The Hatchery Hole, which encompasses the reach of river from Cole Rivers Hatchery Blocker Dam to 1,200 feet downstream, is currently closed to ALL FISHING through July 31. In the remainder of the upper Rogue, only hatchery steelhead and hatchery spring Chinook can be retained.

Anglers are mostly targeting spring Chinook in the upper River right now. Only hatchery Chinook may be retained. Plugs wrapped with an anchovy/herring are usually the ticket.  Back-bouncing with bait such as roe, roe and sandshimp, or even tuna bellies are good tickets. 

Trout fishing on the mainstem Rogue is open. Only adipose fin-clipped trout may be retained. Summer steelhead are starting to show and cutthroat fishing has been very good. 

As of June 16, two more winter steelhead entered the ladder at Cole Rivers Hatchery, bringing this year’s total to 1,558 fish and pretty close to being the end of the run. A nice push of 287 spring Chinook brought this years total to 542 fish, far below the long-term average. Twelve fresh summer steelhead also entered the ladder bringing the total to 24 fish for the year. The hatchery sort typically occurs on Wednesdays and new numbers weren’t available at the time of writing this report. However, staff indicated a couple hundred fish were likely in the ladder.                                                                                 

Flows continue to decrease this week from 2,300 cfs and are expected to reach 1800 cfs coming out of William L. Jess Dam by Wednesday morning. 

Locally-owned and operated tackle and fly shops in Medford, Shady Cove, and Ashland 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.

For the latest fish counts, call into the Lost Creek Reservoir hotline or check the MyODFW.com fish counts page.

For the most current releases of water out of Lost Creek Reservoir, call 1-800-472-2434. For real time streamflow from USGS gauges on the Rogue click here.