Sports Page Updated: Thursday, October 1, 2009 5:05 AM PDT

Fishing report

By Tony Roszkowski

Local lakes: Fishing for largemouth bass should continue to get better as the days get shorter and water temperatures in area lakes cool down. Look for these fish to become more aggressive in their feeding habits as winter approaches. Fishing top-water baits for aggressive bass can be very productive at this time of year. Trout anglers should remember that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s final 2009 stocking of trophy-size rainbow trout in Bradley, Empire, Powers and Saunders lakes is scheduled for next week.

On Sept. 18, the Oregon Department of Human Services issued a blue-green algae advisory on Tenmile Lakes. Harmful algae blooms occur when microscopic plants grow quickly in marine or fresh water, using up oxygen and releasing toxins that are dangerous to animals and humans. Because no single agency has the resources or mandate to address the problem, a key goal for harmful algae bloom surveillance is to develop relationships with partners and stakeholders so data can be collected and shared, and coordination of effort can occur. According to employees of Lakeside Marina, small pockets of algae exist on South Lake, with no known algae on North Lake. Cooler temperatures and forecasted rains should help disperse any future algae blooms.

Local rivers: Anglers salmon fishing on the lower Rogue River at Gold Beach are still picking up some nice Chinook salmon. There also are plenty of fin-clipped coho being caught in the bay. Summer steelhead fishing near Agness is slow, with reports of scattered fish throughout the lower river. Fishing for Chinook salmon on the lower Coquille River slowed down over the weekend. We are still seeing a few nice kings being caught, with the majority of the fish being coho salmon. Large numbers of coho have moved into the bay and lower river. ODFW estimates that about 50 percent of the 1,500-wild coho quota has been reached. Salmon fishing also slowed down on the Coos River over the weekend. With larger tide exchanges and rain in the forecast, look for fishing to heat up again. A few king salmon have been caught in the lower Chetco River recently. Remember, you are restricted to one wild Chinook salmon per day and only two per year on the Chetco this year.

Pacific Ocean: Wind and large swells kept most boats in port over the weekend. With the ocean coho season ending on Wednesday, look for anglers to target bottom fish when conditions improve. Looks like albacore fishing is all but done for the year. ODFW said that the 2009 tuna season was the second-best sport year on record.

Area shellfish: Crabbing in Bandon has slowed down, with boaters still catching a few nice crab. Dock crabbing on Weber’s Pier has been slow during the day, with a few crab being caught on evening tides. Reports from Charleston and Winchester Bay have been much better. Local beaches are still closed for the harvesting of clams and mussels due to high levels of P.S.P. toxins. Local bays are not affected and are still open to bay clammers.

(Tony Roszkowski has owned and operated Port O’ Call — Tony’sCrabShack.com — on the Bandon waterfront since 1989. Many South Coast anglers rely on his fish and shellfish reports. Hear more from Tony on ‘Oregon Outdoors’ Thursdays on KWRO 630 AM.)