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The bite had been slow because of cold water temperatures, but when a fish finally did take the bait, it was well worth it.
George Reiswig, who will soon be 80 years old, was fishing from a pontoon boat on Cooper Creek Reservoir east of Sutherlin on March 4 with friends Jerry Fugate, Phillip Wood and John Michealjsky. They had started dropping their bobbers and Power bait into the water on the eastern end of the reservoir at about 9 a.m. They were using ultra light fishing tackle with 4-pound test line.
It was almost an hour before Fugate got the day’s first bite. But only seconds later, the line snapped. The anglers figured a big fish had taken the bait, if only for a short while.
But then just minutes later, a fish took a bite at Reiswig’s bait offering and got hooked. A 20-minute tug-of-war between the rainbow trout and Reiswig followed.
“It was jumping and splashing all over,” said Fugate. “It went from one side of the boat to the other. George was pretty scared of losing it. He fought it and fought it, and we finally got it in.”
The fish measured 26 1/4 inches long. Later at Larry’s Sporting Goods in Sutherlin, the fish weighed in at 9 pounds.
“In seven years of fishing here (Cooper Creek), that’s the biggest one I’ve seen,” said Fugate who had caught a 21-inch trout in the reservoir a year ago.
Fabian Carr, a fisheries biologist at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Roseburg office, said the fish was most likely from the Roaring River Hatchery and was released into the Cooper Creek Reservoir in 2006 or 2007. Trophy-sized rainbows have been placed in the reservoir prior to the Umpqua Fishery Enhancement Derby’s Kids Day in early February during each of the past several years.
The hatchery is a state facility located 18 miles northeast of Albany on a tributary of the South Santiam River. The average size of the fish stocked in the reservoir was 5 pounds.
In other fishing news, over 100 winter steelhead are being counted daily when going up the Winchester Dam fish ladder on the North Umpqua River. Only five percent of the count is hatchery while the rest are wild. The latter must be released back into the river if caught.
This week’s rain showers is expected to improve the fishing for steelhead.
Following is the weekly Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fishing report that is compiled by regional fisheries biologists.
BEN IRVING RESERVOIR — Ben Irving Reservoir, west of Winston, was stocked last week with about 2,000 catchable trout and will be stocked again the week of March 17.
CHETCO RIVER — Steelhead fishing will be slow until the Chetco receives enough rain to bring in a few more fresh fish. The peak is over, but anglers can continue to have great action on kelts (spawned-out fish) and some fresh fish. Some of the best action can be had pulling plugs or swinging flies.
Anglers have been doing the best early morning or late afternoon when the sun is off the water. Drift boat anglers will want to hit the river once it reaches 4000 cfs and dropping.
COQUILLE RIVER BASIN — Steelhead fishing is still good when the river conditions cooperate, with some large fish showing up in the catch this year. Laverne Park on the North Fork has had some good days recently and provides good bank access for anglers. The South Fork, which is popular with drift boaters and also has some bank access, has had a great year and is still fishing well; it fishes best when the Powers gauge is below 4 ft. Steelhead have been observed in the East Fork, which has steelhead returning to an acclimation site near Frona Park. The Middle Fork Coquille does not have a hatchery program but is a nice place for anglers wanting more solitude that don’t mind releasing their fish.
COOPER CREEK RESERVOIR — Cooper Creek was stocked with some 6 – 8 pound trophy trout and about 1,000 catchable-sized trout a few weeks ago. The reservoir was also stocked this week with some additional catchable trout. Nearby Plat I reservoir was also stocked this week with about 500 catchable trout. With the warmer valley temperatures, the water should have warmed up to improve the chances of catching some of these trout.
ELK/SIXES RIVER — Steelhead fishing has slowed in both rivers as most of the steelhead are spawning. Anglers should keep an eye on the weather and look for some new fish to enter the rivers on the next freshet. Elk River fishes best at 5.0 feet and dropping. Anglers can call Elk River Hatchery (541-332-7025) to get the latest gauge heights.
GALESVILLE RESERVIOR — Galesville Reservoir is open to angling year-round. Fishing for trout is currently fair. Some anglers report seeing external “worms” on a few of the trout, and in some trout’s gills. These are copepods, a fish parasite, which occur naturally throughout the watershed. The copepods can be removed and the fish safely consumed. The harvestable trout were 10–12 inches. The 25,000 sub-legal size trout which were stocked last fall in Galesville are approaching legal size. Anglers fishing the lake last weekend reported catching some fish just shy of legal size, plus the larger trout. Galesville was stocked last week with an additional 2,000 legal-sized trout.
