge Bridge to Cole Rivers Hatchery effective Aug. 1. Below Dodge Bridge anglers may continue to fish for Chinook through Aug. 31. Fishing for summer steelhead remains open and anglers are picking these up with smaller plugs and drifted nightcrawlers and roe. However, only hatchery summer steelhead may be retained.
Due to Taylor Creek/Miles fire, all Army Corps of Engineers-owned fishing access sites are closed upstream of Highway 62 (McGregor Park visitor center and fishing access, Cole Rivers Boat Ramp, and the Holy Water until further notice).
The Rogue River upstream of Lost Creek Reservoir is normally stocked with rainbow trout weekly between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Because of a shortage of legal-size trout at Cole Rivers Hatchery, trout from Willamette Hatchery will be stocked. The river will be stocked this week and again the week before Labor Day.
Trout fishing on Tenmile Lakes has slowed down with the best fishing is in the early mornings. Anglers should focus on fishing in deeper water.
Fishing for largemouth bass has been good with the best fishing in the early mornings or late evenings. Bass are hitting topwater lures in the low light conditions and anglers are switching to plastics and deeper water once the sun hits the water.
Yellow perch fishing is very good fishing on the deepwater side of the weedlines in water depths of 7-15 feet. Anglers are using small jigs or a worm on a hook fished near the bottom.
Umpqua River – Please be aware that through Sept. 30, 2018, all fishing is closed within a radius of 200 feet from the mouths of all tributaries (including 200 feet into the tributary) of the Umpqua River mainstem between the Scottsburg Bridge (Hwy 38) and the River Forks Park Boat Ramp. These areas are critical for juvenile steelhead that seek refuge in the cooler tributaries as mainstem water temperatures reach 70+ degrees.
Fall Chinook fishing is starting to pick up in the lower estuary and should get better as we move into late summer.
Smallmouth bass fishing is good throughout the main.
Open to trout fishing through Oct. 31 and is catch-and-release only. Retention of trout is allowed in the tributaries, which are open to trout through Sept. 15.
The South Umpqua and Cow Creek are open for catch-and-release trout fishing.
Bass fishing is good throughout the South Umpqua with particularly high catch rates from Canyonville to the mouth at River Forks/Singleton parks.
During the hot weather, the best trout fishing will be early in mornings at higher lakes like Diamond, Lemolo, Hemlock, Lake in the Woods, Lake Marie, and the high Cascade lakes in the Umpqua basin.
2018 STOCKING SCHEDULE AND STOCKING MAP
From Pete Heley at PeteHeley.com
Lake Marie was stocked this week with 800 trophy rainbows. In some years this late-season plant will immediately go deep due to warm surface water and not bite well for several days.
As for the fin-clipped ocean salmon season, as this is being written, the ODFW website includes data through August 12th – which means that with three weeks of the season remaining, data-wise, only 25.8 percent of the ocean fin-clipped coho quota has been caught. The ports along the northern portion of our zone have been most productive – which can be almost completely be explained the percentage of cohos that are fin-clipped.
As for river salmon, the Rogue River continues to produce well despite the fact that not one keepable salmon has been caught in the ocean out of Gold Beach.
Chinook salmon angling in the Umpqua River between Winchester Bay and Reedsport was much improved last week – possibly due to slightly cooler temperatures – but if water temperatures drop very much, the Chinooks may zip upriver and anglers will no longer have multiple chances to catch them. Bank anglers seem to be accounting for a few chinook each day at Half Moon Bay and Osprey Point in Winchester Bay on green or chartreuse spinners.
Crabbing seems to be improving weekly and September, October and sometimes November are, almost always, the best months.
Retention of cabezon was prohibited beginning Saturday morning, August 18, 2018. Total mortality (catch plus discard mortality) of cabezon in Oregon’s recreational bottomfish fishery was projected to meet or exceed the annual recreational harvest guideline of 16.8 metric tons by Friday, August 17. Anglers will be asked to safely release any cabezon encountered.
Fishing for pinkfin (redtail surfperch) in the surf at most of our local beaches continues to be very good. Berkley Gulp artificial sandworms are the bait of choice and the last two-thirds of the incoming tide seems to produce best
Smith River is still giving up a few stripers to a select few close-mouthed night anglers, but the best striper fishing recently has been on the lower Coquille River above Bandon. Very few big stripers are being caught.
The albacore tuna season doesn’t seem to be over, but the right ocean conditions to reach them don’t seem to happen very often.