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October 24, 2024
CENTRAL POINT, Ore. – Temporary wild winter steelhead harvest limits are in place for the Rogue-South Coast winter steelhead season (Dec. 1, 2024 – Apr. 30, 2025):
- Lower Rogue River (mouth of the Rogue to the confluence with the Illinois River: one wild steelhead may be kept during the winter steelhead season.
- Illinois River and the Rogue River between the Illinois River and Cole Rivers Hatchery: all wild winter steelhead must be released unharmed.
This harvest reduction is in accordance with a conservation trigger adopted in the Rogue-South Coast Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan.
Anglers can still retain hatchery winter steelhead per zone regulations.
For the Rogue River, the catch of wild half-pounder steelhead during annual ODFW fish counts at Huntley Park is used to predict population status two years in the future.
The average catch in 2022 and 2023 was 285 half-pounders. This is just below the conservation trigger of 300 wild half-pounders which is why the wild winter steelhead harvest is restricted for this season. Wild half-pounder numbers rebounded in 2024, so no restrictions will be in place for the 2025-2026 winter steelhead fishery.
Anglers can begin purchasing the Rogue-South Coast Steelhead Validation and Wild Harvest Tags on Nov. 1. The validation is required to angle for steelhead – including catch-and-release – in the Rogue and South Coast basins from Dec. 1-Apr. 30. If an angler wants to keep a wild winter steelhead in this area, the wild steelhead harvest tag is needed.
Wild harvest is permanently not allowed in some streams in the Rogue-South Coast area in addition to this year’s temporary wild harvest restrictions. Anglers should always check regulations before going fishing.
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