10/29/07

Siletz Trap

Trap Report for Today (Monday 10/29): short day, one hatchery male steelhead is now providing protein to the bugs and birds and fish in the Siletz.

Brian Hudson, Reporting

10/26/07

Siletz Fish Trap Report

Friday, Oct. 26

Roger Wilson, Ryan Miner and Wayde Dudley visited the trap this morning. It was cool and no rain. The river was about a foot higher than my last visit. No dry rock now.

The trap held a total of 51 fish:

2 wild male Coho ( sent back down river with insructions not to return)

3 wild female Coho ( sent back down river with insructions not to return)

1 wild Steelhead females

29 hatchery Steelhead females

14 hatchery Steelhead males

43 of the Steelhead were recycled back into the stream a 5 locations upstream from the trap to Gravel Creek.

9 fish had seal marks where they had been bitten and 1 had net marks.

Saw no mammels of note. I did watch a Water Ouzel now renamed an American Dipper (conclus mexicanus) as it searched underwater among the rocks for food. We saw a Ruffed Grouse (bonasa umbellus) along side the road.

Back in town by 1300. My next trip is Friday, November 2.

Wayde

10/19/07 and 10/22/07

Schooner Creek Fish Trap
Wayne Hill, Frank Stout, Wayde and I went to the Schooner Creek Fish Trap on Friday, October 19th to install new locks and check on the condition of the trap. There was quite a bit of work done on the ladder and several safety features added to the fish trap. There were no fish but the gate was clogged with leaves and debris which had to be cleaned out. Also, Frank Stout got down in the trap to shovel the gravel which had accumulated. Everything else appeared to be in good shape.

Our regular team duty started on Monday, October 22, 2007. John Spangler, Wayne Hill and I went back to check the trap. The gate was again clogged and Wayne Hill got down in the trap to clean it out. We were surprised how much debris had accumulated since Friday. There still were no fish, but we all agreed it was a such a beautiful spot we could not consider it a waste of time.

First Lady

10/19/07

SILETZ TRAP REPORT (19 OCT. 2007)

Trap Team comprised of >> Roger Wilson >> Tom Roederer >> John S……..

Today was a long, rough ride in, very wet >>> 26 Fish Day…….2 Coho’s…….6 Native Steelhead……….18 Hatchery Steelies >><< Taken to the Siletz Tribal Council Headquarters.

Unfortunately……one of the lower grates on the head of the trap suffered a broken weld. We were able to get it out of the trap & Roger will try to repair the damaged piece. This caused us to “Officially Close the Trap”……. Until Roger can return with the grate repaired sometime on Monday.

NOTE >> We will not need to supply a Trap Team for Monday !!!

P> S>> The River was rising at a pretty rapid rate as we pulled out about 2:45 PM………….The HOOK

10/17/07

Siletz Fish Trap 10/17/07

Dick Garvey and I went with Roger Wilson to the trap this morning. It rained most of the time we were at the trap and quit, naturally, just as we got back in the truck. There were 16 fish in the trap, no springers, as well as a few that were held over from Monday. 6 fish were transferred to the truck and are on their way to Hebo for brood stock. 6 fish were also left inside the trap with the remainder "dispatched" and sent floating back down the river. We were back in town around 1:00 as Roger proceeded on to Hebo.

Frank

10/15/07

Siletz Fish Trap Report

Friday, Oct. 15

Roger Wilson, Brian Hudson and Wayde Dudley visited the trap this morning. It was cool an overcast. The river was lower than Friday by a foot or so.

The trap held a total of 9 fish:

3 hatchery Steelhead females

6 hatchery Steelhead males

7 were left in the trap for a brood stock trip to the Salmon River hatchery on Wednesday. Roger needs 6 more pair to complete this years brood stock needs. 2 fish were killed and returned to the river.

Saw 5 deer,no elk, moose, bison or caribou.

Back in town by 1200. My next trip is Friday the 26th with Tom.

