Rainbow trout are grilled at Union Creek. 

OCEAN OUTLOOK

SOUTH COAST: The ocean fishing opportunities for the pre-Christmas weekend go from bad to worse. Thursday’s forecast calls for 10-knot winds and 7-foot seas, which is doable for those used to a little water rocking. Friday’s forecast sees 15-knot winds but swells increasing to as much as 11 feet. That’s generally not safe for the general public. Saturday’s forecast is much the same, so it’s a football weekend and not a lingcod weekend.

Too bad, since bottomfishing has been occasionally very good for locals on the occasional calm days. Most of the activity is close to shore and alee from winds. Rockfish catches have been good and there’s been a decent presence of lingcod catches, as well. However, pressure remains quite light and likely will remain so into the new year.

Surfperch fishing is very surf-dependent but has been decent at times when the surf calms down. But this weekend’s winds and high surf make this another non-starter now. The new king tides of next week make surfperch fishing even more unreasonable. 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 when weather allows.

The ocean is open to crabbing, and catches out of Brookings and Coos Bay have been very good when boats have gotten out. Lots of commercial-grade Dungeness out there now. Bay crabbing should be very good, especially around the high slack hours around some large high tides forecast for mornings this week.

Razor clam digging is now closed from Cape Blanco to the California border. It remains open north of Cape Blanco.

Another interesting week of tides. Large king tides will dominate the mornings, peaking at 8 feet Sunday through Thursday. The corresponding afternoon minus tides will start Saturday and bottom out at minus-1.1 feet Tuesday shortly after dark. That means a tide swing of more than 9 feet that day. That’s big for Southern Oregon.

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 increased a hair this past week to 16% 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 is now the only one usable for trailered boats as the lake’s fall season has crept in. The lake’s surface temperature has dipped below 55 degrees now, and that’s slowing the bass bite. 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 has risen a bit this past week and was listed Tuesday at 11% full. This rise often puts off the trout bite for a few days. The outflows remain at 150 cubic-feet-per-second and inflows are back up to 529 cfs. The filling season does not begin until Feb. 1.

DIAMOND: Trout fishing has tapered off significantly as cold and windy weather has chased nearly all anglers off the lake. Still, calm days can yield some nice trout catches. There is still no ice on the water. The brown trout and tiger trout bite had dropped off as rainbows started to show up more in catches when the effort was there. PowerBait off the bottom and worms under bobbers are the best bets. For fly-fishers, black leeches or muddler minnow patterns are the best bet now as the bug hatches have waned amid colder temperatures. All tiger trout and brown trout must be released unharmed. Some are eclipsing 8 pounds.

EMIGRANT: The lake has stayed put this past week at 13% full. Bass fishing has been fair at best on warm days, using 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 four 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 remains ice-free, but not much fishing action has occurred since the interest in October’s stocking of 1-pound trout has waned. Those big trout that are left continue to show interest in worms under bobbers, small lures and PowerBait, and they are already starting to fan out into the lake. The lake has stabilized this past week to 51% full Tuesday, which is far better than past falls. 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 35% full, which is up a hair from last week.

HYATT: The lake was actually back up a bit this past week to 42% full, and that was expected after recent rains. Fishing has been best for rainbow trout in the old creek channel for those trolling small spoons or dark spinners. The best access is near the dam, but be careful about trailered boats. There are more bank fishing opportunities, and few are taking advantage of them. Lots of bass are getting caught in the shallows on warm, sunny days 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.

LOST CREEK: The lake in October received a nice complement of legal-sized and larger rainbow trout stocked primarily at the Takelma Ramp, where fishing has been most concentrated. The trout are now pretty well spread out north of the ramp. PowerBait off the bank there remains good for those staying off the ramp while fishing. Fishing is tapering off Peyton Bridge, thanks largely due to effort. Inflows are down to about 1,600 cfs, and outflows have been bumped up to 1,272 cfs from the standard 1,500 cfs of the past few months. Bass fishing has been tapering down thanks to cooler days. On warm days, focus on rocky outcroppings with crankbaits and rubber worms the top offerings. The lake was listed Tuesday at almost 1 foot above its normal early December levels as inflows have significantly added to the reservoir, which was listed Tuesday as 45% full. The filling season does not start until Jan. 1.

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: Good water conditions in the upper Rogue are drawing anglers thanks to warmer days, while the lower Rogue is starting to see its first push of winter steelhead of the season. The middle Rogue is fair for late summer steelhead, mainly near creekmouths.

The best bet remains the upper Rogue, mainly because it contains a mix of hatchery steelhead as well as coho salmon that are biting spinners and the occasional purple plug lure.

Also, don’t forget to buy your $2 Southwest Oregon steelhead fishing validation that is year-round to fish for steelhead regardless of whether its catch-and-release fishing.

Most of the action is upstream of the Shady Cove boat ramp, where fishing is allowed with bait for steelhead. Flows at Dodge Bridge were at a friendly 1,502 cfs and forecast to drop through Friday before rising again to around 1,700 cfs Saturday. That should get more late-run summer steelhead on the move toward Cole Rivers Hatchery.

Both bait-casters and fly-fishers have reported occasionally good days of late throughout the upper Rogue, but many of the hatchery fish are starting to darken up and aren’t prime to kill for anything but the smoker. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed.

Water below the Shady Cove ramp is open 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 use single artificial salmon eggs, and that’s a fine choice when nymphing downstream of salmon redds.

Also, anglers casting Little Cleo lures in far upper Rogue holes are catching coho salmon, but all wild fish must be released unharmed. Most of the catches have been downstream of Big Butte Creek, where many of the upper Rogue’s wild coho are bound now. Downstream of the mouth of Elk Creek also has been good.

Flows at the former Gold Ray Dam site were set to peak this morning around 2,400 cfs before dropping Friday and then bumping back up Saturday. This yo-yo effect will get steelhead moving, but it doesn’t necessarily make them want to bite. That’s why plug fishing from driftboats is good under these conditions.

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.

Flows at Agness were on the drop Thursday from 5,600 cfs, and that should make for some good winter steelhead fishing. So far the Agness area is out-fishing the river’s lower waters. Bear Camp Road is closed, so it’s a long haul from the Rogue Valley. Side-drifting clusters of roe will be best. Bankies are doing well with pink-pearl Spin-Glo’s but start thinking darker colors as the water rises.

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

APPLEGATE: The river is closed to all angling until Jan. 1.

CHETCO: The river was started to fish well for winter steelhead, and the water continues to drop before bumping up Friday and dropping again slowly through Christmas. Side-drifting plugs should all work well during the dropping flows.

A new $2 steelhead validation is required since Dec. 1 to fish for steelhead on the South Coast, and the validations lasts through November 2024.