02-11-2005, 01:52 PM
Oregon Fisheries Update
February 11th – February 17th, 2005
Another week of armchair reporting for us writers at TGF. If we are suggesting going to the Sportsmen Show over fishing, well, I think that all speaks for itself.
Subscribers - get discount coupons to this event in the Random Links section of the full version of this report!
Sturgeon fishing on the Columbia remains poor and prospects don't look all that favorable. Rumors of smelt in the lower river may have some effect but it just seems a lack of presence may take more than a pilot run to stimulate success.
Springer fishing on the big river is really no better. It's just too big of a body of water for too few fish (and still too cold) to expect measurable results.
The north coast is a biological desert. The weak rain freshet didn't produce the results most has expected and no precipitation is in sight. Poor tides will make for even poorer steelhead opportunities and sturgeon fishing will likely drop off as well. Crabbing and bottom fishing may be a good option as calm seas may prevail if the east wind show up.
All South coast rivers need rain. Low, clear, cold water is the rule along with the sort of fishing one might expect such conditions. It's slow. The few being taken on the Siletz have been natives. Pressure on the Umpqua is up, steelheading is fair. Reports from the Alsea, Coquille, Elk, Sixes, and even the usually productive Rogue River are all lousy.
It's been another slow, slow week on the Clackamas. Most of the few steelies taken on the Sandy over the last week have been natives.
Sturgeon of legal size are somewhere but not in the lower Willamette. The few springers taken by optimistic trollers were a glimmer of hope as this fishery enters its infancy for the year.
This week, Carter and Cleawox Lakes in the Northwest Zone were stocked with trout. Vernonia Pond received 350 steelhead.
Soapbox Update:
Tired of NOT catching any steelhead this winter. Well, get ready to catch even fewer in your future............if you don't stand up and tell the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commissioners what you think about a proposal to increase the incidental steelhead take 3 fold in the winter gillnet fishery! On Friday, February 12th, anglers must exercise their right to express their thoughts on this proposal to the Commissioners at the Sam Cox building in Troutdale, Oregon.
The meeting starts at 8:00 a.m. at 1106 East Columbia River Highway. The Commission needs to hear how you value the wild steelhead resource and the work we have done to protect and enhance it through conservation efforts such as catch-and-release fisheries and restoration work. The Washington Commission has failed its sportanglers and are calling for a doubling of the steelhead take. It is only the Oregon Commission that can stave off this attack at this point. Your input is vital in this process!
Always more at the website: http://www.theguidesforecast.com/
February 11th – February 17th, 2005
Another week of armchair reporting for us writers at TGF. If we are suggesting going to the Sportsmen Show over fishing, well, I think that all speaks for itself.
Subscribers - get discount coupons to this event in the Random Links section of the full version of this report!
Sturgeon fishing on the Columbia remains poor and prospects don't look all that favorable. Rumors of smelt in the lower river may have some effect but it just seems a lack of presence may take more than a pilot run to stimulate success.
Springer fishing on the big river is really no better. It's just too big of a body of water for too few fish (and still too cold) to expect measurable results.
The north coast is a biological desert. The weak rain freshet didn't produce the results most has expected and no precipitation is in sight. Poor tides will make for even poorer steelhead opportunities and sturgeon fishing will likely drop off as well. Crabbing and bottom fishing may be a good option as calm seas may prevail if the east wind show up.
All South coast rivers need rain. Low, clear, cold water is the rule along with the sort of fishing one might expect such conditions. It's slow. The few being taken on the Siletz have been natives. Pressure on the Umpqua is up, steelheading is fair. Reports from the Alsea, Coquille, Elk, Sixes, and even the usually productive Rogue River are all lousy.
It's been another slow, slow week on the Clackamas. Most of the few steelies taken on the Sandy over the last week have been natives.
Sturgeon of legal size are somewhere but not in the lower Willamette. The few springers taken by optimistic trollers were a glimmer of hope as this fishery enters its infancy for the year.
This week, Carter and Cleawox Lakes in the Northwest Zone were stocked with trout. Vernonia Pond received 350 steelhead.
Soapbox Update:
Tired of NOT catching any steelhead this winter. Well, get ready to catch even fewer in your future............if you don't stand up and tell the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commissioners what you think about a proposal to increase the incidental steelhead take 3 fold in the winter gillnet fishery! On Friday, February 12th, anglers must exercise their right to express their thoughts on this proposal to the Commissioners at the Sam Cox building in Troutdale, Oregon.
The meeting starts at 8:00 a.m. at 1106 East Columbia River Highway. The Commission needs to hear how you value the wild steelhead resource and the work we have done to protect and enhance it through conservation efforts such as catch-and-release fisheries and restoration work. The Washington Commission has failed its sportanglers and are calling for a doubling of the steelhead take. It is only the Oregon Commission that can stave off this attack at this point. Your input is vital in this process!
Always more at the website: http://www.theguidesforecast.com/