Wayde

10/05/07

All. I went with Roger last Friday to the Siletz trap. Hardly any traffic on
the way up. I knew I was in deep doo doo when we opened the trap door and
when Roger looked in he exclaimed "oh crap". There were so many fish that we
didn't know where to start so we just dug in. By the time we separated them
there were only about 5 Chinook which we passed up stream along with about 6
native steelhead. That left us to process approximately 103 fin clipped
steelhead. We left 10 in the trap and dispatched the rest. Only about 5 were
under 10 lbs with the rest being in the 11 to 16 lb range. After zonking
them we loaded them in the truck and took some up to the gravel beds and
threw them in the water. After that Roger had to do a survey on spawning
beds off of 120 which took about an hour, maybe less. We couldn't get radio
reception and my cell phone was out of range so we took the remaining zonked
fish to the Siletz food bank in hopes of someone being there to accept the
56 fish left in the tank. Luckily there were people there so we didn't have
to go back to the gravel beds to dump them. All in all it was a very long
and tiring day. My shoulders were sore from netting all of those fish. I got
home around 5. TCM GO DUCKS
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07/28/07

The following is the trap report for July 27--

Wow!! What a day at the trap. Jim Dunlap and I went up with Roger Wilson (Roger had the Siletz Trap duties prior to Casey. He retired but was called back to help out for the next 6 months while Casey fulfills his new duties). We netted 161 clipped steelhead, 6 wild steelhead and 3 Chinook springers. The fish were so thick in the trap that Jim netted 6 with one swoop. His net was so heavy that Roger had to help lift it. The procedure was different this trip in as much as we "dispatched" all of the 161 hatchery fish. The reason was that the higher water temperatures downstream compared to the cooler temperatures upstream would have caused the fish to go into shock and die had we released them downstream. Therefore after netting all of the fish and placing them in the holding tanks we had to club them. They were then identified and placed in the bucket. The bucket was filled to the brim. I'll post a few photos tomorrow. We then took the fish back down to Siletz where they were given to the tribe. The fish were being distributed to individual families as we left and all those not distributed were to be processed and placed in a commercial size smoker. The smoked steelhead are then distributed to the tribe elders at Christmas time. Nothing is wasted.

We stopped to get ice prior to going upstream but all of the tuna fishermen outstripped the supply and no ice was to be had. Therefore time was important following the harvest and distribution. All in all it was a very busy day and I for one am ready for a shower and a good night's sleep. Take care, Frank

Note:Here are a couple of the photos I took yesterday of the steelhead stacked inside the bucket like cordwood. We were able to get all 161 fish inside the bucket but I don't think it would have held another fish. The average fish weighs about 10 lbs so there are approximately 1,600 pounds of fish in the bucket. Take care, Frank

06/29/07

This in from Frank Stout. These are photos from the Siletz Trap.

03/29/07

CAMP PALMER CREEK (29 March 07)

THIS JUST IN……….All’s well in Camp, on Day 3 !! The Steelhead Smolt are being fed 2 times a day. Many of the little buggers have actually started to go over the stop logs & begin their migration down the Siletz River to the sea !! It still looks like Casey will hold the remaining Smolt in the Beaver Ponds thru Saturday.

You may recall, that all of the Fishing Club Officers agreed to hold our 2^nd Quarter Board meeting at Camp Palmer Creek today. The meeting went along rather well until the very end. It seems that Big Fish, First Lady & the Surveyor took umbrage with us calling the ponds…BEAVER PONDS !!! It was their contention & they proposed a motion to that effect, that the ponds should be called…DUCK PONDS !!!

This resulted in the General, Ducks & the Creek Meister finding this motion very contrary to the laws of nature & general approbation !! At this point Sparky did not have an opinion & Ginger abstained from what was rapidly becoming a VERY HEATED DEBATE !!!

As the Club President…..I was about to intervene, when Ducks got hit on the head with a plastic Water Bottle, the exact culprit has still not been determined. Be that as it may, in a fit of great angst, the Surveyor knocked the table over & the First Lady’s camera got trampled….Big Fish & the Creek Meister found themselves under the table, engaged in some very sharp dialogue, the exact contents of which I prefer not to relate in this report. While all of this was going on, I became aware of the First Lady accusing the General of intentionally damaging her camera. He of course, was defending his innocence with great vigor !!!

It was at this point, that Sparky’s CERT Training came in handy, because some how Big Fishes Pants caught ON FIRE !! There is reason to believe, this was the result of a surreptitious cigarette lighter in the possession of the Creek Meister.

Clearly this was the appropriate for me, as the Club President, TO ACT !!! I did & both groups of antagonists’ TURNED ON ME & they THREW ME INTO THE….”I am afraid for my life to use the correct (B) term”…. POND !!! Suffice to say, it was “Katy Bar the Door” when Ginger suggested’ we all have some more coffee & another cookie !!! Yes, she returned us to our civilized sense of decorum with a COOKIE !!!

