Winter steelhead fishing should start to pick up in the Lower Rogue. Anglers might want to try swinging flies, tossing spinners or running plugs. When expecting rain and rising river levels, consider switching tactics and anchor up and back-bounce eggs.

Bank anglers will want to look for fish on inside of bends in the river and slots along willow banks.

The river is open year-round for hatchery steelhead harvest. Beginning January 1, 2020, wild steelhead may be harvested 1/day and 3/year as part of a daily or annual salmon steelhead bag limit from the mouth of the Rogue up to Hog Creek. The wild steelhead bag limit is accumulative zone-wide. 

Current river flows are reported by the gage in Agness on the USGS website. Note that this gage is above the Illinois River mouth and does not account for that additional water flow.

For a current view of the Rogue from the Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge in Gold Beach, check out the ODOT’s camera.