SALEM (AP) — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will close sport fishing for chinook on the Snake River just before midnight on Aug. 4.
Biologists from Idaho and Oregon cooperatively manage the fishery.
They recommended the closure because the harvest quota of 2,000 hatchery chinook has been met.
My grandsons and I had a great time crabbing from the Old Coast Guard pier on Friday afternoon using 2 Crab Max crab traps. Our catch mostly females and short males mirrored the catch of most of the other crabbers on the dock. However, one crabber caught an exceptionally large Dungeness crab and two boys had so many crabs in their crab pot they could not lift the crab pot onto the dock without help. Their catch included 2 male keeper sized crabs. The old Coast Guard Pier is in a state of decline. If it is not repaired soon it will be closed. Click on the following link to view the crabbing action. I stopped by the Stockade Market and Pete Heley reports crabbers in boats are taking some limits from the lower bay, however, they are having to work through a lot of female and short males to take upward toward a limit. Click on the following link to view the crabbing action Crabbing at the Coast Guard Pier Winchester Bay
Clam Diggers complained about the danger posed to boaters at the Gardiner boat ramp. A clam digger who used the ramp this week as a meeting point for his family and friends brought the threat that the build up of soft sediment poses to boaters and children to the attention of the CDAO. The depth of the sediment was source of his complaint and he felt it was deep enough to cover a child or small person.
The Clam Diggers Association questions the safety of the boat ramp at Gardiner. The boat launch at Gardiner is unusable at low tide. The amount of silt built up at the boat is a threat to the safety to those who use the boat ramp.
Conditions at the Gardiner boat ramp notwithstanding, clam digging in Umpqua River Estuary is renowned for some of the largest softshell clams found in any of Oregon’s bays. The most productive clam beds are associated with Bolon and Steamboat Islands from the communities of Reedsport and Gardiner down river to The Point. ODFW’s map of the softshell clam beds show a population of softshell clams on the north shore of the river located below The Point, however, the population has declined and the clams are no longer common in this area. In addition to softshell clams the sand beach within the triangle produces the largest gaper clams dug in any of Oregon’s bays but a clam die off occurs when excessive rainfall floods the area for an extended period of time.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will host an educational event for saltwater anglers from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 10, near the public boat ramp in Gold Beach.
One participant will win a free four-hour bottom fishing trip donated by Five Star Charters. The trip is for one person and must be used by the end of August. To enter, you must complete the fish identification part of the open house.
The event is geared toward beginning and advanced saltwater anglers alike.
Learn to dig clams or take crabs at the ODFW Seminar listed on the flyer
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