I was a little WET, but closed the meeting, with all of us agreeing, it was one of the BEST BOARD MEETINGS we have ever had & I might add we agreed to table the “TYPE OF POND ISSUE” for a later meeting in JUNE !!! THE HOOK

03/27/07

Some of us went to Palmer Creek to begin the great smolt watch on Tuesday, March 27th. We helped Frank set up his trailer, then helped with the unloading of the smolts. It turned out to be a nice day and was a wonderful spot for exploring. Brian was nice enough to show Ginger Stout and me the weir and the old growth forest. It really was amazing . . . thanks Brian. I think we were all a little envious that Frank and Ginger were going to be able to stay and all reluctantly said good-bye (although as the temperature dropped leaving was a little easier). This is a good thing our Club is doing, but it is definitely made easier because it is such a beautiful setting.
First Lady

03/27/07

CAMP PALMER CREEK !!! (27 March 07)

THIS JUST IN……….Today began the largest combined ODFW///LVH Fishing Club Project we have ever attempted !!!

As you may have heard, ODFW wanted to plant 50 Thousand Winter Run Steelhead Smolt in 2 beaver Ponds that feed into Palmer Creek, which feeds into the Siletz River. The supervising ODFW Biologist, Casey Deckard, needed to have pond protection for the smolt, 24 Hrs. a day, for about 6 to 7 days. This would protect the smolt from predation & allow them to acclimate to their natural environment….. before they were released from the ponds to begin their migration to the sea.

HOW TO DO THAT ???

That’s where our Club stepped up to the plate !!! Big Fish & the General got a hold of this challenge & away we went !!!!

Today the Steelhead Smolt went into the ponds & CAMP PALMER CREEK became a reality !!! This all was made possible because of a Gathering of Eagles……Frank & Ginger Stout have provided their cool 26ft Trailer & Bud Roark kicked in a dandy generator. Big Fish has a Watch Bill in place, that will meet the needs of providing a 24 hour vigil for these fish until “Casey says, LET’ EM GO” !!!!

Special THANKS to the camp set up crew….Wayne, Brian, Wayde, Barb, Butch & Me !!!!

It was a Great Team Effort & Really Fun to see all of those little Steelhead about to go to sea. Stay tuned for more information as our vigil progresses to Release Day. THE HOOK

3/12/07

Team Steelhead went on their scheduled trip to the Schooner Creek Fish trap on Monday, March 12th. Alas, as you can see by the dejected souls in the photo, there were no fish. The good news is everything was clean and in working order. The fish trap was cleaned of debris and we went on our way. It is never a wasted trip to Schooner Creek because you always get to experience the great beauty of the area. It beats working any day . . .

3/7/07

SILETZ TRAPPERS REPORT ( 7 March 07)

This Just In……..The Dynamic Duo ( Bud Roark & Butch Minich ) with Casey at the Helm…Report a Good Day at the Trap !!!

They had a Total of 33 Steelhead.....( 23 Natives & 10 Hatchery ).

The Natives were transported back down to Spring Creek for release. The Trappers said, it rained on & off, but the Bucket Ride & seeing the beautiful Native Steelhead released back into the wild made it all worthwhile. They also reported, that it looks like Casey’s successful knee surgery has him “about ready” for a Marathon Run !!!

THE HOOK

03/05/07

Today Frank Stout's team had fish trap duty. Not everyone on his team could make it today so we improvised and our group this morning included Frank, Bob Abbott, Hank Bryson, Wayde and myself. Unfortunately, there were no fish in the trap today. We did, however, have a very productive morning. Wayde replaced the broken cable with new and the gate worked just fine. With three shovels working and the Creek running as fast as it was, it didn't take long to get the Creek cleaned up. You can see by the picture of Hank how fast the water was running. I especially like the photo of him "behind bars". Anyway, everything looks good, now we just have to wait for some fish to come along and enjoy it!
First Lady

02/26/07

Frank Stout reported that on Monday, February 26th, there were two steelhead in the trap, one male, one female, both wild and both dead. He has no idea as to what may have happened. He took some photos showing their less-than-warm experience. Even though it looked chilly, those of us who have been up there know it was still a great experience.

01/15/07

Monday, January 15th and the Team Steelhead (Wayne Hill, Dave Dinsmoor, Wayde and Barb Dudley) headed out for the Schooner Creek Fish Trap. Obviously, as shown by the photos, this was no job for wimps. The top picture is the first view we had of the trap after leaving our parked (and warm) vehicles. The second photo shows Wayde and Dave discussing the new cover on the fish trap and the third photo shows Wayne going into the trap to check for fish. Unfortunately, there weren't any in the trap so he just cleaned it out and we called it good. Then there's Wayde having to thaw the guard chain hasp. Lastly, is Wayne's vehicle coming down the road toward the gate to the main road. As you can see, it was beautiful there and well worth the drive even if the dedicated team did not find any fish in the trap.