Rainbow trout are grilled at Union Creek. 

OCEAN OUTLOOK

SOUTH COAST: A small-craft advisory has been in effect this week and runs through Thursday, when the forecast calls for 20-knot winds and 12-foot swells. The ocean then should start to settle down, with forecasts calling for 5-knot winds but 8-foot swells Friday. Saturday sees a bump back up on the winds to 15 knots and 5-foot swells. Sunday’s forecast worsens a bit to 10-knot winds but swells building to 7 feet.

All ocean salmon fishing is closed from Humbug Mountain near Port Orford to the California border. There is no so-called “Bubble” fishery off the mouth of the Chetco River for chinook this year.

However, chinook fishing remains open from Cape Falcon down to Humbug Mountain, but few are taking advantage of the October season so far. Catches and effort have been light out of Charleston but heaviest out of Newport.

Bottomfishing continues to be decent recently for those fishing close to shore. This weekend’s forecast means light effort should be expected. Lingcod catches have started to fall off as the fish move farther offshore.

Halibut catches off the South Coast have been decent when the weather allows. There is enough poundage in the quota for the season to extend through October, with a two-fish daily limit. Those with a standard harvest card for salmon and steelhead also can legally take halibut.

Surfperch fishing is very surf-dependent but has been good at times when the surf calms down. But this weekend’s winds look a bit dicey for shore fishing. Shrimp, mussels and Berkley Gulp sandworms or shrimp are the best baits when the weather cooperates. The surf perch have moved off the Rogue River sand spit, but there’s good action around the rocks north of the Winchuck River mouth.

No new minus tides await clammers this week. However, there are some decent morning low tides starting late next week. The mud flats at Charleston will be the best for butter and gaper clams. Before digging, call the shellfish hotline at 1-800-448-2474.

Mussel harvest is closed from Bandon to the California border.

LAKE OUTLOOK

AGATE: The lake has not seen a new infusion of trout since June. Bass and perch fishing have been decent in the mornings and evenings. The lake has held steady this past week at 12% full, with turbid water. Fishing is slow. Electric trolling motors are OK, but gas motors are not allowed. The park closes at dusk.

APPLEGATE: The French Gulch ramp now is the only one usable for trailered boats as the lake’s fall season has crept in. The lake’s surface temperature has hovered around 60 degrees, meaning bass fishing is holding on. A dearth of fresh rainbow trout means that trout trolling has not garnered much interest, but bank fishing near the dam and along the lake’s east side can be good with worms and PowerBait. The lake is down to 14% full, with outflows at 222 cubic feet per second and inflows down to 54 cfs despite recent rains. The lake has a 10 mph speed limit.

DIAMOND: Trout fishing has improved in the lake’s shallow south end now that water temperatures are cooling rapidly. Good catches of tiger and brown trout are occurring there, with fishing best when the sun is not on the water. The lake has a mix of mostly rainbow trout, as well as brown and tiger trout that are stocked to prey on the lake’s small but omnipresent tui chub population. That’s why fly-fishing with muddler minnows or other imitations of small chub can be a boon for those on the south end near Silent Creek. Fly-fishing with leeches has also been good on the south end for some brown trout eclipsing 24 inches. Bait fishing is best due west from the resort in 19 to 21 feet of water. Worms deep under bobbers or PowerBait floated 5 feet or so off the bottom are the best bets. All tiger trout and brown trout must be released unharmed. Some are eclipsing 8 pounds.

EMIGRANT: The lake has settled at 13% full now that the irrigation season is over. Bass fishing has been good with crankbaits and top water baits early in the day off rocky points.

EXPO: State wildlife biologists stocked 1,500 legal-sized rainbow trout here more than three months ago, and their numbers are now thin. Catch them with Panther Martin lures, single salmon eggs or worms under bobbers. Parking fees are required.

FISH: The lake became the top new interest of the region Sept. 21 with the stocking of 800 1-pound trout at the Forest Service ramp near the resort. These fish are biting worms under bobbers, small lures and PowerBait, and they are already starting to fan out into the lake. The lake was actually up a hair this past week to 43% full Tuesday, which is far better than recent late-September levels. Catches have included a mix of rainbow and tiger trout, mostly around the submerged springs near the resort and the bay near the Forest Service boat ramp. Worms are outproducing PowerBait. Tiger trout must be released unharmed

HOWARD PRAIRIE: The lake is open to angling but the marina is closed. Boat access is best at the dam. Fishing for rainbow trout is a bit slow for trollers using Little Cleo and other lures. Bait fishing in deeper water is OK with PowerBait, mostly chartreuse garlic or rainbow flavors. The lake was listed Tuesday at 34% full, which is holding steady thanks to the end of the irrigation season.

