ODFW Recreation Report
January 23, 2020
Highlights from this week’s Recreation Report:
Hunters have just one week to report their 2019 hunts
Hunters have until Jan. 31 to report their 2019 hunts. If you purchased a tag, reporting is mandatory even if you didn’t hunt or harvest an animal.
Last week for Zone 1 duck hunters
Zone 1 duck season ends on Jan. 26. Waterfowl’s success has been picking up thanks to recent stormy conditions. Given the current forecast, the last week of the season could be good.
Register your new hunter for a hunter education class/course
Hunters 17 years old and younger need to complete a hunter education course and field day before they hunt this fall. Traditional classes and field days are available now, and online courses can be taken anytime. Taking care of hunter education now will be one less thing to worry about as hunting season approaches.
Best bets for fishing
- Steelhead fishing has been hot on the Chetco. Current conditions have been favoring anglers plunking from the bank.
- Anglers have been catching steelhead on the lower Rogue using a variety of techniques, but plunking is the current favorite.
- Anglers have been landing winter steelhead in the Galice area of the middle Rogue. With rain in the forecast, except steelhead numbers to increase.
- Trout have been biting in the Holy Water, the stretch of the upper Rogue between the hatchery and the Lost Creek Lake spillway.
- Bank anglers are catching some nice trout from the bank at Ochoco Reservoir, which also will get 100 brood trout this week.
- The Crooked River continues to offer good opportunities for trout and whitefish up to 16 inches.
- It’s getting to be prime time for winter steelhead on the Sandy and Clackamas rivers. Keep an eye on water levels and be ready to hit the waters as they begin to drop.
- Ice conditions, and fishing, have been good on Chickahominy Reservoir.
- Steelhead fishing on the Grande Ronde can be quite good in January and February when flows cooperate. Look for uncrowded conditions and lots of open water.
Deadline to apply for a spring bear tag is Feb. 10
The controlled spring black bear season opens April 1.
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