The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is stocking the Rogue River above Lost Creek Reservoir this week in time for the Memorial Day weekend. This stretch of river, commonly called the North Fork, is the Rogue’s premier summer trout fishery.

Trout are being released at Mill Creek, River Bridge, Union Creek and Farewell Bend campgrounds. Woodruff Bridge, Mt. Stella Bridge, and the Highway 230 release site are also receiving legal-sized trout.

A wet winter and higher snowpack mean some sites are still snowed in and some have streamflow too high to safely stock trout. Mill Creek Bridge at Prospect, Natural Bridge Campground, Crater Creek, and Minnehaha Creek will be stocked when conditions allow.

“The upper Rogue is one of the best places for families to fish while escaping the heat of summer,” says District Fish Biologist Dan Van Dyke. “It’s clean, cold water and great scenery, and in most places is flowing under the canopy of Ponderosa and sugar pines.”

With streamflow about 30 percent higher than 2011 – another year with heavy snowpack and high streamflow – Van Dyke encourages those with children to be vigilant around the water this year. Anglers are reminded that naturally produced brook, rainbow, and some brown trout and cutthroat trout are also available.