Bob Robinson holds a chinook salmon from the Chetco River landed in November.

OCEAN OUTLOOK

SOUTH COAST: Yet another Oregon Coast weekend best seen on land than on the water. After gale-force wind warnings subsided Wednesday evening, the result of the tumult will be present Thursday, with forecasts calling for 20-knot winds and swells up to 23 feet. Friday sees the winds holding at 20 knots but the swells dropping to 13 feet, but 8-foot wind waves will make it even worse. Saturday’s forecat calls for 15-knot winds and 16-foot swells, with Sunday looking like 10-knot winds and 10-knot swells.

All ocean salmon fishing and halibut fishing is closed along the California coast.

Bottomfishing looks like a bust this weekend thanks to very rough swells. But if things calm down next week, look for some good lingcod and bottomfish catches for jiggers.

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 a nonstarter now. 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 now open to recreational crabbing, but conditions have kept crabbers in bays like Charleston and Coos Bay near Charleston.

Razor clamming is closed along the South Coast, but bays are open for butter and gaper clams. Before digging, call the shellfish hotline at 1-800-448-2474.

LAKE OUTLOOK

AGATE: The lake has been off most anglers’ charts thanks to low and muddy water conditions.

The lake has held steady this past week at 13% full. Electric trolling motors are OK, but gas motors are not allowed. 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 dipped below 53 degrees, 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 up a bit to 13% full, with outflows at 225 cubic-feet-per-second and inflows have held pretty steady at around 150 cfs. The lake has a 10 mph speed limit.

DIAMOND: Trout fishing has been poor amid cold weather and dustings of snow. No ice has formed yet on the lake, but that should change soon. 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. All tiger trout and brown trout must be released unharmed. Some are eclipsing 8 pounds.

EMIGRANT: The lake has settled at 13% full and likely will stay that low once the snows start up on the Dead Indian Plateau. Trout fishing is available but slow, as are some bass. The county launch 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’s fishing for this fall’s stocked 1-pound trout has fallen off amid poor fishing conditions. However, the lake remains ice-free. Fishing with worms under bobbers is good near underwater springs off the resort when conditions allow for it. All tiger trout must be released unharmed. The lake was actually up a hair this past week to 52% full Tuesday.

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.

HYATT: The lake was up a hair to 43% full this past week as some runoff is finding its way into the reservoir. Fishing effort is very slow. Ice has yet to materialize.

LAKE OF THE WOODS: The lake slow for fishing as anglers are waiting for the ice to form.

LOST CREEK: The lake’s winter trout fishing has been fair to decent near the dam and off Takelma Boat Ramp. 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. The reservoir was listed at 46% full this week and about 4 feet higher than normal for the end of December. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is passing in-flow until next week, when the Corps’ historic filling cycle begins for Lost Creek Lake. The Applegate filling cycle doesn’t begin until Feb. 1.

MEDCO: The lake was stocked in June with 2,000 legal-sized trout. Catch what’s left of them on PowerBait or worms.

RIVER OUTLOOK

ROGUE: Summer steelhead fishing with egg flies and lures is holding on in the upper Rogue, but be careful of handling wild fish that are in the midst of their spawn. A few early winter steelhead have been reported in the mix of late summers caught by a few anglers in driftboats, but it’s still fairly early. The lower Rogue is starting to see some good winter steelhead for side-drifters in the Agness area and that could improve with a few small freshets in the near future.

That has the upper Rogue hanging on as the best bet, but only because it’s a long trip to Agness and not quite worth it yet from the Rogue Valley. Most of the action is upstream of the Shady Cove boat ramp, where fishing is allowed with bait for steelhead. But you’ll see as many fly-fishers nymphing with egg flies now as you will bait-fishers.

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 then start using single artificial salmon eggs and that’s a fine choice when nymphing downstream of salmon redds.

Conditions are decent for steelhead fishing, but the water is cold and has left the fish less active. That’s why small freshets like the one due to hit Thursday morning can make for some surprisingly good fishing days. Flows at Dodge Bridge were forecast to peak Thursday at 1,800 cfs, up from 1,600 cfs Tuesday. That’s not a lot, but it’s all tributary flow and that will add a little warmth and color to the river. Lost Creek outflows are hovering around 1,400 cfs, but the Corps is passing in-flow until the reservoir’s filling season begins next week.

The middle Rogue has been holding on for late-run summer steelhead, but a few early winter steelhead were reported recently caught by anglers dragging bait through deeper waters upstream of Galice. The Galice Road is still closed to Grave Creek, but you can get there through Douglas County if you want (not quite worth it yet). Flows at Grants Pass were forecast to peak Thursday at about 2,400 cfs. That will get some fish moving but not the ideal flows driftboaters want to see at all the popular haunts from Lathrop’s Landing to Hog Creek. Fish plugs in migration lanes and near creek mouths.

Flows at Agness were set to peak around 6,000 cfs Thursday, and that should make for two days of good winter steelhead fishing there for those side-drifting roe and puff balls. Bear Camp Road is closed. Look for more fresh winter steelhead to move next week; heavy surf this week has likely kept many steelhead from nosing into the Rogue Bay.

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. All wild steelhead harvest on the Rogue is now closed.

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 mainstem Rogue near River Bridge. Worms, single salmon eggs and small pieces of worms are the traditional favorites.

APPLEGATE: The river opens to angling Monday, but there are not any winter steelhead likely in the river at this time.

CHETCO: Good fall winter steelhead fishing tapered off with the lower and colder water conditions, but look for some improvements as early Thursday afternoon. The river is set to crest at about 6,000 cfs Thursday morning, and the drop in flows should get winter steelhead on the move. Plugs in migration lanes are good bets, while side-drifting roe should also be good. Bankies with the regular arsenal of Spin-Glo’s should find some steelhead as well.