Anglers Are Picking Up Winter Steelhead on A Pretty Regular Basis

Rogue River - Middle - Grants Pass, OR (Josephine County)


by OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Staff
3-18-2021
Website

Wild steelhead can now be retained in the whole Rogue basin, as long as the fish is a minimum of 24 inches long. Only 1 wild fish per day, and 3 per year zone wide in aggregate may be kept. 

Anglers are picking up winter steelhead on a pretty regular basis. The action isn’t exactly red hot, but there are fish in the system. More winter fish are showing in the fishery every day. If targeting water below the Applegate River, you’ll get the chance to target both Rogue and Applegate hatchery fish. A small bump in flows as a result of early week rain is expected for Thursday but then the river should be dropping nicely all weekend. Running plugs from a drift boat or drifting nightcrawlers or eggs, eggs/shrimp, soft beads, or yarn balls are all good bets.

Locally-owned and operated tackle and fly shops in Grants Pass have excellent gear and very fresh bait, local flies and knowledge that is specific to the Rogue and to your particular technique. Go check them out and offer them support during this time.

It is illegal to snag and keep a snagged fish, whether it’s wild or hatchery! Report violations to Oregon State Police by calling *OSP.

Wednesday morning the flow was 1850 cfs, turbidity was 3 NTU and water temps in the mid 40s at the Grants Pass gauging station. Conditions look very good. Friday is expected to see a bump in flow with it leveling off on Saturday, but then conditions should be pretty good beginning Saturday afternoon and into early next week.

For those interested in checking conditions before getting on the river, the City of Grants Pass Water Division’s website offers information on river conditions at Grants Pass as well as a link to a river camera. Anglers can check all the USGS gaging stations, which have the most current temperatures and river flows here.




More Reports

OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Reports
for Thursday, March 18th, 2021
: ODFW Recreation Report
Applegate River: Anglers Are Reporting Good Fishing
Emigrant Reservoir: Warmwater Fishing Should Start To Pick Up
Galesville Reservoir: Recently Stocked
Garrison Lake: Spring Months Can Be A Good Time To Fish The Lake
Howard Prairie Reservoir: Howard Prairie Report
Hyatt Lake: Ice Likely Not Thick Enough To Safely Fish
Illinois River: Conditions Are Looking Good Through Thursday
Rogue River- Lower: Fishing Effort Has Slowed

OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Reports
for Thursday, March 11th, 2021

Ana River: Ana River is A Great Match-The hatch Fly Fishing River
Applegate River: Anglers Reporting Good Fishing Last Week Prior to The Rain
Ben Irving Reservoir: Fishing Should Be Pretty Good This Week
Chetco River: Fish Movement Has Been Slow & Fishing Pressure is Down
Coquille River: Steelhead Fishing Has Been Slow
Diamond Lake: Anglers Have Been Catching Some Nice Trout
Elk River: Anglers Are Doing Well on Steelhead This Season
Emigrant Reservoir: Reservoir is Slowly Rising
Galesville Reservoir: Reservoir is on The Rise
Howard Prairie Reservoir: Expect Weather to Bounce Around A Lot This Week
Illinois River: Conditions Are Looking Good Through The Week
Lake Selmac: Received Its First Stocking About Three Weeks Ago
Rogue River- Lower: Expect to Start Seeing Early-Run Spring Chinook Soon
Rogue River - Middle: More Winter Fish Are Showing Up Everyday
Rogue River- Upper: Winter Fish Are in The Mix
Umpqua River: River is Continuing to Drop
Alsea River: River is Now Low and Clear
Kilchis River: Kilchis is Low and Very Clear
Necanicum River: Still Some Opportunity For Catch and Release
Nehalem River: Mainstem is in Prime Condition
Nestucca River: Fishable and Should Be All Week
Siletz River: Steelhead Fishing Has Slowed Down Again
Siuslaw River: Still Some Fish Being Caught
Trask River: Trask is Low and Clear
Wilson River: Steelhead Fishing Has Been Slow to Fair
Clackamas River: Fishing is Beginning to Pick Up
Sandy River: Sandy River Report
Willamette River: Willamette River Report
John Day River: River Flows Have Been on The Rise
: Eastern Oregon archery elk hunting changes being considered
: ODFW Recreation Report