» Fishing report

Thursday, March 19, 2009 | 1 comment(s) Local lakes: The rain didn’t stop Patrick and Andrew Lowe of Bandon from fishing at Bradley Lake last Saturday. They caught a total of 26 rainbow trout, of which they kept five holdover rainbows that measured between 15 and 24 inches each. Andrew was trolling a whole nightcrawler, and his dad was trolling a rainbow-colored Blue Fox Pixie. They caught their fish near the west end of the lake near the sand dunes in about 10 feet of water.

Thirty-acre Bradley Lake is located about four miles south of Bandon and slightly less than a mile west of U.S. Highway 101 on Bradley Lake Road. The lake is scheduled to be stocked with 200 two-pound-plus trophy-size rainbow trout and 3,000 other legal-size rainbows next week.

Local rivers: As South Coast rivers dropped into shape last week, anglers continued to catch some nice bright winter steelhead. Jim Vantress of California caught and released a 39-inch, 22-pound native winter steelhead that he caught while side-drifting the South Fork of the Coquille River. Robert Johnson of Bandon caught and released nine- and 15-pound native steelhead, and kept two chrome-bright hatchery fish on the South Fork last week. Keith Bauer of Bandon brought in an 8.5-pound chromer that he caught on the Elk River side-drifting salmon roe. Anglers fishing the lower Rogue River for spring Chinook reported decent fishing last week. Larry from the Rogue Outdoor Store in Gold Beach told me they were receiving reports of three to six fish being caught per day. The rivers have since muddied up after last weekend’s rains. Look for winter steelhead and spring salmon fishing to continue as river levels drop.

Pacific Ocean: Jason and Craig Strickland of Bandon caught nine black rockfish and one lingcod fishing from the jetty in Port Orford last weekend. Anglers fishing around the shoreline rocks in Port Orford also are catching a nice mixed bag of greenling and striped sea perch.

Area shellfish: It looks like Weber’s Pier in Bandon will reopen any day now. With a new surface and railing, which now matches the boardwalk, Weber’s Pier looks incredible. Thanks to the Port of Bandon and local contractor Wayne Strong, we can proudly say we have one of the best port facilities on the Oregon coast. Crabbing in Bandon remains slow due to the large amount of fresh water in the bay. Crabbers are still reporting decent crabbing in Charleston and Port Orford.

(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. Hear more on ‘Oregon Outdoors’ Thursdays on KWRO 630 AM.)