Rainbow trout are grilled at Union Creek. 

OCEAN OUTLOOK

SOUTH COAST: A small-craft advisory that was in effect through Wednesday on the South Coast still has its lingering impacts. The Thursday forecast calls for 25-knot winds and 8-foot swells, followed Friday by 10-knot winds and 5-foot swells. Saturday’s forecast is a tad better with 10-knot winds and 4-foot swells, but Sunday kicks it up again with 15-knot winds and 4-foot wind waves

All ocean salmon fishing is closed from Humbug Mountain near Port Orford to the California border. 

Bottomfishing has been very good recently for those fishing close to shore. Lots of lingcod in the catch, but black rockfish continue to dominate the catch. The best catches this past week remain in depths of at least 100 feet. But after all the winds earlier this week, look for rockfish to move even farther offshore. Halibut fishing out of Brookings has been decent in recent weeks but nothing over the past few days because of poor weather. When the weather cooperates, continue looking for halibut in 180 feet of water or deeper north of Brookings. The daily limit is two halibut, and that’s getting offshore anglers interested.

Surfperch fishing is very surf-dependent but has been good at times when the surf calms down. But this weekend looks 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.

A new set of minus tides starts early Wednesday morning, so look for some decent minus tide clamming next weekend. 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 good in the mornings and evenings. The lake has dropped significantly to 14% full, with turbid water. Fishing is slow. Electric trolling motors are OK but no gas motors. The park closes at dusk.

APPLEGATE: The Copper and French Gulch ramps are usable, but there was little effort on the lake this past week. The lake was last stocked with rainbow trout in June. Fish for rainbows with PowerBait or worms from the bank or slowly troll Tasmanian Devil lures spiced with a piece of worm. Bass fishing has been solid off rocky points with crankbaits. The lake is 31% full, with outflows at 300 cfs and inflows  up a hair to 60 cfs. The lake has a 10 mph speed limit.

DIAMOND: Trout fishing is starting to reach that late-September bump in the bite as cooler water and air temperatures make for better fishing and fewer mosquitoes at the boat ramps. 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. 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 must be released unharmed. Some are eclipsing 8 pounds.

EMIGRANT: The lake is dropping steadily from irrigation use and was listed Tuesday at 13% full. 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 two 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 planned stocking of 1-pound trout at the Forest Service ramp near the resort. These fish will be ready to bite worms under bobbers, small lures and PowerBait shortly after release. The lake was down a hair to 33% full Tuesday, which is far better than recent early September levels. Catches include 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 the best September level in four years.

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 fishing very well for a mix of black crappie and bass from the resort on up. Trout fishing has been somewhat slow but should kick up as the water starts to cool.

LOST CREEK: The lake is fishing better for a rainbow trout in a mix of sizes. Get more 10-inchers trolling near the dam, but bigger rainbows wind-drifting worms above Peyton Bridge in the no-wake zone. Inflows are holding steady this week at 1,800 cfs. Bank-fish with PowerBait near the Takelma ramp or at the Medco access point off Highway 62. Bass fishing has been good near rocky outcroppings of late, with crankbaits and rubber worms the top offerings. The lake was listed Tuesday at 2 feet shy of the normal Oct. 1 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 41% 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 more than a month ago, and that’s it for the season. Fish for them with worms or PowerBait.

RIVER OUTLOOK

ROGUE: The flies-only season is in full swing on the upper Rogue, where anglers are enjoying low and still warm water levels that make fly-fishing as good as it gets there. The middle Rogue is picking up a bit for summer steelhead adults while the lower Rogue remains a hot spot for a mix of large fall chinook and fin-clipped coho.

That makes the best bet the lower Rogue Bay, but check on Highway 199’s open status before going. Expect about an hour of extra time to get through the fire zone, but the occasional rock slide means this route can close at any moment. If closed, the next best route is through Highway 42 to Bandon, and that’s a haul. Bear Camp Road is congested and not a good choice for people hauling powerboats to the bay.

The lower Rogue Bay remains hot for fall chinook, and the crowds continue to hit plenty of large fall chinook daily. Coho are really starting to show up now as well, and only fin-clipped coho can be kept. A few fin-clipped coho hovering in the 15-pound range have been caught this past week. Chinook bound for the Indian Creek Hatchery are now starting to show up, giving bankies west of the creek mouth something to cast spinners for. The best bet, however, is in boats. Troll medium-sized anchovies or cut-plug herring behind flashers. Fish the incoming tides hardest as well as the start of the outgoing tides. The bay limit remains two salmon a day, with wild chinook allowed in the catch.

The middle Rogue has been predictably slow for summer steelhead, and that usually turns around in October. Until then, casting black and yellow Panther Martin lures can be good bets at dusk. 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.

For upper Rogue fly-fishers, nymph with salmon fly droppers and prince nymph point flies under strike indicators. Egg flies are a good second option but they must be yarn. No molded single eggs. Swinging streamers like articulated leeches will start to taper 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.

Conditions are very good for steelhead fishing riverwide, with flows of 1,170 cfs at Dodge Bridge, 1,155 at the old Gold Ray Dam site and a scant 873 at Grants Pass. That will scrape some Glove-it off drift boat bottoms.

The far upper Rogue in the Union Creek area was stocked last week for the 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.