HERBERT’S POND — Herbert’s Pond is a small pond just east of Canyonville on Tiller Highway. The pond has a good warm water fishery for kids includes bluegill, crappie, and bass. The pond was stocked last week with a couple hundred trout to provide some additional fishing opportunity while the pond is still cool enough to keep the trout healthy. The pond has very good bank access.
LOON LAKE — Loon Lake was stocked with about 2,000 catchable trout last week and will receive another stocking of catchable trout the week of March 17. In addition, there were almost 6,000 sub-legal trout stock last fall that should be approaching 8 inches for legal harvest.
PACIFIC OCEAN AND BEACHES — Late winter/early spring is the best time for surfperch fishing from the beaches. The best areas are generally the steeper beaches. Anglers should cast into the surf with enough weight to hold your setup from moving with the current. Sand shrimp is a common and effective bait but others can work well also.
Bottom fishing is generally good in the winter when the water conditions are calm. Anglers should be cautious of the ocean and bar conditions which can change quickly. Bank anglers have reported fair success fishing off the rocks.
ROGUE RIVER, LOWER — With low flows and nearing the end of the winter steelhead run, boat and bank anglers are starting to turn their attention the spring chinook. Anglers are reminded that there are new regulations in effect for spring chinook on the Rogue River.
ROGUE RIVER, MIDDLE — The flow on March 10 was 2,410 cubic feet per second at Grants Pass. Fishing has been good in the Grants Pass area and down by Galice. Yarn balls, roe clusters, and plugs have been working well.
ROGUE RIVER, UPPER — As of March 10, the flow out of William Jess Dam (Lost Creek) was 904 cubic feet per second and the outflow temperature was 41 degrees. 1,711 winter steelhead have been counted at Gold Ray Dam as of March 6.
Angling continues to improve on the Upper Rogue. Winter steelhead are being caught by drifting egg patterns, bug and bubbles, and small bugs. Anglers are reminded that even during high water and turbid conditions along most of the Rogue, conditions are usually good between Big Butte Creek and Cole Rivers Hatchery where reservoir outflows predominate.
SODA SPRINGS RESERVOIR — Soda Springs reservoir is open for trout angling, but tributaries upstream of the reservoir are closed to angling until April 26, 2008.
SMITH RIVER — The Smith is currently open for adipose-fin clipped steelhead from the mouth upstream to Sisters Creek on the mainstem and the North Fork Smith from the mouth upstream to Bridge 10. Good numbers of stripers have recently been sighted in the North Fork of the Smith River. Striped bass season is open year round, 2 fish per 24 hours, 30-inch minimum size. The North Fork is open to Johnson Creek for stripers.
TOKETEE LAKE — Fishing is open in Toketee all year round. Fishing has been slow but the best fishing occurs early in the morning.
UMPQUA HIGH LAKESAND FOREBAYS — Diamond Lake and Lemolo Lake are closed. The other high cascade lakes are open year-round.
UMPQUA RIVER, MAINSTEM — Good numbers of fish are being caught throughout the mainstem by bank anglers. The river is also fishable by boat, however, heavy rains are predicted for late this week which could change conditions. Remember the mainstem Umpqua is now closed to wild steelhead harvest; it remains open year-round for adipose fin-clipped steelhead. Spring chinook have started coming up the Umpqua and a nice 31 pound springer was harvested last week about 4 miles below Elkton. From Scottsburg to Elkton tends to be the best angling for the early spring chinook.
UMPQUA RIVER, NORTH — The North has remained fishable. The most success has been from Colliding Rivers down. The warmer weather has gotten the fish on the move. There have been days when over 300 steelhead have passed Winchester Dam. To date, over 4,500 steelhead have passed Winchester Day. This puts the count to date at the third highest this decade. Remember that only adipose fin-clipped steelhead can be harvested on the North Umpqua.
UMPQUA RIVER, SOUTH — Angling conditions have been good recently although a storm front might move in later this week. Some rain would be good to warm up the water and get the fish moving again. Hatchery fish have started to move into the South Umpqua and some nice sized fish are being caught. In addition to several good drift boat floats between Canyonville and Roseburg, there are good bank angling opportunities at Templeton Beach, the Myrtle Creek bridge, Stanton Park, and behind Seven Feathers Casino. Remember the South Umpqua is open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead only.
WINCHESTER BAY — Fishing remains slow, although spring chinook should start arriving soon.
RECREATIONAL SHELLFISH — The entire Oregon Coast is open for recreational shellfishing. Always check for health advisories by calling the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Shellfish line at 1-800-448-2474 for updates.
