December 6, 2019 3:30 a.m.
Low flow angling closures will be lifted on south coast rivers starting on Saturday.
A release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the change impacts the Sixes, Elk, Chetco, and Winchuck rivers. River conditions improved after recent storms, allowing fall chinook to migrate throughout the mainstems of these rivers after one of the driest Novembers on record on the south coast.
The release said closure boundaries were suggested by anglers who attended public meetings this past spring and who overwhelmingly supported low flow closures in October and November knowing those would be lifted once water levels rose.
ODFW Gold Beach District Biologist Steve Mazur said current temporary zone harvest limit reductions for wild chinook have not been removed. The Pistol River and Hunter and Floras creeks remain closed.
Mazur said even though the department is lifting these water closures, current zone regulations, some adopted through the Rogue Fall Chinook Conversation planning process are in place to protect fall chinook spawning areas.
The temporary fall chinook bag limit reductions remain in effect through the end of the year, according to the release.