12 Winter 2010 Applegater Applegater Winter 2010 13 longer steelhead spend in fresh water before spawning, generally the darker and more colorful they become. PHOTO 3 The classic lines of a nice cutthroat BY ED REILLY caught on the Rogue River below the mouth of the Applegate. Note the numerous fine spots and long jaw bone which extends past the back edge of the eye. PHOTO 4 A fish eye perspective of Chinook on 4 5 6 redds in the Applegate, near Jackson Park. These fish are getting ready to spawn. susceptible to changes in the freshwater burrow in small substrates such as known about their distribution in the Photos by Chris Volpe except the environment, such as dewatered stream sand or detritus, and filter feed on Applegate River. They are generally lamprey photo, by Jennifer Smith PHOTO 5 channels resulting from drought or nutrients washed downstream on the thought to be found in the same Chinook salmon excavating redds irrigation withdrawals. current. When conditions are right, areas as Coho, though it is known Map by Ed Reilly.Chris Volpe (the clean patches of gravel in the Steelhead: Steelhead are they metamorphose into a creature that they are present much farther foreground) in the Applegate River, near rainbow trout that migrate to the complete with eyes and a curious upstream in the Little Applegate River. PHOTO 1 Jackson Park, 10/20/2009. Salmonids Juvenile coho in Star Gulch, an ocean and back. These are the athletes mouth which features a sucking disc Though weak swimmers, they have the prefer shallows, such as those found Applegate River tributary. Fish at this at the tail outs of pools or the heads of of the fish world, capable of ascending and formidable rasping teeth. At this remarkable ability to ascend vertical stage are called parr, owing to the dusky great distances up smallish streams, stage, called a macropthalmia, the surfaces, thanks to their sucker disc. riffles to spawn in, as these areas have vertical bars, or “parr marks”, which both suitable substrates (cobbles and and are known for their ability to pass fish migrate towards the ocean, where So while a ten-foot-tall waterfall may adorn their sides. The small fish looking gravels) and a steady supply of well obstacles such as small waterfalls which they will attach themselves to a host not block them, a culvert perched even on near the “Y” of the stick is a sculpin, oxygenated water to protect and nourish the salmon are unable to negotiate. organism (such as a salmon) and feed a couple of inches above the water’s a native bottom-dwelling species the developing eggs. In the Rogue Basin, there are two life off of its blood and other body fluids. surface may pose an insurmountable common in Applegate River tributaries. histories of steelhead, comprising the After a year or two in the ocean, adult barrier to their migration. PHOTO 6 summer and winter runs. Summer lamprey migrate back to freshwater, PHOTO 2 A Pacific lamprey constructing its fish enter the Rogue, as their name where in the late spring they will Chris Volpe A wild steelhead caught on the lower redd on the Coquille River, Oregon. implies, during the summer months. construct a miniature fortress in 541-618-2462 Rogue River. This fish is still very bright Lampreys use their sucker mouths to These fish, which are usually smaller which to lay their eggs. Like salmon, Fish Biologist, Bureau of Land and silvery, indicative of a fish that has grab and position individual rocks within but more numerous than the winter lampreys die after spawning. Little is Management only recently entered fresh water. The each redd. run fish, typically spawn in December and January. Winter steelhead begin to show up in the Applegate in January, and spawn during the spring, usually peaking in late March to mid April. Unlike salmon, steelhead do not die after spawning, but migrate back down river. A percentage of these fish will return in subsequent years to spawn again. In the Applegate, the winter run is the larger of the two runs, and anglers wait in great anticipation for the chance from to cast to these fish which often weigh over ten pounds. March and April are Team Tollefson, Oregon-Land.com the best times to see winter steelhead in the Applegate. They are usually a “We appreciate all our friends and clients Applegate River Fish little more wary then the salmon, and BY CHRIS VOLPE harder to spot, though they can be easily who in the last year have trusted us with seen below Applegate Dam when they helping them buy or sell their homes The Applegate River is home to several Mid October to mid November is the best start to build their redds and spawn. of the Northwest’s most iconic species of fish, time to view these magnificent fish as they Young steelhead rear in small streams (10 sold/ 20 