OCEAN OUTLOOK

SOUTH COAST: Southern Oregon waters were in a gale watch that remains in effect through Wednesday evening. Wednesday’s forecast calls for 30-knot winds and 5-foot seas but also 5-foot wind waves. This could make for some seriously choppy water. Thursday’s forecast sees the winds backing down to 15 knots and seas at 7 feet. Look for things to calm down even more Friday with winds dipping to 10 knots and seas falling to 4 feet.

The ocean salmon season is on its way out for chinook after this week, with the offshore chinook season ending Aug 31. Look for some decent catches close to the Chetco River mouth as chinook are starting to congregate there before heading into the estuary. The ocean coho season is already over, so this marks the end to ocean salmon off the South Coast for 2024.

Anchovies are best. Remember, hooks must be barbless, and only two hooks are allowed when salmon fishing. The limit is two salmon a day through Aug. 31.

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. Fishing has been very good for larger black rockfish, while lingcod fishing has been a little hit and miss of late.

The St. George Lighthouse reef in Northern California is open, and fishing there has been excellent when weather conditions allow for the travel from Brookings. Lingcod catches have been excellent, as are black rockfish, when boats can make the run from Brookings. Remember that California fishing license since it’s in California waters.

For bottomfishers, cabezon can now be kept through the remainder of the calendar year. All quillback rockfish must be released unharmed.

Surfperch fishing has rebounded amid far better surf conditions of late. Focus on open beaches near rocks around high tide. Fishing is best at the turns of tides, primarily around high tide. Shrimp, mussels and Berkley Gulp sandworms or shrimp are the best baits when the weather cooperates. There are a dozen varieties of surfperch along the Oregon Coast, and most are quite tasty.

Halibut fishing is open and look for some decent catches in 180-200 feet of water on sandy bottoms near rock formations when the weather better cooperates. Jigs and large herring drifted off the bottom will be best.

The ocean is now open to recreational crabbing, and ocean effort has improved as salmon anglers are dropping off pots to soak while they troll for salmon.

Another set of minus tides begins at 6:40 a.m. Saturday with a -0.3 tide at 6:45 a.m.

Shellfish regulations have remained stabile. Bay clamming remains. Also, mussel harvest is now open from Coos Bay south to the California border as well as from the Yachats River north to the Washington border. The rest is closed. However, some restrictions to razor clamming and mussel harvest could begin later this week based on biotoxin tests. Razor clamming is currently open coastwide, except for Clatsop County beaches that are under the annual conservation closure. Before any digging, call the shellfish hotline at 1-800-448-2474 for the latest restrictions.

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: Fishing effort has tapered off with the high air temperatures that are also shooting water temperatures higher. Perch are dominating the catch. However, carp fishing has been decent of late. Corn works well. The reservoir is getting drawn down for irrigation and is dropping fast and down to 36% full. That constant drop leaves a ring of mud around some of the more popular bank-fishing areas near the boat ramp. The ramp is open. Boat anglers are doing best by wind-drifting worms or casting toward submerged willows and trees from the bank. Evenings are best. Electric trolling motors are OK but not gas motors. The park closes at dusk.

APPLEGATE: The lake received another 15,000 legal-sized trout a month ago, and that’s it for the year. The Seattle Bar area is high and dry. Look for more trout fishing by trolling Wedding Rings or small lures from boats or still-fishing with worms or PowerBait along the lake’s far side past Seattle Bar. Bass fishing has been very good with crankbaits and rubber baits during the warm mornings. The lake is down to 43% full and dropping very fast amid low inflows.

DIAMOND: As of Tuesday, the lake and resort remain open despite the nearby Trail Fire. Smoke on the water varies almost daily, with mostly decent skies as the winds are blowing smoke away from the water. The nearby fire at Crater Lake National Park is also hampering air quality, and it could change within an hour any day. Fishing is still good for a mix of rainbow trout, tiger trout and brown trout, particularly at the lake’s southern end and around the shrimp beds straight across from the resort. The bite is best early in the morning and then at dusk. Winds have been kicking up daily. Tiger trout are preying on stocked trout fingerling. Look for some nice brown trout and tiger trout in the mix while fishing Rapala lures, Flatfish lures, worms under bobbers and some large streamer flies. Lots of brown trout over 20 inches are getting caught daily in the south end.

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

EMIGRANT: The lake hasn’t had any fresh trout releases in a month and will get nothing new this year. That has slowed trout fishing as well as effort. Fish off the bank near the county boat ramp and where Emigrant Creek pours into the reservoir with chartreuse or rainbow Power Bait or troll small lures. The lake has actually dropped somewhat significantly this past week to 18% full, and look for it to continue to drop as the irrigation season is in full swing. However, that’s still much higher than in recent years. Bass fishing is improving as more warm and sunny days hit the area. Afternoons have been windy.

EXPO: Another 1,000 legal-sized rainbow trout were stocked a month ago, and they are still drawing good interest from valley anglers without too many close fishing options. Catch them on PowerBait, worms under bobbers or small spinners. Parking fees are required.

