Southern Oregon/ Umpqua and Rogue Rivers

Just wanted to share some pics from my early May trip to Southern Oregon.  They've really got it good up there for sport fishing.  these are a few pics from a fish ladder that we just ran into as we were heading south from portland to rogue river city.  Apparently we had just missed a massive influx of springers.  but we lucked out and still saw this nice hatchery chinook.  If you lookin in the holding tank, i've taken a picture of a sturgeon that was set to be released.

Further southeast, we came across the grandest hatchery i have ever seen in my entire life.  It's way up the rogue, and it blew my mind.  there were guys fishing right out of the tailwaters of a dam, knocking em dead.  I'm talking trout left and right, and picking up steelhead occassionally.  This kid caught these two steelies within a 30 minute stretch just before we got there.  Not a bad haul, eh?

nice pics! I aways wanted to visit a Hatchery. Did you have to pay to visit?

Pay to visit?!  HELL NO!  They practically pay YOU!  I'm telling you, those hatchery guys are so thankful to anyone who expresses a sincere interest in their work, they'll give you the grand tour. 

Sweet. My mom lives in Shady Cove, on the upper Rogue- and I'm going to be there in a week and a half.  Four years she's been there, and we haven't managed to get that far. I haven't fished that area in almost twenty years, but used to have fun with the shad on the lower Umpqua, and the salmon and steelhead on the upper rivers. (I spent a few springs planting trees on the Tiller RD.)