Jess A. Campagna holds a steelhead on the Rogue River.

OCEAN OUTLOOK

SOUTH COAST: Thursday’s forecast calls for 10-knot winds and 6-foot swells, and that’s doable for seasoned ocean anglers heading over the Chetco Bar. The ocean then should settle down a tad, with forecasts calling for 10-knot winds but 4-foot swells Friday. Saturday sees a bump back up on the winds to 20 knots and 5-foot swells

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. The limit is one chinook a day per angler.

Bottomfishing continues to be on the wane on the South Coast, and that’s from a combination of light effort and iffy weather conditions. Rockfish catches were down to two fish per angler last week out of Brookings, with no halibut landings. Lingcod catches also have slowed down. The halibut season runs through Tuesday, and the two-fish daily limit remains in effect.

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.

The ocean is closed to recreational crabbing until Dec. 1. However, mussel harvest is open statewide, and clamming is good to very good at Clatsop County beaches as well as major bays like Coos Bay near Charleston. Also, razor clam digging has been good at Myers Beach on the South Coast. Plan on digging the two hours before low tides, which are in the evenings. Friday has a nice minus tide at 5:30 p.m., followed Saturday by an even better one at 6:15 p.m.

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.

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 no gas motors. The park closes at dusk.

APPLEGATE: The French Gulch ramps 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 12% full, with outflows at 173 cfs and inflows down to 39 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 have occurred there, but this past week saw more rainbows and fewer browns and tigers in the catch. Overcast days are best, especially when the wind settles down in the morning. 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. The lake is too low for launching trailered boats at the county ramp.

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 44% 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 out-producing 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 received a nice complement of legal-sized and larger rainbow trout stocked primarily at the Takelma Ramp, where fishing has been most concentrated. PowerBait off the bank there remains good for those staying off the ramp while fishing. The stocked trout are starting to move around more, and they most often hug the southwest shoreline for a few weeks before feathering out into the lake. Fishing is also good above Peyton Bridge, but be cognizant of the no-wake zone there. Bass fishing has been good near rocky outcroppings of late, with crankbaits and rubber worms the top offerings. The lake was listed Tuesday at 11 feet shy of the normal late-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 37% 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 is wrapping up this weekend, and bait-fishing will return to portions of these waters Wednesday. 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, especially when the traditional transition out of the two months of flies-only fishing begins Wednesday. Upstream of the Shady Cove boat ramp then opens to bait and lure fishing for summer steelhead, and that’s where the majority of anglers will be that day. Cast small pieces of roe or roe-soaked yarn balls for steelhead in traditional riffles, especially along the current seams. The water is cold, so these fish aren’t moving that much for a bite.

Waters below the Shady Cove ramp will open Wednesday to lures and other artificials but not bait. That means lots of plug fishing with MagLip 3.0s in various colors like chartreuses and pinks. WeeWarts like the black-and-silver ones are also good bets. Fly-fishers can then start using single artificial salmon eggs, and that’s a fine choice when nymphing downstream of salmon redds.

Conditions are very good for steelhead fishing riverwide, with flows up a hair to 1,249 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 up a hair to 1,315 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 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. New validations are needed beginning Dec. 1. Those are valid for the next 12 months. All wild steelhead harvest on the Rogue is now closed.

The far upper Rogue in the Union Creek area was stocked last month for the final; 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. Several schools of chinook have already moved upstream. However, gear restrictions remain in effect until late next week.