CALIFORNIA'S ONLY SPORTSMAN'S NEWS SINCE 1953
Most Recent
NORCAL FRESH REPORT
Untitled Page
NORCAL FRESH STORIES: SALMON SEASON possible for California, say sport groups...more
By WON Staff WritersPublished: Mar 02, 2010
NORTHERN CAL WEEKLY FRESH STORIES
BY BUD NEVILLE/WON Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO—While the decisions on whether a salmon season will exist in 2010 is still a month or more away, sport angler groups that have had a chance to examine data from the 2009 Central Valley Fall Salmon returns are optimistic for a sport ocean season. Key in the decision is not the number of adult salmon that returned in 2009, but the number of 2-year-old “jack” salmon that indicate next year’s adult run.
Despite an unusual disparity in the hatchery versus the river spawner counts, the jack count for the Sacramento River run was over 9,000 fish. Using biologist’ models, that indicates a return of 245,000 adult salmon in 2010. Resource managers will plan any potential harvest based on allowing the conservation goal “floor” of 122,000 to 180,000 adult fish to return to spawn. That means that there will be around 70,000 fish above the high end of the minimum floor. To Ben Sleeter, spokesperson for West Coast Highliners and fishing rights activist, that means it is very likely that we will have a good chance of a season.
“That’s not saying we might not have some restrictions,” he said. In years past, bag limit reductions, closed periods, and shortened seasons have all been management tools used in setting recreational seasons that will match the goal of harvest. “If there are harvestable fish, recreational fishermen should have some kind of fishing opportunity,” said Sleeter.
While the accepted numbers offer reason for optimism, Sleeter pointed out an odd disparity in some of the jack counting figures. “They count the jacks in two ways, one at the hatchery, and the other in the river, usually as carcass counts,” he said. “It’s easy to count them in the hatchery. Not so easy in the river.” In the years prior to 2009, DFG staff counted the carcasses in the river, and the count was always between three and four times the hatchery count. The 2009 river count of jacks, for the first time ever, was less than the hatchery count. Another change in the counting process was who counted the jacks; the DFG hired the job out to an independent firm.
“They didn’t have the budget,” said Sleeter. “Something happened when they counted these fish.” If not an issue of methodology, he suggested that at the very least the disparity is curious. “What’s going on? Is it environmental? At the very least, someone should be asking questions about this,” said Sleeter.
Despite the optimism from the sport angling sector, commercial anglers aren’t as thrilled. While they may be able to fish, their quotas would likely make the effort unprofitable. As a result, some are favoring yet another year with no salmon fishing.
“Bottom line is,” said Sleeter. “If there are fish to catch, recreational anglers are in position to get a fair share of those fish to catch.”
The Pacific Fishery Management Council begins the process by which our salmon seasons are adopted this week at their meeting in Sacramento. On the top of their agenda is adopting options for review for salmon seasons. The meeting runs from March 5 through March 11 at the Doubletree Motel.
CHOPPER DERBY tough fishing on Chetco, Smith rivers
BY BILL KARR/WON Staff Writer
SMITH RIVER—The Chopper Westbrook Derby put on by the Friends of Cal-Ore Fish on the Smith and Chetco rivers this past weekend was a tough one due to high water conditions, but 14 fish were still caught.
Guides Kim Hagen and Albert Kutzkey fished Bill Gereahty, Jim Dione, Jon Jaqua and Stan Potter to win the derby with four steelhead, all caught by Gereahty.
"It rained like heck on Thursday night and the Smith and Chetco rivers both came up three to five feet for Friday's fishing," said guide Phil Desautel of Phil's Smiling Salmon Guide Service. "the Chetco turned to mud by noon and most boats called it an early day."
He said that on Saturday it was a "plunk day" on the Smith, as the water height was still above the 20-foot mark at the 101 bridge.
A total of 14 fish were caught, 11 on the Smith and three on the Chetco, and Kevin Lee caught the big fish of the derby, a 31 1/2-inch steelhead. All the fish were released.
