Rogue River. Looking for advice.

[Hunt-man]

Tried this over in the community so I'll try over here:

I'm looking at floating the Rogue from Grave Creek Landing to somewhere, later in October. Never been there before. I have an aluminum drift boat and I regularly run the Deschutes, Trout Creek-Maupin and Pine Tree - Mouth.

I hear there are some falls you have to line your boat through. I'd love to find a guide book or a recommend on what to look out for. Any advice would be a help.

Looks like there are Steelhead in the river now from my river guide. Any suggestions on gear? I mainly flyfish / spey for Steelhead but I go gear once in a while.

Thanks.

[Klamanite]

Get in touch with Grantspastor. I believe he's been through there a quite number of times and can help you with the rough spots.

[Tar Heel]

If you are talking about the Wild and Scenic stretch, and I assume you are, go over to Andy and Bax and get the Guide Book to the Rogue Canyon. It's very detailed, shows Rainie Falls(class 5)--only an hr or two after launch--depending on flows--from the put in. The rogue is far more challenging than the D, and I highly recommend running with somone who has run it b4, preferably b4 running in your own boat, but at least on the same trip. You are probably past the permit season, but I would still call the BLM office on the River, as those folks are very helpful, have access to come-alongs to extricate drift boats from rocks, daily patrol boats on the River. You will want to call Galice Resort for a shuttle, and they have last minute suppkies, ice, gas ..... Most people run the fish ladder on river rt. at Rainie FallsThe other big hazards are Mule Creek Canyon at aboce 2000 cfs and Blossom Barnear the end of the canyon. I assume drift boats run this stretch, but I dont recall seeing them on the 4 times I have ran the R. It is a great run and I think the half pounders are probably in the River now as well, offering a large trout sized steelhead quarry. Again, and I cant emphasize this enough, the Rogue is many times harder than the D, and unless you are an expert, you shouldnt run it alone or w/o an experienced Rogue veteran.

[freespool]

Permits are required through the end of Oct. you can call and get a permit 10 days ahead of time, if there are any cancellations, the fewer party members in your group, the better your chances of getting a permit.
Your biggest concern with running a DB in the latter part of Oct. is flows.
Anything below 1400 is considered hazardous for DB's, I've run it at 850cfs, very boney with rock encounters numerous.
If you can't follow a experienced boat I'd bag the DB idea until next summer, anything above 2000cfs is cake.
Oh ya, boat loading is critical, you want the bulk of your weight as close to the center of the boat as possible, don't put much weight in the stern, the more it's exposed the better control you'll get in heavy water.
If you do decide to take your DB make sure you bring a come along.

[byproxy]

as others have mentioned, it's reine falls that you've heard about. in a drift, you'll need to line your rig down the ladder. in a raft you can do the fish ladder or the middle (do the ladder if it's your first time).

if you're experienced, most everything is read and run... though you'll still want a guide book and some conversation with other experienced boaters. blossom requires some maneuvering but if you ask around folks will give you many tips. i could give you advice for running it in a raft but my guess is you'll be in a drift boat.

you said from grave to somewhere... well, unless you plan on 4wheeling into muriel or something to pull your rig out there (blm launch ramp), you'll be pulling out at foster bar (or below if you wanted). it's about 32 miles from start to finish. if you can afford it and aren't into camping, lost of opportunity for lodge hopping the entire way.

enjoy!