Posted by William on Feb 3, 2010 in
General In his column for the Umpaqu Post, accomplished fisherman and noted outdoor writer Pete Heley commented on the aggressive practices that the Douglas County Sheriff used enforcing the Coast Guard’s rules for crossing the Umpqua River Bar.
“Recently, there have been both troubling and encouraging statements regarding the new enforcement area associated with bar closures on the lower Umpqua River.
Statements by the Coast Guard affirming that they are the only enforcement agency with authority regarding the location of boats in the lower river was encouraging. A statement that anybody harassed about the location of their boats while on the lower river should call the Coast Guard (541-271-2138) was most encouraging.
Statements that the Coast Guard was only enforcing a river closure up to navigational aid 6 (the upriver end of the jetty) was even more encouraging. But a statement that there was almost the same number of bar closures as in recent years — and therefore, there was little change in enforcement procedure — was misleading and inaccurate.
When the amount of lower river that is attached to a bar closure is nearly doubled, it is a colossal change. The fact that it is not actively being enforced only works if all future users are aware of the practice. The fact is, a different agency, through aggressive use of authority that they didn’t have, has already done major harm to the future economy of Winchester Bay.
I, for one, actually think that the Coast Guard would like to be a good partner in the well-being of Winchester Bay. But to fully minimize the damage that is already done, the Coast Guard needs to be able to convey more encouraging information to those would-be users from out of the area when they call to see if they can actually come over and participate in the water-based recreation of their choice. I certainly hope they figure out a way to do that. Ports from Charleston to Newport have recently benefited, at Winchester Bay’s expense.
For those of us who have been here for a number of years, there have been a number of changes that have largely gone under the radar — changes that have reduced Winchester Bay’s recreational opportunities.
It wasn’t very many years ago that the Coast Guard allowed salmon and some bottom fish anglers to fish along the upper end of the South Jetty while they waited for a bar restriction or closure to be lifted. It allowed anglers to quickly react to the opening of the bar instead of having to travel 10 miles from Reedsport to cross it.
Until recently, the number of bar closures to vessels more than 40 feet in length was rare. In the last week, the Umpqua River bar has had closures to vessels less than 60 feet in length and another closure to less than 80 feet in length.
One more thing before moving on to happier subjects. If safety is really an important aspect of these restrictions, anglers intending to fish out of Winchester Bay for halibut and tuna need to get an early start if they are going to return to port under safer conditions. In past years, it seems that these anglers were often allowed to leave Winchester Bay quite early, resulting in more pleasurable and safer trips. Can it be that way again?” Bill Lackner for the Clam Diggers Association of Oregon
Posted by Webmaster on Jan 29, 2010 in
General With many steelheaders switching from boats to bank fishing, these plunkers are doing very well. The county boat ramp in Coquille had a lot of activity and many nice steelhead were caught. Rising river levels offer a great opportunity to fish from the banks using stealthy methods, as many of these steelhead travel the edges to get into some calmer waters.
The North Fork Coquille River clears fairly fast, and after the recent rains anglers reported catching some nice steelhead early in the week. The South Fork Coquille has been high and muddy and kept most fishermen over on the North Fork. LaVerne Park also reported some good steelhead fishing the past few days.
Some of the best steelheading has taken place on the South Fork Coos River and the West and East forks of the Millicoma River. The fish seem to really turn on as the rivers peak and start to drop down. The West Fork Millicoma is the first river to clear, followed by the East Fork. The South Fork Coos takes a little bit more time to clear.
Bottom bouncing eggs, corkies or sand shrimp have been the most effective methods for steelhead anglers. A technique that has worked in the past is fishing a Marabou jig suspended under a bobber. To increase your opportunity, break off a small piece of sand shrimp and put it on a hook. Fishing with a bobber will take some practice, but when you master this technique, it can be quite effective.
Winter steelhead fishing has been good on Tenmile Creek, and because this creek is controlled by Tenmile Lakes, it seldom gets too high or muddy to fish. There is a boat launch at Spinreel Campground along with good bank access. This is a safe and gentle place to take the kids for their first steelhead experience.
