OCEAN OUTLOOK

SOUTH COAST: More nice ocean conditions await saltwater anglers as the chase for big lingcod and other bottomfish heats up. Thursday’s forecast calls for 15-knot winds but only 4-foot swells, which means all of the reefs and rock piles will be in play. Friday’s forecast is for 10-knot winds and 6-foot swells, which will push more anglers into near-shore rock formations north of Brookings. That is followed Saturday by 10-knot winds and 5-foot swells, which is very doable for more ocean anglers.

Jigging for rockfish and lingcod is best with lead-headed jigs with a multitude of skirt colors, with white and chartreuse great first and second options.

Chinook salmon fishing in the ocean is open out of Coos Bay and Bandon, but effort has been very light. Halibut opens in May and ocean chinook season opens later in May off the South Coast.

The coveted St. George Lighthouse reef in Northern California opens May 1 as well.

For bottomfishers, remember that cabezon are off limits until July 1. Quillback and yelloweye rockfish are also on the catch-and-release ledger for all of 2024.

Surfperch fishing is very surf-dependent and is starting to pull into shape after a lackluster winter. Look for some spotty catches this weekend, once the heavy winds of mid-week calm down. 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. Beaches north of Gold Beach can also yield great surfperch catches. There are a dozen varieties of surfperch along the Oregon Coast, and most are quite tasty.

The ocean is now open to recreational crabbing, but ocean effort has been light. Lots of crab now sport soft shells, and they should be released because their meat content is poor while they are molting.

The current set of minus morning tides continues for clammers. A -0.6 tide is set to hit the South Coast at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, followed by a -0.7 tide at 8:10 a.m. Friday. Another -0.7 tide hits at 8:50 a.m. Saturday before it start to wane.

Razor clamming remains closed along the South Coast from Cape Blanco to the California border, but bays are open for butter and gaper clams. Also, razor clamming has reopened between Cascade Head near Lincoln City to Seal Rock near Waldport because of reduced levels of domoic acid.

Bay clamming and mussel harvests are open statewide. Before digging, call the shellfish hotline at 1-800-448-2474.

Scallops are available coast-wide, but they are not tested for domoic acid at this time. It’s safest to eat the adductor muscles of scallops. If you don’t know what the adductor is, you better pass on wild scallops.

LAKE OUTLOOK

AGATE: The lake continues to sport muddy conditions, but anglers are catching perch, a few crappie and bass near the base of the dam and around submerged willows. Small worms or small red or black spinners are good bets. The lake is full. Electric trolling motors are OK but not gas motors. The park closes at dusk.

APPLEGATE: The French Gulch and Copper ramps are open and useable for trailered boats as the lake continues to fill slightly ahead of schedule. The lake got its first dose of fresh rainbow trout last week when 10,000 legals were stocked. They are starting to gain interest among bank anglers using PowerBait near French Gulch and Copper ramps. The Seattle Bar area is also getting interest from bank anglers as well as float tubers near the bridge.

With a surface temperature now at 50 degrees and climbing, fishing for smallmouth bass has improved. Also, the holdover trout are biting fairly decently on PowerBait farther up the reservoir.

The lake was listed Tuesday at 88% full, a hair off from the normal filling schedule but there’s plenty of snow set for runoff later this spring. Outflows remained at 450 cubic-feet-per-second, with 825 cfs coming in.

The lake has a 10 mph speed limit.

DIAMOND: The lake is now ice-free, and there is access along the lake’s north shore near the marina. The marina docks are now floating, but rentals were not available as of earlier this week. Fishing pressure has been very light, but large fish are starting to cruise the shallows for early feed. Fish small spinners that look like small rainbows as well as PowerBait and worms.

All tiger trout and brown trout must be released unharmed. Some are eclipsing 8 pounds.

EMIGRANT: The lake saw its second infusion of 1,000 rainbow trout two weeks ago at the main county boat ramp, and the trout are still primarily in the main cove in front of the ramp. They will slowly work their way up the reservoir, but that’s where they are now. Catch them on PowerBait or night crawlers. The lake has risen nicely to 68% full, and look for more inflows during the upcoming warm spell. Bass fishing is improving as more warm and sunny days approach.

EXPO: State wildlife biologists stocked 1,500 legal-sized rainbow trout here last month, and they’re getting caught on PowerBait or small spinners. Worms under bobbers also work well, as well as single salmon eggs. Parking fees are required.

FISH: The lake is ice-free, and there is access at the Forest Service boat ramp, where 5,000 legal-sized rainbow trout were stocked earlier this week for what traditionally was the trout opener. Oregon lakes, however, are almost all year-round for fishing now. Fishing interest still remains quite light. Catches would be best with worms or PowerBait near submerged springs near the Forest Service ramp and out past the marina. The lake was up a bit this past week to 62% full Tuesday. That’s basically light inflows from underground springs and very little runoff as snow levels have been sparse.

HOWARD PRAIRIE: The lake is open to angling, and the marina is now open with its docks floated. The lake is ice-free and received its first complement of 7,500 legal-sized trout earlier this week. Anchor and fish for them with PowerBait outside the marina or troll near the shore with Tasmanian Devil lures or Wedding Rings spiced with a piece of worm. The lake was listed Tuesday at 49% full, which is a hair above last week.

