Posted by Webmaster on Mar 30, 2010 in
Fishing,
In The News COOS BAY — Commercial and recreational fishermen are split on several options the Pacific Fishery Management Council has laid out for the upcoming salmon season. But the general consensus is — ‘Hey! At least we have a fishing season.”
Fishermen shared their views during a public hearing Monday night at the Red Lion Hotel with the council — which included representatives from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Coast Guard and National Marine Fisheries Service. The council will make a final recommendation April 15 in Portland.
The council’s announcement earlier this year that a salmon season is likely came as a welcome relief to West Coast fishermen who have struggled without the fishery for the past two years.
Read more…
Tags: fishing, regulations, salmon, season
Posted by William on Mar 26, 2010 in
General Fellow clam diggers and crabbers the Clam Diggers Association of Oregon proactive position on the NOAA project at Yaquina Bay has paid off for the members of the clam digging and crabbing community. Last Thursday morning I had the pleasure meeting with the Port of Newport manager Don Mann, Port Commissioner Dean Fleck, ODFW District Fish Biologist, Bob Buckman, Shellfish Project Manager Leslee Parr and members of her staff.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss mitigation for the loss of recreational opportunity and the mitigation for the loss of essential marine habitat as the result of the development of the NOAA Home Port facility in Yaquina Bay. Don Mann stated that the Port, ODFW and NOAA have modified the set backs of the exclusion zone around the NOAA facility to 50 feet and are considering a number of measures to mitigate the loss of recreational opportunity that include: construction of steps to access the tidal flats in the area underneath the Hwy 101 bridge and to the tidal flats adjacent to the Gas Plant road just east of town. In addition the construction of an improved gravel boat ramp between the Port Terminal and the Gas Plant for car top boats. The Port is also considering public access to the Port Terminals for recreational crabbing but permission for access is dependant on the cooperation with owner of the private portion of the terminal dock. Don Mann believes that the Port and the private owner will come to an agreement. ODFW and NOAA have developed a plan to mitigate the loss of essential marine habitat. Only time and the tides will tell if the plan is successful, but their plan looks promising.
We the Clam Diggers Association of Oregon congratulate the Port or Newport, ODFW and NOAA for considering the contribution that recreational clam digging and crabbing contribute to society in their decision to mitigate the loss of recreational opportunity in Yaquina Bay and to develop a plan to minimize the projects impact on essential marine habitat. Thanks for a job we done, Bill Lackner for the Clam Diggers Association of Oregon.
Posted by Webmaster on Mar 11, 2010 in
Fishing Thursday, March 11, 2010
Local lakes:
Reports coming in from Empire Lakes in Coos Bay after last week’s trout stockings were nothing short of red hot! Josh from the Bite’s On Tackle shop in Empire told us the lake was hit pretty hard by local anglers, and plenty of nice rainbow trout were taken. Anglers were having success fishing floating Powerbait off the bottom or casting spinners. This week, Empire Lakes is scheduled to receive an additional 6,000 legal-size rainbows. Cathy from Lakeside Marina told us that anglers trolling Tenmile Lakes are still picking up some nice holdover rainbow trout. She also reminded me that Tenmile Lakes is scheduled to be stocked with legal-size rainbows this week. Largemouth bass fishing out at Tenmile has been slow, with water temperatures averaging about 50 degrees. Look for largemouth bass to start going into a pre-spawn mode soon. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is scheduled to stock Garrison Lake in Port Orford with 4,950 legal-size trout this week. With a healthy population of holdover rainbows, along with some nice cutthroat trout, look for angling pressure to pick up on Garrison Lake this spring.
Local rivers:
River conditions on the Chetco River in Brookings were low and clear last weekend. Anglers are still picking up a few nice steelhead, but we’re being told that about 50 percent of the fish are downers. Downers, or spawned-out fish, can be very aggressive and fun to catch as they make their way back to the ocean. Last Tuesday, John Anderson caught the first reported spring salmon of the year on the lower Rogue River. Since last Tuesday, Larry from the Rogue Outdoor Store told me anglers have been averaging two to four spring salmon per day. Most of the fish have been taken on anchovies near the Lobster Creek area. Winter steelhead fishing on the Elk River was decent last week. As the Elk River cleared, anglers switched over to fishing Sixes River and did well last weekend. Winter steelhead fishing on the Coquille and Coos river systems was slow last weekend. My brother, Rob, local guide Craig Paulson and I drifted the lower portion of the South Fork Coquille River on Monday. We had a lot of laughs and managed to pick up one steelhead.
Pacific Ocean, jetties and bays:
Larry Ellis of Brookings told me they had a good mixed bag of rockfish last Saturday fishing just a quarter-mile north of the first buoy out of the Port of Brookings. He called the area they were fishing Maclin Cove and said it’s a great place to fish when conditions are rough offshore. Bank anglers fishing near the Port of Port Orford reported catching some nice striped perch and sea trout over the weekend. Boaters fishing near The Cribbs inside of Coos Bay have been catching rockfish and sea trout. Other anglers are reporting catching some nice pinkfin surf perch near the railroad bridge inside Coos Bay, as well.