During last weekend’s Eel/Tenmile STEP Steelhead Derby, first place for the most steelhead caught went to Jamie Parker-Fitting. She caught three steelhead, which were the largest by weight. Jamie won a Shimano reel and Lamiglas rod.
Second place went to Doug Jones for the largest fish weighing 8.84 pounds. Doug won an Abu Garcia reel and Lamiglas rod. Doug also won third place for the second highest amount of fish taken by weight and won a Shimano spinning reel and Lamiglas rod. There were 48 contestants, and they caught 23 hatchery steelhead and released six native fish.
River flows on the lower Rogue River were good last week, and plunkers did well catching steelhead from Quosatana Creek Campground to the Old Mill Site. A local guide, while fishing just above tide water on Saturday, reported that they hooked seven steelhead, landed four and kept two. Other fishermen anchored in slots fishing Wiggle Wart plugs and did very well.
Water levels on the Sixes and Elk rivers were high, but they are starting to clear and should be fishable in the next few days.
In last week’s report, I talked about the Free Fishing for Kids Program that has been spearheaded by Earl Rankin of Bandon along with Tony Roszkowski of the Port O’ Call and Tony’s Crab Shack in Bandon. They want to thank the readers for their calls, donations and support for this program. To learn more about this story go to www.oregonoutdoorsradio.com and you will find it under “Breaking News.”
Just a reminder that the Coos County Friends of The NRA will hold their annual dinner and auction fundraiser at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Coquille Community Building. Last year they were sold out and expect the same this year. Therefore, they only will sell 350 tickets and no tickets will be sold at the door. At the time I wrote this article, only a few tickets were left.
For more information about tickets, sponsorships, donations or to assist the committee, please call Brad Haga at (541) 294-3677, Al Lovie at (541) 290-2202 or Don Leatherwood at (541) 347-9719. Remember, this fundraiser will be a major contributor to the new Tioga Sports Park Shooting Range. I hope to see many of you there.
Good luck fishing and hunting.
Tags: banks, coquille, fishing, steelhead
Posted by William on Jan 29, 2010 in
General We are asking ODFW to expand the concept of Free Fishing Weekend. Free Fishing Weekend occurs on the Saturday and Sunday immediately following the first Monday in the month of June. No licenses or tags are required for taking fish, crabs and clams during the weekend. However the tides in Oregon’s bays during Free Fishing Weekend may limit the ability to crab or dig clams successfully. Crabbing is best during the series of Neap Tides and clam digging is best during the series of Spring Tides.
We recommend several options to improve the opportunity for crabbing and clam digging allowed under the regulations governing Free Fishing Weekend. First, we could expand the number of days a license and tags are not required to 7 day days. A Free Fishing Week would provide the time necessary for families to fish, crab or dig clams and would be a terrific boost for tourism by drawing people from all over the country to Oregon. Or, we recommend separating the three activities into a Free Fishing Weekend, Free Crabbing Weekend and Free Clam Digging Days consisting of separate two day events. Doing so would provide the opportunity to schedule those activities at the time when the tides are at the Neap or Spring phase of the tidal cycle. Having an individual period for a Free Crabbing Weekend and Free Clam Digging Days would provide Coastal Communities the opportunity to promote the benefits of crabbing or digging clams in the local communities while providing additional recreational opportunity for families. It would be great if ODFW could host crabbing and clam digging clinics in Oregon’s Bay during Free Crabbing Weekend and Free Clam Digging Days. Bill Lackner for the Clam Diggers Association of Oregon.
Posted by Webmaster on Jan 22, 2010 in
Fishing The only man on America’s West Coast allowed to commercially harvest abalone has been convicted of poaching the tasty mollusk.
Kevin L. Hiersche, 51, pleaded guilty this month to five charges of taking abalone out of season, falsifying business records and lacking a wholesalers license.
The Gold Beach man had qualified to take a limited amount of flat abalone in 2001, said Sgt. David Anderson of the Oregon State Police.