"There are still spaces for the Oakland Raider Derby coming up March 11, 12 and 13," said Desautel, "and interested anglers can contact Val Early at earlyfishing.com for information."
SMITH, CHETCO rivers should still have some good steelheadin'
BY BILL KARR/WON Staff Writer
BROOKINGS—Steelhead fishing was okay early in the week, and much better mid-week on the Smith, but very challenging on Friday through Sunday after the rains, according to guide Dave Jacobs of Professional Guide Service.
"The Smith River was good for one to three steelhead early in the week side drifting roe and a Quickie Puffball for steelhead 8 to 10 pounds with a 19-pound steelhead reported, which was the big fish of the week for one lucky angler on the Smith," reported Jacobs on Sunday.
He said that steelhead fishing Wednesday through Thursday was better on both the Smith and Chetco rivers as the rains returned and rivers rose.
"Some plunkers on the Chetco on Thursday did very well at Social Security bar with some nice new wild and hatchery fish nine to 12 pounds making their way upriver with the returning rains," Jacobs said. " Both the Smith and Chetco were a plunking affair on Friday and even Saturday.
"I do think some good steelhead fishing will begin to happen on both the Smith and Chetco on Monday, as both river level out and continue to drop," he said. "Some more rain forecasted this next week which should help with the color. Now that I am permitted to guide in Oregon I'm looking forward to some good steelhead fishing on the Rogue and Umpqua rivers in March/April."
KLAMATH RIVER upper end stays fishable, producing steelhead in spite of storm
BY JIM JONES/WON Staff Writer
HAPPY CAMP—The Trinity and Klamath rivers blew out through much of their lengths last week, but a good long stretch of the Klamath remained fishable and produced some nice steelhead.
“Fishing’s good,” said Wally Johnson of Seiad Valley Guide Service in speaking of the Klamath around Happy Camp. “The river came up a little bit, but it’s still in good shape. We’re getting several adults a day, plus a dozen or more nice chunky halfpounders.” When asked how big the adults were, Johnson said that a 6-year old boy—no name available—had landed a steelhead that weighed more than 8 pounds boondoggling roe through a deep hole. That’s one heck of a steelhead for the upper end of the Klamath.
Over on the Trinity River, Ed Duggan of “D” Guide Service said that the Trinity river was high and muddy from top to bottom. However, the upper end of the Trinity, down to the North Fork should clear quickly barring more storms.
“The valley saw 4 inches of rain in less than 36 hours,” he said. “Friday afternoon saw the river up by over 6 feet. In fact by Saturday noon saw the river at my house (Willow Creek) up over 8 feet. The good news is that that most all tributaries have reached their peaks and the main stem is dropping fast”
Duggan said the high water will help incoming steelhead reach the upper tributaries for spawning, and when the river at Cedar Flat drops to 2,000, cfs, fly fishing should again be good upstream from Del Loma. Duggan said that bank fishermen should do well using roe.
FEATHER RIVER steelies up top, stripers down low
OROVILLE – Fishing on the Feather River was pretty good last week, but the heavy rains muddied up the water, requiring anglers at the upper end of the river targeting steelhead to change tactics and those in the lower end fishing for striped bass, to put away their rods for awhile until the river cleared.
Craig Bentley of Huntington Sports said that steelhead fishing in the Low Flow Section had been pretty good.
“The majority of fish present in the Feather now are bright, with very few down-run fish seen yet,” he said. “Most of the fish were being caught on small nymphs by fly fishers.” But, that was before the water visibility was reduced to a couple of feet by muddy runoff. In the murkier water, Bentley said that the bait bite would pick up and going back to nightcrawlers, crawdad tails, and ghost shrimp would be the way to go.
