A few coho may still be found, but with the last onslaught of water they are probably few and far between. Summer steelhead fishing can still be found in the upper river, and will continue to trickle into the Cole Rivers Hatchery in February. Anglers will likely be starting to encounter down-runner summer Steelhead (also known as kelts), that have recently spawned. Please handle these fish with care and release them. 

Wild winter Steelhead can be retained after Feb. 1, upstream of Hog Creek. Only 1 fish with a minimum length of 24 inches can be harvest per day as part of the daily limit, and 3 wild fish in aggregate for the year in the Rogue and other waterbodies of the SW zone where wild steelhead may be harvested. Consult the 2022 sportfishing regulations and SW zone for more information. 

As of Dec. 28, 2021, 19 additional coho entered the Cole Rivers Hatchery ladder, bringing the year’s total run to 2494 fish. The run is most likely over and is 200 percent of the 10-year average! An additional 178 summer steelhead entered the ladder bringing the years total to 2,865 fish. Likely this represents about 80-90 percent of the years run. Fish will continue to trickle in through February. The first winter steelhead of the year has not yet shown.

When much of the rest of the Rogue is muddy or blown out, the upper river above Rogue Elk Park is in much better shape, depending on what Big Butte Creek is flowing at. Above Big Butte Creek near Casey and McGregor Park will always be the less turbid water.  Currently the McCloud Guage is reading 1,540 cfs with the hatchery guage reading 943 cfs, so Big Butte Creek is responsible for about 600 cfs input on Wednesday morning.  You can check all the USGS rogue gauges here.