Applegate River Report

OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Staff

Report Date:

http://www.dfw.state.or.us

The river is open to trout fishing. Only hatchery trout may be retained, 2 per day. All wild rainbow trout and cutthroat trout should be immediately released unharmed.

Winter steelhead fishing opened on Jan. 1. The Applegate on average has a later returning run of winter steelhead with fish typically not showing up until late February to March, but with the higher river flows this year compared to the last few, don’t be surprised if some early winter fish start nosing into the Applegate in the next few weeks. Only hatchery steelhead may be retained in the Applegate. Best bets for a winter fish would likely be below Fish Hatchery County Park.

There is limited public access on the Applegate, and often anglers will float in small rafts or pontoons. However, anglers are reminded that there is no fishing from a floating device allowed, but bait can be used. There are public lands available for access such as Jackson Campground, Jin Lin Trail area, McKee Bridge and small BLM parcels in the vicinity on East Side road, Cantrall Buckley, an ODOT gravel pullout upstream of Murphy, Fish Hatchery County Park, and the Hwy 199 bridge.

Floating from Jackson Campground or McKee Bridge is not recommended as large logs have been known to be wedged across the river between canyons, and there is bank access in this vicinity. Cantrall Buckley to the Murphy pullout is a good float but you’ll encounter a lot of private property along the banks. Often anglers that float from Fish Hatchery Park or the 199 bridge will take out at White Horse/Lathrop County Park on the north bank of the Rogue. Flows around 600-1000 cfs at Wilderville are good water levels for floating. Just be aware of tight corners, snags and private property. The Applegate River has never been adjudicated for navigability, so keep that in mind when pulling over to fish pools and riffles. It’s best to stay below ordinary highwater, not be confrontational with any landowners, and have a GPS to locate landlocked public parcels to fish from unless you have permission from landowners.

As of Wednesday morning, the Wilderville stream gage was reading 5.86 cfs/2.89 ft., slowly dropping, and a chilly 38.5 degrees F. Water temperature is 41 degrees F and 449 cfs coming out of the dam. You can check the USGS stream gage flows on the Applegate when planning a trip.

More Reports


OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Reports
for Thursday, January 27th, 2022
Ana River: This can be an excellent time of year to fish Ana Rivers
Malheur Reservoir: The no bag limit emergency regulation on this reservoir is no longer in effect
Owyhee Reservoir: Anglers may have some success targeting redband trout and crappie this winter
Thief Valley Reservoir: Thief Valley Reservoir was very low throughout much of last year
Agate Lake: This is mostly a crappie and bluegill fishery with some bass in the mix
Ben Irving Reservoir:  New habitat structures in the upper reservoir may produce some good bass
Diamond Lake: Anglers are catching a few out on the ice
Emigrant Reservoir: Don’t expect much for fishing success out here
Expo Pond: Expect very cold mornings with very limited success
Fish Lake :  Anglers were still catching fish through the ice this past weekend
Galesville Reservoir: The boat ramp is just usable and anglers are taking advantage of it
Illinois River:  Flows continue to drop but are still very fishable
Lake Selmac: Bass fishing should remain fair
Lemolo Lake: Trout should be hungry for those willing to try fishing
Lost Creek Lake: The lake is still well below average
Plat I Reservoir: Plat I is a great place to fish for warmwater fish this time of year
Rogue River - Middle: Winter fish are being caught from Galice to Rogue River
Rogue River- Upper: For the week of Jan. 19, 56 new summer steelhead entered the ladder bringing the year’s total to 3,128 fish
Umpqua River: Good number of fish in the main
Kilchis River: The Kilchis will be getting very low and clear this week
Clackamas River: Winter steelhead can now be found throughout the Clackamas River
Henry Hagg Lake: Hagg Lake continues to receive regular stocking
Sandy River: Winter steelhead can now be found throughout the Sandy River
Santiam River ( North Fork) :  For the next few months things are going to be fairly quiet as far as fishing on the river goes
Santiam River (South Fork): Currently flows are around 4,800 cfs at the Waterloo gage
Timber Linn Lake: Will be stocked this week with about 1,000 hatchery trout
Walling Pond: The pond was stocked last week
Waverly Lake: This lake was stocked last week
Crooked River: Anglers report fair fishing with the recent warm weather
Fall River: Anglers report good fishing in Fall River with the recent warm weather
Hood River: Winter steelhead are currently returning to the Hood River basin
Metolius River: Anglers report hit and miss blue wing olive hatches
Grande Ronde River: Last week, the Grande Ronde River rose about six inches and turned slightly murky
Brownlee Reservoir: Fishing will likely improve later in the year as the weather warm


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