Well downstream, Bob Bradbury of Johnson’s Bait and Tackle lamented the interruption resulting from an inflow of mud, of what had been a good striper bite early in the week from Shanghai Bend to Nicholas Bridge. He said that fly fishers Tony Buzolich and Jim May had been doing quite well on striped bass weighing up to 23 pounds on Clouser streamers. They were also being caught on shallow-running Bombers, Pencil Poppers and minnows.
|
||||
|
NORTHERN CAL WEEKLY FRESH STORIES BY BUD NEVILLE/WON Staff Writer SACRAMENTO—While the decisions on whether a salmon season will exist in 2010 is still a month or more away, sport angler groups that have had a chance to examine data from the 2009 Central Valley Fall Salmon returns are optimistic for a sport ocean season. Key in the decision is not the number of adult salmon that returned in 2009, but the number of 2-year-old “jack” salmon that indicate next year’s adult run.Despite an unusual disparity in the hatchery versus the river spawner counts, the jack count for the Sacramento River run was over 9,000 fish. Using biologist’ models, that indicates a return of 245,000 adult salmon in 2010. Resource managers will plan any potential harvest based on allowing the conservation goal “floor” of 122,000 to 180,000 adult fish to return to spawn. That means that there will be around 70,000 fish above the high end of the minimum floor. To Ben Sleeter, spokesperson for West Coast Highliners and fishing rights activist, that means it is very likely that we will have a good chance of a season. “That’s not saying we might not have some restrictions,” he said. In years past, bag limit reductions, closed periods, and shortened seasons have all been management tools used in setting recreational seasons that will match the goal of harvest. “If there are harvestable fish, recreational fishermen should have some kind of fishing opportunity,” said Sleeter. While the accepted numbers offer reason for optimism, Sleeter pointed out an odd disparity in some of the jack counting figures. “They count the jacks in two ways, one at the hatchery, and the other in the river, usually as carcass counts,” he said. “It’s easy to count them in the hatchery. Not so easy in the river.” In the years prior to 2009, DFG staff counted the carcasses in the river, and the count was always between three and four times the hatchery count. The 2009 river count of jacks, for the first time ever, was less than the hatchery count. Another change in the counting process was who counted the jacks; the DFG hired the job out to an independent firm. “They didn’t have the budget,” said Sleeter. “Something happened when they counted these fish.” If not an issue of methodology, he suggested that at the very least the disparity is curious. “What’s going on? Is it environmental? At the very least, someone should be asking questions about this,” said Sleeter. Despite the optimism from the sport angling sector, commercial anglers aren’t as thrilled. While they may be able to fish, their quotas would likely make the effort unprofitable. As a result, some are favoring yet another year with no salmon fishing. “Bottom line is,” said Sleeter. “If there are fish to catch, recreational anglers are in position to get a fair share of those fish to catch.” The Pacific Fishery Management Council begins the process by which our salmon seasons are adopted this week at their meeting in Sacramento. On the top of their agenda is adopting options for review for salmon seasons. The meeting runs from March 5 through March 11 at the Doubletree Motel. CHOPPER DERBY tough fishing on Chetco, Smith rivers BY BILL KARR/WON Staff Writer SMITH RIVER—The Chopper Westbrook Derby put on by the Friends of Cal-Ore Fish on the Smith and Chetco rivers this past weekend was a tough one due to high water conditions, but 14 fish were still caught. Guides Kim Hagen and Albert Kutzkey fished Bill Gereahty, Jim Dione, Jon Jaqua and Stan Potter to win the derby with four steelhead, all caught by Gereahty. "It rained like heck on Thursday night and the Smith and Chetco rivers both came up three to five feet for Friday's fishing," said guide Phil Desautel of Phil's Smiling Salmon Guide Service. "the Chetco turned to mud by noon and most boats called it an early day." He said that on Saturday it was a "plunk day" on the Smith, as the water height was still above the 20-foot mark at the 101 bridge. A total of 14 fish were caught, 11 on the Smith and three on the Chetco, and Kevin Lee caught the big fish of the derby, a 31 1/2-inch