Paul Hoobyar with a 30-inch chrome Rogue River winter steelhead, the last fish of the day.
Welcome back to Haiku Monday, where Fish Hack is letting the steelhead out of the bag by declaring that the upper Rogue River — Fish Hack’s home waters — is officially open for business.
Fresh steelhead are now spread out Rogue-wide, and the upper Rogue has plenty enough fish for us locals to stay home instead of hitting Galice or Grants Pass for our February steelhead fix.
The steelhead are here./Whack a limit close to home./Beats all that driving.
For you few Haiku Monday virgins still out there, this is when and where Fish Hack waxes on and off non-Brazilian style about the outdoors and whatever the hell else comes to mind.
Plus a little Fish Porn whenever possible.
Here’s former Rogue guide Paul Hoobyar with one of the three chromers Fish Hack rowed him into Saturday on the upper Rogue. Included a 30-inch hatchery fish that saw its eyes turned into X’s with the ceremonious nip from the flask and rip of the gill.
X-ing out those eyes/Puts fresh fish on the table/And a whiskey pull.
Hooked seven, boated three. Nice day on Hack’s fave stretch.
That’s about a month earlier than Hack used to get that kind of action upstream ofwhat used to be Gold Ray Dam.
Is dam-removal the reason?
Too many variables to say. Steelhead actually a few weeks later than last year. It’s more about water flows and temperatures than dams in the way. Those cold stretches that we’ve had the past two months don’t help getting the steelhead on their horse.
But 3-for-7 on Feb. 9 is a hell of a early run.
Like Hack says…if they’re here early, steelhead tend to be here often.
Good start to season:/Fresh steelhead in upper Rogue/Hack’s home waters rock.
