“Put your walking shoes on and take your heart medicine,” Roe said.

Most people carry backpacks with a couple of garbage bags to pack the fish out. Many also bring a spare rod, since broken rods are common on the spring run.

“The first mile and a half below Rainie Falls really stacks up the fish,” said Roe.

You can use bobbers and eggs and sand shrimp, or just eggs, or use traditional drift gear. Sturgeon eat eggs and sand shrimp, too, and they’re the wild card at Rainie Falls.

Upstream, consider the good holding water, some of it deep, above Pierce Riffle. Springers suspend in the run called Pierce Boil. There may be a lot of fish, but people miss them by fishing close to the bottom. Try different depths until you get a grab.

GRANTS PASS TO LOST CREEK RESERVOIR
Native fish spawn from Rattlesnake Rapids upstream to the dam. Hatchery fish stack in the Shady Cove area above the bridge, but don’t overlook the traveling water downstream. The water from Shady Cove down to White City can hold a lot of fish.

Back-bouncing and pulling Kwikfish can pay off with big grabs for boat anglers. When a lot of fish are rolling in the back-eddies, employ the bobber and bait.

For the shore-bound, other good bets for springers are at Macgregor Park, Casey State Park, the Slide Hole (right below Casey State Park) and the Cable Hole (near the confluence of Brush Creek on the south side and Bush Creek on the north bank).

Upstream, fish the Glass House Hole and Betts Hole (for boaters) and the Chief Hole, just below the hatchery. Bank anglers can fish that inside turn very well and put the steel to a spring king. When the bobber goes down or your rod arches in the rod-holder, there’s going to be a battle.

Reel-burning runs, aerial acrobatics, surface rolls and deep-water dogging tactics are all part of the chinook’s bag of tricks. And if the fish is big, the contest can last up to an hour.

It’s rare to hook a freshwater fish that has the muscle to make a mockery of the tackle designed to subdue it. But the opportunity exists whenever you match your brains against the brawn of the kings of spring.

Daily limit is two chinook, except that you may keep only one non-adipose fin-clipped salmon and no more than three per year. See the 2007 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for restrictions specific to the Rogue and its tributaries. The state’s Web site, dfw.state.or.us, is also a good resource.