George Reiswig, who will soon be 80 years old, was fishing from a pontoon boat on Cooper Creek Reservoir east of Sutherlin on March 4 with friends Jerry Fugate, Phillip Wood and John Michealjsky. They had started dropping their bobbers and Power bait into the water on the eastern end of the reservoir at about 9 a.m. They were using ultra light fishing tackle with 4-pound test line.
It was almost an hour before Fugate got the day’s first bite. But only seconds later, the line snapped. The anglers figured a big fish had taken the bait, if only for a short while.
But then just minutes later, a fish took a bite at Reiswig’s bait offering and got hooked. A 20-minute tug-of-war between the rainbow trout and Reiswig followed.
“It was jumping and splashing all over,” said Fugate. “It went from one side of the boat to the other. George was pretty scared of losing it. He fought it and fought it, and we finally got it in.”
The fish measured 26 1/4 inches long. Later at Larry’s Sporting Goods in Sutherlin, the fish weighed in at 9 pounds.
“In seven years of fishing here (Cooper Creek), that’s the biggest one I’ve seen,” said Fugate who had caught a 21-inch trout in the reservoir a year ago.
Fabian Carr, a fisheries biologist at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Roseburg office, said the fish was most likely from the Roaring River Hatchery and was released into the Cooper Creek Reservoir in 2006 or 2007. Trophy-sized rainbows have been placed in the reservoir prior to the Umpqua Fishery Enhancement Derby’s Kids Day in early February during each of the past several years.
The hatchery is a state facility located 18 miles northeast of Albany on a tributary of the South Santiam River. The average size of the fish stocked in the reservoir was 5 pounds.
In other fishing news, over 100 winter steelhead are being counted daily when going up the Winchester Dam fish ladder on the North Umpqua River. Only five percent of the count is hatchery while the rest are wild. The latter must be released back into the river if caught.
This week’s rain showers is expected to improve the fishing for steelhead.
Following is the weekly Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fishing report that is compiled by regional fisheries biologists.
BEN IRVING RESERVOIR — Ben Irving Reservoir, west of Winston, was stocked last week with about 2,000 catchable trout and will be stocked again the week of March 17.
CHETCO RIVER — Steelhead fishing will be slow until the Chetco receives enough rain to bring in a few more fresh fish. The peak is over, but anglers can continue to have great action on kelts (spawned-out fish) and some fresh fish. Some of the best action can be had pulling plugs or swinging flies.
Anglers have been doing the best early morning or late afternoon when the sun is off the water. Drift boat anglers will want to hit the river once it reaches 4000 cfs and dropping.
COQUILLE RIVER BASIN — Steelhead fishing is still good when the river conditions cooperate, with some large fish showing up in the catch this year. Laverne Park on the North Fork has had some good days recently and provides good bank access for anglers. The South Fork, which is popular with drift boaters and also has some bank access, has had a great year and is still fishing well; it fishes best when the Powers gauge is below 4 ft. Steelhead have been observed in the East Fork, which has steelhead returning to an acclimation site near Frona Park. The Middle Fork Coquille does not have a hatchery program but is a nice place for anglers wanting more solitude that don’t mind releasing their fish.
COOPER CREEK RESERVOIR — Cooper Creek was stocked with some 6 – 8 pound trophy trout and about 1,000 catchable-sized trout a few weeks ago. The reservoir was also stocked this week with some additional catchable trout. Nearby Plat I reservoir was also stocked this week with about 500 catchable trout. With the warmer valley temperatures, the water should have warmed up to improve the chances of catching some of these trout.
ELK/SIXES RIVER — Steelhead fishing has slowed in both rivers as most of the steelhead are spawning. Anglers should keep an eye on the weather and look for some new fish to enter the rivers on the next freshet. Elk River fishes best at 5.0 feet and dropping. Anglers can call Elk River Hatchery (541-332-7025) to get the latest gauge heights.
GALESVILLE RESERVIOR — Galesville Reservoir is open to angling year-round. Fishing for trout is currently fair. Some anglers report seeing external “worms” on a few of the trout, and in some trout’s gills. These are copepods, a fish parasite, which occur naturally throughout the watershed. The copepods can be removed and the fish safely consumed. The harvestable trout were 10–12 inches. The 25,000 sub-legal size trout which were stocked last fall in Galesville are approaching legal size. Anglers fishing the lake last weekend reported catching some fish just shy of legal size, plus the larger trout. Galesville was stocked last week with an additional 2,000 legal-sized trout.