Area shellfish:
Crabbing in Bandon remains very slow due to plenty of fresh water still entering the bay. Boaters crabbing in Coos Bay are reporting having to work harder than in previous weeks to catch a limit of Dungeness crabs.
Kids Fish Free update:
We were very happy to give away plenty of rod-and-reel combinations to parents with children last week. Earl Rankin has now repaired and given away 50 rods and reels. Our supply of used fishing gear is running low, so anyone with donations is invited to stop by Port O’ Call or give us a call at 541-347-2875 and we can make arrangements to pick it up. Don’t forget that Tami at the North Bend Bi-Mart Store, 541-756-7526, is our drop-off point in the Coos Bay/North Bend area.
(Tony Roszkowski has owned and operated Port O’ Call — TonysCrabShack.com — on the Bandon waterfront since 1989. Many South Coast anglers rely on his fish and shellfish reports. Hear more from Tony on ‘Oregon Outdoors’ Thursdays on KWRO 630 AM.)
Posted by Webmaster on Mar 9, 2010 in
Fishing PORTLAND — Wildlife officials have tried everything to keep sea lions from eating endangered salmon, dropping bombs that explode under water and firing rubber bullets and bean bags from shotguns and boats. Now they are resorting to issuing death sentences to the most chronic offenders.
A California sea lion last week became the first salmon predator to be euthanized this year under a program that has been denounced by those who say there are far greater dangers to salmon — including the series of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia.
This is the second year of the program, which is administered by wildlife officials in Oregon and Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Read more…
Tags: death, euthanized, fishing, killing, predators, sea lions
Posted by Webmaster on Mar 9, 2010 in
Fishing The Rogue River should have the best opportunities to catch a nice steelhead, as last week the reports were good from bank fishermen. Fishing near Huntley Bar and Canfield Riffle using a brown trout pattern Spin Glow produced the best bites.
The outstanding news is at least three spring Chinook were taken in the Rogue. Guide Rick Howard of Bandon landed two nice steelhead and a very good springer. Let’s hope this is a start to a very good spring Chinook season.
As the Elk and Sixes rivers fell back into shape, both produced some good, bright winter steelhead.
Reports from the South Fork of the Coos River were not as good, as the steelhead fishing has slowed and the numbers of spawned-out fish has increased.
The Coquille River is falling back into shape after the recent rains, and fish were being picked up on the North Fork. Fishermen also reported a larger number of spawned-out fish that they released. Fishing on Tenmile and Elk creeks has slowed as well.
The Chetco River in Brookings is also falling back into shape, and the lower river from Icebox downstream to the Social Security Bar produced the best bite.
As I reported in last week’s article, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is now stocking legal-sized trout in most of our local lakes gearing up for spring break. Fishermen at Empire Lakes were very pleased with their catches last week, and Empire Lakes offers great family-friendly fishing.
The ODFW reported that their sampling of Garrison Lake in Port Orford showed good numbers of cutthroat trout and rainbow trout in the lake. As water temperatures start to rise, these trout should be on the bite.
Crabbing reports from the Charleston area show that many boaters still are getting limits of Dungeness crabs and the quality has been excellent. Crabbing in Bandon has slowed because of high, fresh water. A word of caution — recently, a large snag has lodged itself at Weber’s Pier and crabbers have been getting their crab rings hung up on it.
The Bay Area Sportsman’s Association will be holding its 23rd Annual Sportsman’s Banquet at the Bay Area Boys and Girls Club tonight at 5:30 p.m. The money raised from this event is used to support the Boys and Girls Club, local athletic teams and many of our STEP programs. They still have a few tickets available and you can contact Mike Helfrich at 541-297-0654 for more information.
The San Francisco Pier 39 sea lions that showed up in great numbers at the Sea Lion Caves in Oregon last fall have started to disappear. The sea lion mystery began four months ago when volunteers counted more than 1,700 of them at Pier 39 and by Thanksgiving, fewer than two dozen remained. We can only hope their trip south is a non-stop one and they won’t stop to feast on our springers.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Department has implemented a trip plan form for all their outdoorsmen. The form is to be filled out and left with a responsible person prior to an outdoor excursion. The trip plan form includes the purpose of the trip, the general area, landmarks, the starting time of your trip and the time you’re expected to return. In the event that you don’t return from your trip as stated on the form, it will be given to law enforcement and search and rescue organizers. This trip plan form is available on the Douglas County Sheriff’s Web site and can be used by anyone. I highly suggest using the form to all outdoorsmen as your life may depend on it.
Good luck fishing and hunting.
Tags: Chinook, elk, fishing, gold beach, Rogue River, salmon, Sixes
Posted by William on Mar 1, 2010 in
General 03/01 Public input sways Coast Guard at a meeting held last week in Reedsport. Pressure, determination and the presentation of the tidal conditions in Winchester Bay has achieved a positive result. The Coast Guard will enforce the new bar closure only when dangerous are present in the lower bay. The Coast Guard is also going to recommend restoring the dead line to its former location in lower Winchester Bay . This is good new for crabbers and fishermen. Hopefully the Coast Guard will follow through and boating conditions will return to normal….Bill
