Rogue River and Southern Oregon Fly Fishing Guide: Oregon Drought Angling Restrictions

There is a huge misconception out there about these closures. The Williamson, Wood, and Upper Rogue are, but a few of Oregon's Rivers that are not affected by the regulations, and for good reasons. First the upper section of the Rogue is kept cool by to cool flows from the Dam. I have seen the temps rise in August, so we aren't out of the woods yet, but it should start cooling at the end of August when the big push of Summers start making their way up the river.

The basin trout is also not in danger, except for the Lake fish that don't find the springs. If you hook a fish that's slow and sluggish, get them in asap, keep them wet, revive it thoroughly and change spots. Klamath Fish are mean, they usually jump , and make several runs. if they aren't acting that way quit fishing.

With that said there are plenty of springs where the fish congregate. These are places where water temps stay from the low to mid 60's. Find these places and you will find fish.

The Wood, Williamson, and other Basin Spring Fed rivers are in Great shape! The Williamson is running 58-60 degrees in the shallow riffles below the warming waters of the Sprague and under 50's above that. Perfect water for trout. The fish we hooked yesterday all made several jumps and huge runs! Their was no signs of a stressed fish anywhere.

Even if the fish aren't stressed always remember that they are use to the cold temps of the water they are in, and the high air temps are hard on them, keeping the fish wet is the best bet.

Lets hope we get some water this winter so the fish will have all they need, until then we need to fish where the water temps allow.

Please note: Most recent updates are shown in bold red text.

Revised July 16, 2015

News:

July 16, 2015: ODFW takes action to help native fish
July 2, 2015: High water temperatures stressful on fish

SOUTHEAST ZONE ANGLING HOUR RESTRICTIONS:

Beginning Saturday, July 18, 2015 until further notice, all waterbodies defined as ‘streams’ in the 2015 Oregon Sports Fishing Regulations will be closed to angling for trout, salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon from 2 P.M. to one hour before sunrise, daily.

The following areas will remain open for angling for these species during normal hours under 2015 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations:

Klamath Basin streams,
Malheur River and tributaries,
Owyhee River downstream of Owyhee Reservoir, and
Blitzen River and tributaries upstream of Page Springs Weir and Bridge Creek.

Angling for warmwater gamefish and other fish, as defined in the regulations, remains open under normal rules.

For more information contact your local ODFW office:

Hines (541) 573-6582
Lakeview (541) 947-2950
Ontario (541) 889-6975
Klamath Falls (541) 883-5732

SOUTHWEST ZONE ANGLING HOUR RESTRICTIONS:

The following areas will remain open for angling for these species during normal hours under 2015 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations:

All SW Zone tidewater areas – tidewater is defined as ‘stream or estuary waters affected by daily ebb and flow of tides (Page 7, 2015 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations).
Mainstem Rogue River from Fishers Ferry upstream to William Jess Dam,
All Rogue River tributaries upstream of William Jess Dam/Lost Creek Reservoir.

Angling for warmwater gamefish and other fish, as defined in the regulations, remains open under normal rules.