listed). We realize this is a huge which are renowned far and wide for both build redds (nests) and spawn. Watch for the for up to four years before smolting and their sporting prowess and delectability at the big males, or “bucks”, which may be identified migrating to the ocean, where they will trust and we always do our best to live up to table. Equally remarkable are the round trip by their hooked jaws, to ward off other would- forage from one to four years before your expectations and to be hard working, migrations these species undertake, and their be suitors with aggressive displays, which returning to freshwater to spawn. ability to utilize different niches within the often include much splashing about in the Cutthroat Trout: Cutthroat professional and available.” aquatic environments they call home. Both shallow waters near the redds. Newly hatched trout generally are found farther anadromous (fish which go to the ocean and Chinook, called fry at this stage of their life, upstream than other fish, often to Don Tollefson- EcoBroker back) and resident species are present from emerge from redds in the early spring and 1 the very headwaters of the tributaries. 541-973-9185 the river mouth near Grants Pass to Applegate waste no time in beginning their migration, as Though they can and do migrate from the small streams to the river, and Dam. Upstream of Applegate Dam, native they immediately head downriver towards the Debbie Tollefson-Broker resident rainbow and cutthroat trout can ocean. Once there, they will spend from one occasionally even the ocean, most be found far up the major tributaries to the to five years foraging and growing to upwards Applegate cutthroat are resident fish, 541-973-9184 lake, while a host of introduced species, such of 50 lbs before returning to the Applegate to which may spend their entire lives in as largemouth bass, have been stocked in the spawn and die, completing their life cycle. a small pool or short reach of stream. Stop by and visit us at our office in the town of reservoir. While Applegate Dam blocked off Coho Salmon: Being smaller than the These fish are usually small, less than Applegate or visit our website and blog at 12” in length, though ones that migrate many miles of prime spawning and rearing Chinook, and entering fresh water later in the www.teamtollefsonrealtors.com habitat, it did have the benefit of allowing year when stream flows are typically higher, to and from the main stem river can for stable releases of water throughout the allows coho to ascend some of the medium attain respectable sizes of a pound or summer months, guaranteeing water in the sized tributaries of the Applegate, which are two. Cutthroat in the Applegate spawn river year round. This was a first for the river, their preferred spawning and rearing habitats. from late winter to early summer. which had been noted to periodically dry up They are known to occur far upstream in Migratory cutthroat have been seen during the summer in certain sections prior many of these tributaries, such as Thompson running up tributary streams at the Oregon-Land.com to the dam. This likely benefited certain Creek and the forks of Williams Creek. Coho same time as steelhead. Cutthroat may 15095 Highway 238 spawn many times in their life. They fish, particularly the Chinook salmon, as also spawn in the main stem river, and may 2 Applegate, OR 97530 sufficient flows in early fall have allowed them be viewed on their redds generally between get their name not so much from unruly to ascend the Applegate River to spawn in Thanksgiving and Christmas. These fish behavior, but from the bright red slash suitable areas annually. This map displays often turn a brilliant shade of red as they get marks present on their throats. Difficult the known distribution of salmonids in the close to spawning. Young coho spend a year to distinguish between their cousins Applegate River sub-basin. The displayed rearing in the small streams, feeding on insects when little, cutthroat trout are usually distribution lines of each species overlap those before they smolt, a life stage when juvenile more heavily spotted, and have longer species listed below them in the legends. For salmonids migrate downstream and begin to heads and jaw bones relative to their size example, where Chinook are present so are change to adapt to the saltwater environment. than rainbow or steelhead trout. Full Spectrum Service! coho, steelhead, and cutthroat, while the Coho typically spend two to three years at Pacific Lamprey: No description With complementary and compatible strengths we distribution line of steelhead includes only sea before returning to their natal streams of native fish in the Applegate would offer service with Energy, Efficiency & Care.