FISH: The lake received another infusion of 2,500 legal-sized trout three weeks ago, and that’s it until mid-September. They were stocked at the Forest Service ramp. Fish for them with worms or PowerBait in the cove immediately near the ramp as well as off the resort. Fishing interest will continue to rise, as an escape from heat and good water conditions. The lake was actually down this week to 52% full Tuesday.

HOWARD PRAIRIE: Morning trolling for trout straight off the marina and all the way down the lake has been a hot ticket. There are plenty of holdover trout in the 16- to 18-inch range, as well as legal-sized trout stocked last month at the marina. Cooler weather has helped the bite recently. 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. Also troll in the channel if you can find it with your electronics. The lake was listed Tuesday at 43% full.

HYATT: The lake has started to drop again during late-season irrigation withdrawals and is now listed at 42% full. It did receive another 7,450 legal-sized trout a month ago. That will be it for the season. Troll worms on Wedding Ring lures through the former creek channel for larger rainbows. Anchor and fish PowerBait off the bottom for the recently planted rainbows. Bass fishing has picked up in the shallows and coves near the Bureau of Land Management ramp. Lots of smallish largemouth, as usual.

LAKE OF THE WOODS: The lake received 1,000 legal-sized and 300 trophy-sized rainbow trout a month ago, and there are plenty of holdovers around the resort area. Fish with worms, PowerBait or troll Rapala lures for big rainbows and the occasional brown trout.

LOST CREEK: The lake received another 10,000 legal-sized rainbows nearly a month ago, and they were be split between the Stewart State Park ramp and the Takelma Ramp. The most recently stocked rainbows are biting worms and PowerBait fished off the bank near the Takelma ramp. Others are fanning out toward the face of the dam and along the lake’s southwest banks. Troll Wedding Ring lures spiced with a small piece of worm or a whole worm behind a flasher.

Flows out of the reservoir were holding steady at 1,800 cubic-fee-per-second as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tries to keep decent flows for spawning spring chinook but keep back water for a later push of fall chinook. In-flows are back up above 1,000 cfs thanks to weekend rains. The lake, however, remains a healthy 54% full, despite dropping 4% in the past week.

MEDCO: The pond received another 1,100 legal-sized trout a month ago, and fishing is holding on. They are getting caught with worms or PowerBait off the bank near the ramp.

RIVER OUTLOOK

ROGUE: The upper Rogue is still seeing a distinct lack in summer steelhead numbers, while the lower Rogue Bay remains hot for fall chinook catches. The middle Rogue is light on steelhead as well, but the lower Rogue is seeing nice numbers of half-pounder steelhead that already have moved into the lower portions of the Lower Rogue Canyon.

That keeps the best bet at the lower Rogue Bay, just because catches are good and the fish are fantastic.

Trolling the Lower Rogue Bay for fall chinook has gotten better and, therefore, more crowded. The turns of the tides are best, especially around morning high tides. Lots of fish in the mid-20 pound range this year. Multiple fish on guide boats have been the norm of late, and the bay is getting crowded. Anchovies with blades are best, as are Brad’s Cut Plug baits. Warm river water means there are very few, if any, fall chinook moving out of tidewater.

In the upper Rogue, Cole Rivers Hatchery technicians did not collect any salmon or steelhead late last week, so there are no updated counts.

Chinook fishing is now relegated only to waters downstream of Dodge Bridge, where angler can keep wild or hatchery chinook. Drift boaters are doing best back-bouncing roe and sandshrimp or using MagLip 3.5 plugs spiced with anchovy scent or tuna bellies. Effort has been light since a higher percentage of the fish are getting dark and less desirable for barbecuing. That all ends Aug. 31.

Intercept these migrating spring chinook along the inside corners of gravel bars and other clear migration lanes. The mouth of Bear Creek has been a hot spot.

Flows out of Lost Creek were up to 1,800 cfs Tuesday, with Dodge Bridge flows back down to 1,940 cfs. Ditto for the old Gold Ray Dam site, where the flows were back up to 2,105 cfs Tuesday. Grants Pass was just above 2,100 cfs. Those flows are continued to remain steady deep into next week and provide great conditions for summer steelhead fishing in the evenings with plugs, pink worms, small egg clusters, nymphs and streamer flies.

Summer steelhead fishing is still slow in the upper Rogue, and this is the last week to throw whatever you want at them. Plugs, spoons, worms, rubber worms, streamer flies and egg flies are all on the table through Aug. 31. After that, the two-month flies-only season kicks in. Plug fishing right now is best, as the fish that are present are quite aggressive.

Rogue, Applegate and other South Coast 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 to December.

Those validations are not necessary for chinook fishing.

All wild steelhead must be released unharmed for the remainder of the year river-wide.

The far upper Rogue in the Union Creek area on Thursday will receive its weekly installment of 2,500 legal-sized rainbows. Fishing is always best at the stocking sites along the upper Rogue and Union Creek. Focus 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 open to trout fishing but off-limits to all steelhead. Bait is allowed, but there is no fishing from a floating device. Take care not to trespass.