Kevin Heirsche, Convicted
In exchange for taking 3,000 pounds of abalone a year, he’d provide population surveys to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. His catches were closely regulated. His sale had to go to one wholesaler. He could then buy them back and re-sell them, but only to restaurants and consumers.
The species has small populations living on reefs off the South Coast, including near Port Orford, Gold Beach and on Simpson Reef, said Scott Groth, a shellfish biologist with ODFW in Charleston. Biologists hadn’t supported the idea of issuing Hiersche a license, but the ODFW commissioners issued it anyway.
It’s hard to know how many abalone are out there, but other species have been hard hit from commercial harvesting, Groth said.
“We knew that a flat abalone fishery wasn’t a good idea,” he said.
OSP started hearing complaints that Hiersche was selling his bought-back abalone to other wholesalers and underreporting how much he landed. When police went into Hiersche’s home, they found 30 pounds of vacuum sealed abalone that they determined he’d taken in 2009. The problem was that the state hadn’t renewed his permit and the commission now has canceled commercial abalone harvesting altogether.
“Mr. Hiersche was entrusted with a tremendous privilege, but greed and temptation led him to violate that trust in the worst possible way,” Anderson said.
A Curry County grand jury indicted Hiersche in August 2009 on 44 misdemeanor and felony counts. It also indicted Daniel W. Wright, 40, on five charges. He had served as a tender, while Hiersche dove for abalone from his boat, the Jerry Lee, an OSP press release said.
A judge sentenced Hiersche to 40 days in jail, followed by three years of probation. He’ll have to pay nearly $40,000 in fines and restitution. Wright went to jail for 10 days, has a year and a half of probation and must pay $8,300 in fees, fines and restitution. He pleaded guilty to one charge of poaching abalone.
Tags: abalone, conviction, Oregon, poaching, theft, west coast
Posted by Webmaster on Jan 12, 2010 in
Fishing A recent study from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed a popular salmon and steelhead bait containing sodium sulfite can harm juvenile fish.
Scientists from ODFW and Oregon State University tested a random sample of commercially cured fish eggs and found that some juvenile fish died after ingesting some brands, and later determined that sodium sulfite was the ingredient causing death.
Fishermen cure salmon eggs to preserve them and to add fish-attracting elements, said Joe Cook, manager of The Bait’s On Bait and Tackle shop in Coos Bay.
“Color, scent and texture all play into it,” Cook said.
Some anglers use their own egg cure recipes, while others use commercially available products, and both can contain sodium sulfite. There are three main cures: borax-based, sodium nitrate-based and sodium sulfite-based cures, Cook said. Borax-based cures are popular, and the easiest to use, he said.
Charlie Owen, an avid local fisherman, makes his own egg cure, and said that curing eggs is important to salmon and steelhead anglers, who guard their recipes carefully once they find a combination that works.
“I won’t catch a fish on fresh eggs,” he said.
Cook said salmon eggs are a successful bait, hence their popularity.
“It’s a very effective bait,” he said. “Nearly everything in the rivers will eat salmon eggs.”
Questions about the bait arose in April 2008, when a group of anglers approached ODFW with concerns that the egg cure was toxic to juvenile salmon, according to a summary of the study. Testing began the following month.
The cured eggs were fed to groups of 55 salmon and steelhead held in tanks over a 23-day period, and mortality was assessed after each feeding. Specific mortality rates varied among products, and ranged from 0 to 30 percent. Some fish died after the first feeding, but most were able to survive through 23 days of presumably eating the cured eggs, the study said.
Removal of sodium sulfite eliminated the mortality.
“We’ve already talked with several manufacturers and we’re encouraged by their commitment to solving this problem,” said Bruce McIntosh, ODFW deputy administrator of inland fisheries, in a press release. “Our emphasis will be on informing anglers, guides and other manufacturers about the risks sulfites pose to juvenile fish.”
ODFW cannot predict whether this has a significant effect on the overall health of salmon and steelhead populations.