HYATT: The lake was unchanged from last week at a whopping 40% full, making it the best reservoir water-wise on the Talent Irrigation District system. Fishing has been best for rainbow trout in the old creek channel for those trolling small spoons or dark spinners. Lots of bass are getting caught in the shallows with a variety of baits and lures, but they’re small. The limit is five trout a day, with just one over 20 inches.

LAKE OF THE WOODS: The lake was still fishing well for a mix of black crappie and bass from the resort on up, but the bass bite will start to drop off significantly as the water cools rather rapidly. Trout fishing has been somewhat slow but should kick up as the water cools.

LOST CREEK: The lake continues to kick out a mixed bag of rainbow trout of various sizes. Get more 10-inchers trolling near the dam, but bigger rainbows wind-drifting worms above Peyton Bridge in the no-wake zone. Outflows are down this week to 1,000 cfs, and inflows were under 900 cfs. Bank fishing with PowerBait near the Takelma ramp or at the Medco access point off Highway 62 are decent during overcast days. Bass fishing has been good near rocky outcroppings of late, with crankbaits and rubber worms the top offerings. The lake was listed Tuesday at 9 feet shy of the normal mid-October level, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in recent years has not worried too much about dropping below the so-called minimum pool in fall. The volume was listed Tuesday at 38% full. That’s not bad compared to previous years.

MEDCO: The lake was stocked in June with 2,000 legal-sized trout. Catch what’s left of them on PowerBait or worms. 

SELMAC: The lake was stocked with 1,000 legal-sized trout last spring and is set to get more fresh fish later this year. For the current holdover trout, fish for them with worms or PowerBait.

RIVER OUTLOOK

ROGUE: The flies-only season in the upper Rogue has settled into a nymphing show while the lower Rogue around Agness has been good for fall chinook that are still moving upriver, but that won’t last too much longer. The middle Rogue is starting to get better for summer steelhead, but most are wild and must be released.

That makes the best bet the upper Rogue, where fly-fishers are flocking to from throughout the region because of predictable fish numbers and flows.

For upper Rogue fly-fishers, nymph with salmon fly droppers and small egg imitations under strike indicators. Use a heavy stonefly nymph imitation as the dropper fly. No molded single eggs. Swinging streamers like articulated leeches has tapered off as water-release temperatures from Lost Creek Lake are now dropping to slow the incubation rates of chinook salmon eggs in redds. Fishing flies under plastic bobbers is also legal in the upper Rogue, but there can be no other added weights or attachments. That includes swivel hooks. This flies-only season runs through October.

Conditions are very good for steelhead fishing riverwide, with flows up a hair to 1,226 cfs at Dodge Bridge. That’s just about the same last week despite this week’s rains. That’s because flows out of Lost Creek Lake are down to 1,000 cfs as they normally are for October. Flows were correspondingly down to 1,296 cfs at the old Gold Ray Dam site and a somewhat robust 1,246 cfs at Grants Pass. The flow difference from Gold Ray to Grants Pass is from irrigation withdrawals that continue on private riverside lands.

The middle Rogue has been improving for summer steelhead on a mix of flies and plugs fished from driftboats. However, most of the catches will be wild fish that must be released unharmed. Casting black and yellow Panther Martin lures can be good bets at dusk as well as for bank anglers. Streamer flies are best for fly-fishers as the water temperatures are ideal for swinging flies. Focus on the tail-ends of rapids where the water has more oxygen.

Rogue, Applegate and other South Coast winter steelhead anglers will need their new regional steelhead validation to fish. All wild steelhead harvest on the Rogue is closed.

The far upper Rogue in the Union Creek area was stocked last month for last time this year. Fish around the Union Creek Campground and the mainstem Rogue near River Bridge. Worms, single salmon eggs and small pieces of worms are the traditional favorites.

APPLEGATE: The river is open to summer trout fishing, but anglers cannot target or keep any steelhead. All wild trout must be released unharmed, and it is not stocked with catchable fin-clipped rainbows. A few nice cutthroat trout have been caught recently near the Highway 199 bridge as well as all the way up toward McKee Bridge. The river closes to all angling Oct. 31.

CHETCO: Good fall chinook catches are occurring for those trolling the lower estuary before and after high tides. A few fish have moved upstream but gear restrictions remain in place there through October.