HERBERT’S POND — Herbert’s Pond is a small pond just east of Canyonville on Tiller Highway. The pond has a good warm water fishery for kids includes bluegill, crappie, and bass. The pond was stocked last week with a couple hundred trout to provide some additional fishing opportunity while the pond is still cool enough to keep the trout healthy. The pond has very good bank access.
LOON LAKE — Loon Lake was stocked with about 2,000 catchable trout last week and will receive another stocking of catchable trout the week of March 17. In addition, there were almost 6,000 sub-legal trout stock last fall that should be approaching 8 inches for legal harvest.
PACIFIC OCEAN AND BEACHES — Late winter/early spring is the best time for surfperch fishing from the beaches. The best areas are generally the steeper beaches. Anglers should cast into the surf with enough weight to hold your setup from moving with the current. Sand shrimp is a common and effective bait but others can work well also.
Bottom fishing is generally good in the winter when the water conditions are calm. Anglers should be cautious of the ocean and bar conditions which can change quickly. Bank anglers have reported fair success fishing off the rocks.
ROGUE RIVER, LOWER — With low flows and nearing the end of the winter steelhead run, boat and bank anglers are starting to turn their attention the spring chinook. Anglers are reminded that there are new regulations in effect for spring chinook on the Rogue River.
ROGUE RIVER, MIDDLE — The flow on March 10 was 2,410 cubic feet per second at Grants Pass. Fishing has been good in the Grants Pass area and down by Galice. Yarn balls, roe clusters, and plugs have been working well.
ROGUE RIVER, UPPER — As of March 10, the flow out of William Jess Dam (Lost Creek) was 904 cubic feet per second and the outflow temperature was 41 degrees. 1,711 winter steelhead have been counted at Gold Ray Dam as of March 6.
Angling continues to improve on the Upper Rogue. Winter steelhead are being caught by drifting egg patterns, bug and bubbles, and small bugs. Anglers are reminded that even during high water and turbid conditions along most of the Rogue, conditions are usually good between Big Butte Creek and Cole Rivers Hatchery where reservoir outflows predominate.
SODA SPRINGS RESERVOIR — Soda Springs reservoir is open for trout angling, but tributaries upstream of the reservoir are closed to angling until April 26, 2008.
SMITH RIVER — The Smith is currently open for adipose-fin clipped steelhead from the mouth upstream to Sisters Creek on the mainstem and the North Fork Smith from the mouth upstream to Bridge 10. Good numbers of stripers have recently been sighted in the North Fork of the Smith River. Striped bass season is open year round, 2 fish per 24 hours, 30-inch minimum size. The North Fork is open to Johnson Creek for stripers.
TOKETEE LAKE — Fishing is open in Toketee all year round. Fishing has been slow but the best fishing occurs early in the morning.
UMPQUA HIGH LAKESAND FOREBAYS — Diamond Lake and Lemolo Lake are closed. The other high cascade lakes are open year-round.
UMPQUA RIVER, MAINSTEM — Good numbers of fish are being caught throughout the mainstem by bank anglers. The river is also fishable by boat, however, heavy rains are predicted for late this week which could change conditions. Remember the mainstem Umpqua is now closed to wild steelhead harvest; it remains open year-round for adipose fin-clipped steelhead. Spring chinook have started coming up the Umpqua and a nice 31 pound springer was harvested last week about 4 miles below Elkton. From Scottsburg to Elkton tends to be the best angling for the early spring chinook.
UMPQUA RIVER, NORTH — The North has remained fishable. The most success has been from Colliding Rivers down. The warmer weather has gotten the fish on the move. There have been days when over 300 steelhead have passed Winchester Dam. To date, over 4,500 steelhead have passed Winchester Day. This puts the count to date at the third highest this decade. Remember that only adipose fin-clipped steelhead can be harvested on the North Umpqua.
UMPQUA RIVER, SOUTH — Angling conditions have been good recently although a storm front might move in later this week. Some rain would be good to warm up the water and get the fish moving again. Hatchery fish have started to move into the South Umpqua and some nice sized fish are being caught. In addition to several good drift boat floats between Canyonville and Roseburg, there are good bank angling opportunities at Templeton Beach, the Myrtle Creek bridge, Stanton Park, and behind Seven Feathers Casino. Remember the South Umpqua is open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead only.
WINCHESTER BAY — Fishing remains slow, although spring chinook should start arriving soon.
RECREATIONAL SHELLFISH — The entire Oregon Coast is open for recreational shellfishing. Always check for health advisories by calling the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Shellfish line at 1-800-448-2474 for updates.
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