steelhead. All the fish were released. "There are still spaces for the Oakland Raider Derby coming up March 11, 12 and 13," said Desautel, "and interested anglers can contact Val Early at earlyfishing.com for information." SMITH, CHETCO rivers should still have some good steelheadin' BY BILL KARR/WON Staff Writer BROOKINGS—Steelhead fishing was okay early in the week, and much better mid-week on the Smith, but very challenging on Friday through Sunday after the rains, according to guide Dave Jacobs of Professional Guide Service. "The Smith River was good for one to three steelhead early in the week side drifting roe and a Quickie Puffball for steelhead 8 to 10 pounds with a 19-pound steelhead reported, which was the big fish of the week for one lucky angler on the Smith," reported Jacobs on Sunday. He said that steelhead fishing Wednesday through Thursday was better on both the Smith and Chetco rivers as the rains returned and rivers rose. "Some plunkers on the Chetco on Thursday did very well at Social Security bar with some nice new wild and hatchery fish nine to 12 pounds making their way upriver with the returning rains," Jacobs said. " Both the Smith and Chetco were a plunking affair on Friday and even Saturday. "I do think some good steelhead fishing will begin to happen on both the Smith and Chetco on Monday, as both river level out and continue to drop," he said. "Some more rain forecasted this next week which should help with the color. Now that I am permitted to guide in Oregon I'm looking forward to some good steelhead fishing on the Rogue and Umpqua rivers in March/April." KLAMATH RIVER upper end stays fishable, producing steelhead in spite of storm
BY JIM JONES/WON Staff WriterHAPPY CAMP—The Trinity and Klamath rivers blew out through much of their lengths last week, but a good long stretch of the Klamath remained fishable and produced some nice steelhead. “Fishing’s good,” said Wally Johnson of Seiad Valley Guide Service in speaking of the Klamath around Happy Camp. “The river came up a little bit, but it’s still in good shape. We’re getting several adults a day, plus a dozen or more nice chunky halfpounders.” When asked how big the adults were, Johnson said that a 6-year old boy—no name available—had landed a steelhead that weighed more than 8 pounds boondoggling roe through a deep hole. That’s one heck of a steelhead for the upper end of the Klamath. Over on the Trinity River, Ed Duggan of “D” Guide Service said that the Trinity river was high and muddy from top to bottom. However, the upper end of the Trinity, down to the North Fork should clear quickly barring more storms. “The valley saw 4 inches of rain in less than 36 hours,” he said. “Friday afternoon saw the river up by over 6 feet. In fact by Saturday noon saw the river at my house (Willow Creek) up over 8 feet. The good news is that that most all tributaries have reached their peaks and the main stem is dropping fast” Duggan said the high water will help incoming steelhead reach the upper tributaries for spawning, and when the river at Cedar Flat drops to 2,000, cfs, fly fishing should again be good upstream from Del Loma. Duggan said that bank fishermen should do well using roe. FEATHER RIVER steelies up top, stripers down low OROVILLE – Fishing on the Feather River was pretty good last week, but the heavy rains muddied up the water, requiring anglers at the upper end of the river targeting steelhead to change tactics and those in the lower end fishing for striped bass, to put away their rods for awhile until the river cleared. Craig Bentley of Huntington Sports said that steelhead fishing in the Low Flow Section had been pretty good. “The majority of fish present in the Feather now are bright, with very few down-run fish seen yet,” he said. “Most of the fish were being caught on small nymphs by fly fishers.” But, that was before the water visibility was reduced to a couple of feet by muddy runoff. In the murkier water, Bentley said that the bait bite would pick up and going back to nightcrawlers, crawdad tails, and ghost shrimp would be the way to go. Well downstream, Bob Bradbury of Johnson’s Bait and Tackle lamented the interruption resulting from an inflow of mud, of what had been a good striper bite early in the week from Shanghai Bend to Nicholas Bridge. He said that fly fishers Tony Buzolich and Jim May had been doing quite well on striped bass weighing up to 23 pounds on Clouser streamers. They were also being caught on shallow-running Bombers, Pencil Poppers and minnows. |
||||
Digg This Article
