» Fish Report

Thursday, March 27, 2008 | No comments posted. Local lakes: Two anglers reported catching their limits of rainbow trout at Garrison Lake in Port Orford recently. They caught their trout trolling wedding-ring spinners tipped with nightcrawlers. Try fishing brass or gold spinners on cloudy days, and silver spinners on sunny days.

Several trophy-size rainbows were taken at Empire Lakes on Monday. The fish averaged 1.5 to 2 pounds each and were caught on a combination of power bait and nightcrawlers. Next week, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is scheduled to stock an additional 6,000 legal-size rainbow trout in Empire Lakes. Johnson Mill Pond near Coquille and Powers Pond at Powers are scheduled to receive 4,000 legal-size trout each.

Largemouth bass fishing at Tenmile Lakes continues to improve as water temperatures reached 50 degrees recently. One angler weighed in a bass just shy of seven pounds at a local tournament last weekend.

Local rivers: A few more spring Chinook salmon have been caught on the lower Rogue and Umpqua rivers. Spring Chinook fishing traditionally picks up in April. Bobber Don of Bandon brought by a nice winter steelhead that he caught on the south fork of the Coquille River. He also told me about a larger fish that spooled him (took his line and got away). Some South Coast rivers will close to winter steelhead fishing on March 31. The Coquille and Coos systems will remain open through April.

Beaches and jetties: Fishing for surf perch can be slow if you’re too close to a river’s mouth. This time of year, fresh water entering the ocean can affect fishing conditions. Try fishing farther up or down the beach.

One angler reported catching his limit of sea trout from the jetty at Port Orford. He was fishing the incoming tide and using live sand shrimp. Sea trout (greenling) are considered to be rock fish. The daily catch limit on sea trout is six fish total, with a 10-inch minimum length. The Cribbs, which is an extension of the north jetty inside Coos Bay, is a great place to fish for rock cod when ocean conditions are rough. Anglers use traditional rock cod methods, but usually reduce the size of their weights and baits. Charts of the Coos Bay area are available and can be purchased at Englund Marine in Charleston.

(Tony Roszkowski has owned and operated Port O’ Call on the Bandon waterfront since 1989. Many South Coast anglers rely on his fish and shellfish reports.)