HYATT: The lake was up slightly to 58% full this past week as some runoff is finding its way into the reservoir. The lake is ice-free, but fishing pressure still remains very light. The first 7,500 legal-sized trout of the year were stocked earlier this week. Warm temperatures are on the immediate horizon as well, so look for trout to start getting more active. Troll worms on Wedding Ring lures through the former creek channel for larger rainbows. Bass fishing has picked up in the shallows and coves.

LAKE OF THE WOODS: The lake remains ice-free, and access at the resort has improved. Docks have been floated at the marina now, so it’s game on. Fishing has been decent for perch and some rainbows in shallow water just off the marina, but plan on morning trips as afternoon winds have been common.

LOST CREEK: The lake received another 15,000 legal-sized rainbows last week, split between the Stewart State Park ramps and the Takelma Ramp. These fish are hungry and ready to bite worms and PowerBait quickly. These fish are in addition to the 20,000 legals stocked in late March. These fish are starting to fan out, but they still are fairly easy to catch off the bank with PowerBait or Panther Martin lures. Fishing remains best around the Takelma Ramp and near the north face of the dam. Both ramps at Takelma and Stewart State Park are usable. Effort has been very light. Good catches come when trolling worms behind flashers during calm days. Upstream of the bridge is a no-wake zone there. Flows out of the reservoir were holding steady at 1,850 cfs, up a hair from last week. The lake was listed at 95% full and a hair below the regular filling schedule. That won’t be a problem because there is enough runoff in the forecast to fill the reservoir this spring. The lake is scheduled to hit full May 1, but look for water regulators to keep it a foot or two short of full until more snowpack runs off.

MEDCO: The lake was stocked this past week with 2,000 fresh legal-sized trout, and they are getting caught with worms or PowerBait off the bank near the ramp.

RIVER OUTLOOK

ROGUE: The lower Rogue continues to have a nice spring chinook salmon bite, while the middle Rogue has slowed for winter steelhead. The upper Rogue, meanwhile, is getting a decent show of winter steelhead and a few springers.

That moves the best bet to the upper Rogue for winter steelhead fishing with hopes of running into a fresh springer. As of last week, just 93 spring chinook have entered Cole Rivers Hatchery, but that’s the most for this time in at least 10 years. Consider that the 10-year running average was just 4 springers by mid-April. This should shape into one of the better springer years of late. Winter steelhead numbers are better than they have been in three years, but they are still half the 10-year running average of 1,360 winter steelhead at Cole Rivers by mid-April.

Steelhead bite best on the drop of water levels, so any combination of plug fishing as well as bait and fake gobs of eggs will work well in migration lanes and near the tops of deeper glides. Fish MagLip 3.0 lures through deeper, slower steelhead runs and drag bait or fake egg clusters through places like Frenchmen’s. Fish a larger, deeper-diving plug and you might run into an early springers. Side-drifting fake and real egg clusters is also a good bet as water levels drop and clear.

In the middle Rogue, bank anglers will be fishing Spin-Glo’s or plugs off side-planers at places like Chair and Rainbow riffles. Boat anglers can prospect for winter steelhead near creek mouths. 

Flows at Dodge Bridge were at 2,217 cfs Tuesday and set to sneak back up late Friday before tailing off. That should make weekend angling conditions good.

Only hatchery chinook can be kept now by anglers river-wide.

In the lower Rogue, the springer bite should pick up again this weekend after a rising river will peak around 6,000 cfs Saturday at Agness. As it drops, look for more fresh spring chinook on anchovies or Brad’s Cut Plug baits from boats.

Bankies remain loyal to larger Spin-Glo’s.

Most of the action is in the lower 14 river miles, but a few fresh springers are getting caught in the Agness area. The Bear Camp Road access from Galice to Agness remains closed.

Intercept these migrating spring chinook along the inside corners of gravel bars and other clear migration lanes. These fish are on the move and not sticking around to avoid fishing eddies and slack water.

Plunkers should do OK at places like the old Champion mill site and Dunkelberger Bar as well as the Quosatana and Lobster Creek bars.

Rogue, Applegate and other South Coast winter steelhead anglers will need their new regional steelhead validation to fish. New $2 validations are needed each Dec. 1, even for those catch-and-release fishing. Those are valid for the next 12 months.

Those validations are not necessary for chinook fishing.

Anglers may keep one wild winter steelhead over 24 inches a day if they have a special Rogue-South Coast wild steelhead harvest card. The total daily limit is two, but at least one has to be a hatchery fish. Chinook and steelhead limits are in aggregate, so you can only keep two a day of any combination of legal fish.

The far upper Rogue in the Union Creek area was stocked in mid-September. Fish around the Union Creek Campground and the mainstem Rogue near River Bridge, but it’s tough to get access because of high snow levels. That makes Union Creek the most likely fishing spot near Beckie’s. Worms, single salmon eggs and small pieces of worms are the traditional favorites.

APPLEGATE: The river is now closed to all angling.

CHETCO: The Chetco is closed to all angling.