Local ODFW fish biologist Tom Rumreich pointed out that there are too many variables in determining salmon population.
“But it can certainly impact individuals,” he said.
Rumreich said sodium sulfite has been widely used in various areas, including the treatment of salmon eggs.
“I know this information has really raised some eyebrows,” Rumreich said. “And I know I will never use it again.”
Rumreich said he will spread the word to other fishermen, and that his co-workers also won’t be utilizing sodium sulfites.
Though he’s not sure sodium sulfite could have long-term effects on salmon populations, he won’t rule out the possibility the ingredient could hurt future numbers.
“I certainly will be going around telling people that we shouldn’t be using it,” he said.
Rumreich pointed out that there are many alternatives for egg cures, and he has long used a store-bought meat tenderizer ??” anything derived from salt works just fine, he said.
“And the sky’s the limit,” he said.
Cook agreed, adding that a book he sells on egg cures lists at least 20 different recipes.
“There would be few people who would be harmed by switching because there are so many alternatives,” Cook said.
For more information on the ODFW study, visit www.dfw.state.or.us, and search “harmful salmon bait.” The press release contains a link to more specific information on the study
Tags: death, fish eggs, juvenile fish, ODFW, salmon, sodium nitrate
Posted by William on Jan 10, 2010 in
General Boaters are complaining that Coast Guard is unfairly restricting boating in the lower Winchester Bay from the entrance to the West Basin seaward when they close the bar. Boaters assert that the closure is unnecessary and they should be able to crab in the upper portion of the jetty channel and in Half Moon Bay. What is your opinion?
Posted by Webmaster on Dec 30, 2009 in
General New boating fee will fund program for aquatic invasive species prevention
Aquatic invasive species can wreak havoc when introduced to rivers and bays, and starting next year, recreational boaters in Oregon will pay a fee to fund a program to prevent them from spreading.
The Aquatic Invasive Species Permit, a fee recreational boaters must pay starting Jan. 1, 2010, is designed to keep species, such as the devastating quagga and zebra mussels, out of Oregon waters, said Ashley Massey at the Oregon State Marine Board.
Invasive species are threats to hydropower, irrigated agriculture, drinking water, recreation and salmon recovery, according to the OSMB Web site. Oregon has implemented a prevention program because many surrounding states have been infested with invasive species, including California and Nevada.
Read more…
Tags: boating fees, invasive species, mussels, ODFW, Oregon, quagga, regulations, zebra
Posted by Webmaster on Dec 28, 2009 in
Fishing Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington adopted 2010 sturgeon and smelt fishing regulations last week during a joint state hearing in Kelso, Wash.
Current rules regulating the harvest of white sturgeon on the Columbia River were left unchanged from 2009 while representatives from the two states negotiate an agreement on 2010 harvest objectives.
The new agreement is expected to reduce harvest guidelines due to reduced abundance of legal and sub-legal fish. Following adoption of the 2010 objectives, managers plan to revisit sturgeon regulations at their next joint state hearing, which is scheduled for Feb. 18.
Until the states modify the sturgeon rules, retention of sturgeon with a fork length of 38-54 inches is allowed three days per week — Thursday, Friday and Saturday — on the Columbia from Bonneville Dam downstream 105 miles to the Wauna power lines.
These rules also apply on the Willamette River and Multnomah Channel. Below Wauna, retention of 38-54 inch fork length sturgeon is allowed seven days per week beginning Jan. 1. Above Bonneville, retention is allowed seven days per week beginning Jan. 1. Sport fishermen may retain one legal-sized sturgeon per day and up to five sturgeon for the year.
In response to continued low smelt returns, fishery managers lowered the daily bag on the Columbia River to 10 pounds, down from 25 pounds previously.
At their next meeting, fishery managers from the two states also plan to set spring Chinook salmon seasons, in light of the largest forecast for the upriver spring Chinook since 1938.
