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