Posted by Webmaster on Nov 16, 2009 in
Clamming in Oregon The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently chose Newport’s Yaquina Bay as the new port location for its Marine Operations Center – Pacific.
Yaquina Bay’s south side now will house the fleet beginning 2011, pending the signing of a 20-year lease, according to an NOAA news release in August.
But the president of the Clam Diggers Association, Bill Lackner, voiced some concern.
“My first point of concern is the impact they’re going to have on the essential habitat,” Lackner said.
Read more…
Tags: Clamming in Oregon, clams, eel grass, NOAA, Yaquina Bay
Posted by Webmaster on Nov 9, 2009 in
General The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is extending the current angling closure on the Chetco River upstream of Highway 101 until further notice. The season was expected to reopen today, but will remain closed to protect spawning fall Chinook.
Parks and Rec asks for state bikeway nominations
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department currently is taking nominations for bike routes for consideration as State Scenic Bikeways.
Such designated bikeways would follow roads and bicycle paths that connect riders with outstanding scenic, historic and natural settings. The OPRD will be accepting nominations through Jan. 31, 2010, and annually from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31 thereafter.
Read more…
Tags: Chetco, Chinook, closures, ODFW, salmon
Posted by William on Nov 6, 2009 in
General On 11/05 Clam Diggers Association member Jerry Lynch reported thousands of Dungeness crabs washed ashore at the southern section of beach at Seaside. His report follows:
Bill, I’m writing to give you a clamming report from Wednesday 11/04, 7:38 pm low tide from South Seaside Beach.
1. Damn dark, even with the Coleman Northstar lantern on “high”, because the wind keeps blowing it to “dim”.
2. The wind has come up from “nothing” at dusk, to steady 50mph NNE. It is almost hard to stand up, and if not braced properly with shovel the lantern will blow over when set down on the sand so as to free my hands in order to “gun” a clam.
3. The beach is covered with large dead crabs. Most are legal size, some are HUGE as dinner plates. All are dead. I am not saying 100’s, I am saying thousands. THOUSANDS.
My suspicion is that the “dead zone” of zero oxygen is the culprit. I wonder at the eventual impact on the commercial crab fisherman…
4. The clams are showing with the help of a little shovel banging, so I manage to scratch out my 15 and get the hell out off of the beach before the winds get worse…-Jerry Lynch
If I recall ODFW biologist, Dale Snow’s publication “Where Have All the Crabs Gone?” correctly, he describe the carapace from thousands of crabs that molted and washed ashore onto Oregon’s Beaches. Jerry’s report of thousands of dead Dungeness crabs is not to be confused with the carapace from molted Dungeness crabs. As always good digging, Bill
Matt Hunter the ODFW Shellfish Project Leader from the ODFW Astoria office provided a timely answers to Jerry Lynch’s observation with the following,
“Bill, We noticed a fair number of crab on the southern Clatsop beaches on Monday. Upon inspection they were not molts as they still had meat within the legs and carapace. These were very large crab, easily the commercial size limit or larger. If I was to hypothesize to their demise it would either be senescence or asphyxiation from the protein surfactants (mucilage) caused by the Akashiwo sanguinea bloom that we have had off the north Oregon coast. There are laboratory reports that indicated that oysters and mussels are impacted by large amounts of surfactants in the water. It interrupts the respiration process by hindering the flow of water through the gills thus asphyxiation. We will keep an eye out but it won’t be until after the storm surge has ebbed. Matt”
Matt Hunter and staff investigated the crab die off and emailed his their findings. We thank Matt and his staff for their immediate response to our inquiry.
Bill, Upon revisiting the data and visual accounts from my assistant we believe that the number of crab we saw on Monday was less than 50 for a 14 mile stretch of Clatsop beach. We went out today and drove a 15 mile stretch, including Seaside, and did not see a single crab. At this point it is difficult if not impossible to determine what if any event occurred. Matt
Posted by Webmaster on Nov 5, 2009 in
General Local lakes: The Tenmile Bass Club hosted a local tournament last weekend at Tenmile Lakes in Lakeside. The new owners of Lakeside Marina told me that largemouth bass fishing over the weekend was good and that anglers fishing in the tournament caught several nice largemouths. Rainbow trout fishing at Tenmile Lakes also has been good. Anglers trolling wedding ring spinners tipped with nightcrawlers have been doing the best. Trout fishing at Empire Lakes in Coos Bay remains very good after the recent stockings. We haven’t received any reports from Bradley Lake recently. Access has been tough because of the lower lake level and weed build-up at the boat ramp. If anyone fishing the lake would like to share some information, please give us a call at 347-2875.
Local rivers: The Chetco River above the U.S. Highway 101 bridge will open for fall Chinook fishing on Saturday, Nov. 7. With more rain in the forecast, look for Chinook fishing to improve. Traditionally, the Chetco is known for its large fall Chinook. Anglers fishing the lower Rogue River for fall Chinook over the weekend caught a few early winter steelhead. Most of the fall Chinook have been being caught in the Agness area. Anglers fishing the Elk and Sixes rivers last weekend reported catching plenty of jack salmon, along with some nice adult fish. Bob Dearth of Bandon caught two nice Chinook Saturday, one of them weighing more than 30 pounds. Anglers reported slower fishing conditions on Monday, but with a series of big high tides and rain forecasted, look for fishing to heat up again. There have been plenty of good salmon fishing opportunities on the Coquille River recently. Jon Vining of Bandon has been launching his boat at Sturdivant Park in Coquille and fishing downriver to Clausen’s Corner. He told me they’ve been catching some nice coho salmon along with a few kings. Anglers fishing the Rocky Point area are still reporting good coho fishing. Most anglers have gone from bait to spinners, which have been very productive. As of last week, the wild coho harvest on the Coquille River was at 55 percent of the 1,500-fish quota. Shore-based salmon fishermen had a good week fishing Seven Mile Slough, just above Rocky Point. Most of the fish are being caught on sand shrimp under a bobber. Anglers fishing near the forks of the Coos River are still reporting good fall Chinook fishing. Some fresh Chinook salmon are still being caught by shore-based anglers fishing the boardwalk in downtown Coos Bay. Most of the anglers fishing the boardwalk area are catching their fish casting spinners.
Area shellfish: Crabbing in the bay at Bandon was still very good over the weekend. The numbers of crab moving in and out of the bay have been changing daily due to the rough ocean conditions. The quality of crab has been excellent, since most of them have gone through their molting stage. Crabbing in the Charleston and Empire areas of Coos Bay has been great. Boaters crabbing near Empire last weekend reported easy limits of nice Dungeness crab.
(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.)
Tags: Bandon fishing report, bass, Crabbing in Oregon, lakes, salmon, tenmile lake, trout