Tags: 2010, ODFW, Oregon, regulations, smelt, Sturgeon
Posted by Webmaster on Dec 21, 2009 in
Fishing Winter steelhead fishing is just getting started. Fish are being caught in the East Fork Millicoma River near Nesika Park. A few steelhead also are being caught in the main stream of the Coquille River. The lower portions of the south fork of the Coquille also are producing a few fish. LaVerne Park proved to be the lucky area for one angler who caught a limit of steelhead.
Early last week, anglers on the lower Elk River had some good Chinook fishing and with extremely high tides, bright fish are being pushed into both the Elk and Sixes rivers. The rivers should be falling back into good fishing conditions after recent rains.
Read more…
Posted by Ocean Harvester on Dec 20, 2009 in
Crabbing in Oregon,
General,
Ocean Harvest 
Offloading the catch
We decided to gamble and have a friend of ours in a bigger boat haul our traps out for the opener, rather than having to do it over 4 days with the Harvester. We can only carry 80 or so traps at a time so this let us set all 300 to soak at once. The weather was piss flat the crabs were active with the filling moon (Monday the 1st) full on the third and we had a good supply of fresh Humboldt squid and razer clams from Hallmark Fisheries that really brought in the numbers. We chop up the Humboldt squid in the two bags which are the nylon mesh bag) and then the razor clams in the jars for the scent.
Video: Three Traps coming on deck.
The Catch:
This opener we were getting about 40 crab per trap for the first pull of 300 traps which was pretty incredible, since we only had 15 to 20 crab last year. The first three trips we pulled 50,000 lbs , after that it started slowing down. 17.5k, 16.7k and then a 6k on one run. We can run 300 pots in ten hours, pulled 9 times over the last five trips for about 30,000 crabs at at little over 72,000 lbs. Without a doubt the best opening weeks we’ve ever seen.
Why was the opener so great?
One of the things about this season that was abnormal was the weather. Most years the season starts with very rough weather giving a huge advantage to the big boats that can handle the big weather, forcing the little guys like us to risk short trips and run to shelter when things get bad. This year we were out in their face every day. We were spanking some of those larger boats and staying in their faces. It felt pretty good..
Feeling Good!
Another thing that helped was that so many crab were being caught all up and down the coast that no spot was getting over fished. Seemed like everywhere you went boats were scoring enough to stay where they were rather than plugging up the hot spots, so everybody had room to fish. We were able to compete and get more of a share of the volume because of the good weather I’m sure it made the big boat owners grrr.
Now that the full moon has gone away the crab are not as active so we give the traps a little more soak time on the bottom. If the crab are more active and in higher numbers you can pull traps more often, but when they are slower you have let them sit longer. Why does the full moon make the crab active? Nobody knows for sure, but it seems to be true.
Video: Bert & Royce throw the hook
What’s going on down there?
The trap pulls in any crabs in the area due to the scent of the bait and they have escape rings that are big enough for the juvenile crabs and the females are able to escape, but the ones we want (the big mature males) are stuck. The big ones also chase off the little ones so the longer you can leave the trap in an active area while the bait is still good the larger better crab you’re likely have in your pot.
Going back out.
Now we’ve had a good shot of rough weather with the recent storm we’re hoping it will stir up the bottom and bring the numbers back up. When these winter storms roll through they create big swells that disturb the mud where the crab bed down and will scatter any food that’s on the bottom which usually gets them up and moving. We’re going out on tomorrow at 4:00 – the traps have been soaking for 2 days on a spot we hope will be good. Now the crab tend to bunch up around good food sources so we have to move traps pretty often to stay on top of em.
Tanks were full so we deck loaded the last of it.
Going back out tomorrow we’ll run the gear and areas that show good numbers are were we’ll cork ourselves.. basically dump all the gear on the hot spots so the buoy’s are nearly floating on top of each other.
So it’s been a heck of a start of the season and pretty much every boat on the Oregon Coast has been pulling great numbers. It’s a nice thing for everybody so get down to your local market and get you some nice local Dungeness.
Cheers
-Capt Tyler & the Harvester Crew
Tags: commercial crabbing, crab pots, dungeness, dungeness season, Oregon, oregon coast, video
