Bait can again be used in the entire Rogue from the mouth upstream to Fishers Ferry.  Wild steelhead cannot be retained above Hog Creek until Feb. 1. Wild steelhead must be 24 inches in length to harvest, with a limit of 1 per day/3 per year zone wide in aggregate with other SW rivers where wild steelhead are allowed to be harvested (consult regulations). 

Anglers will likely start to encounter down-running spawned out fish (also known as kelts). Handle these fish with care if you encounter them.

Winter fish are being caught from Galice to Rogue River. A winter fish was last reported as high as Touvelle. Still the bulk of the winter fish will likely be below Grants Pass at this time.  Some fish have been caught as high as Grants Pass and Rogue River areas. Anglers are picking up fish with jigs, roe and yarnies. Fishing under an indicator can be productive, and plugs are still a great choice when fished from a drift boat. The bulk of the winter steelhead in the middle Rogue don’t typically show until February and peak in March into April.

Local tackle and fly shops in the Grants Pass area have all the gear you may need, and very fresh bait. Check them out and offer them your support.

Expect the river to be pretty steady for the foreseeable future. Some rain is forecast for late this weekend, as it doesn’t look like this weekends rain will have an appreciable effect on the river level in Grants Pass. As of Wednesday morning the flow in Grants Pass was 1,550 cfs/ 1.5 ft and dropping slowly. The water clarity was 3 NTU and a chilly 39 degrees on Wednesday morning. Current flow, temp and turbidity conditions for the Rogue can be found at the USGS stream gauges here, or checking the City of Grants Pass water page’s river data here.