12/29/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

This in from Frank Stout....................

Hank Bryson, Larry Dale and I checked the Schooner Creek trap this morning and released 4 wild, male steelhead upstream. The creek was high and there was a lot of silt buildup in the upper chamber. However, we were able to pry the front gate up and cleared out most of the debris in just a short time. We had a difficult time in getting the padlock on the trap to lock. Recommend that the next team checking the trap take up some lube for the lock.

Take care, Frank

12/26/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

This in from Mike Samples............................

Good afternoon,

Just another day at the trap. Today we had two fish in the trap, one wild male Coho and one wild male Steelhead. I released both fish into the main section of the creek just on the other side of the sand bags. Both fish immediately headed for deep water but neither headed back to the trap. I think this will work better than trying to release them upstream and have them turn around and head right back for the trap. I didn't see my female Coho again, could it be something I said? Good luck to the team on Monday.

Mike

12/24/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

This in from Mike "Git-R-Done" Samples..............................


Good afternoon, and Merry Christmas to all,

Today, believe it or not we had fish in the trap. There were two fish, one wild male and one wild female Coho. Both fish are very healthy and in full spawning colors. I released the male up stream and he immediately headed back down and into the upper section of the trap. I was able to chase him back out but it took a while to convince him to head to the other side of the creek. When I returned for the female, and while spending quality time in the trap with her, she was somehow able to turn slip through the entrance opening and went back down the ladder for the time being escaping my best efforts. I will return on Friday and "Git-R-Done".

Since the diversion of the channel I believe it is important to walk to the middle of the creek and release fish into the main channel. By doing this we may alleviate the necessity to chase fish back out of the upper section of the trap. Just a thought.

Mike

12/22/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

SCHOONER CREEK TRAP RUN
( 22 December 2008 ……. 3 Men & 54 Miles Round Trip)
Seasons Greetings from Team Chinook >><< We had a beautiful Trap Run AM today. Just when we hit the gravel road, we found snow all along the road & into the Trap. There was lots of water moving in the Creek & Casey did a Great Job of directing flow into the Trap.
We found No Fish, but the Head Gate was full of debris which Bill cleared & Bud did some work on the Front of the Trap. I managed to just make a Trap Log Entry & Look Very Busy !!!!
Actually, we had a really fun, relatively dry, morning, but then it started to do a rain/sleet/snow mix just as we were pulling up the Steep Grade out of the Trap …. No problem >><< We used the Chevy Trail Blazer in 4 High & Marched up the Hill & back to the Road Gate. It was Clear Sailing the rest of the way home……….
JCS for Team Chinook

12/15/08

This in from Mike Samples...................................



Good morning,

Following is the report for Schooner Creek during this week. Wednesday, no fish. Friday, no fish. Sunday, no fish. There you have it, a pretty boring report. I went up to the creek today to see what limbs had fallen on the road after the wind storm. There wasn't anything in the road that I couldn't move out of the way. The road is clear with nothing to hamper vehicle passage. I really don't think there is enough water at the bottom of the ladder to entice fish to enter. When you go up tomorrow plan on driving a four wheel drive just to be on the safe side as the snow on the road will probably become icy this evening and it is pretty slick. Hopefully you will have better luck than I had.

Mike

12/05/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:


This came in last Saturday from Mike.....................................



Good afternoon,

My fish trap report for this week is the same as last week. The water is low (although there is adequate flow for fish) and the fish are staying is the deeper oxygenated runs down river. I didn't see any fish today but the ones I had been watching for the past couple of weeks have moved up the creek to different holding water. No fish at the trap but I did see the elk herd down river. Today I encountered a tow truck speeding up Schooner Creek road. When I caught up with him he was just above the 5mi. marker where a couple of intoxicated teens had left the road in their SUV last night and had attempted to do a swan dive into the creek. Luckily they didn't make it and apparently found a warm place to sleep last night as guests of lincoln County. Another interesting trip.

Mike

12/01/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

TEAM CHINOOK >><< SCHOONER TRAP REPORT ( 1 December 2008) (3 Men & 54 Miles Round Trip)

Our Trap Report is identical to Mikes Report of last week …….. James >><< We need some Guidance on what Can / Should be Done to Improve the Hydraulic Action of the Water in & thru the Trap. We all have a wide range of “How to Do It’s” >><< But it seems to us, that the “Buck Stops” with you” & possibly your colleague with the Forest Service. In any event ……….

LVH FC stands ready to assist you with what ever Remedy you Direct ……….. Let us know how you suggest we proceed …….. JCS for Team Chinook (Bill, Bud & Bob)

11/26/08 AND 11/28/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

This in from Mike Samples.....................................



Good afternoon everyone,

The trap report for both Wednesday and Friday this week is not very exciting. There is very little water, not much silt and gravel and no fish. Both days I cleaned the trap and worked on the front of the trap removing debris. We need water to bring more fish up. On the way down from the trap (approx. a mile and a quarter from the gate) I did see what I believe to be the same pair of fish I have been seeing for the last week. I think they have built a redd and are planning their family lower down the river than we expected. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

MIKE

11/28/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

11/25/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

Wayde, Barb & Lee Fries checked the Schooner trap Monday morning, leaving at 8:00 am. There were no fish in the trap but there was only 2 inches of water above the 8 inches of gravel and silt in the bottom. Wayde & Lee shoveled out the gravel and left with it clean, both gates on the trap floor and 8 to 10 inches of water flowing through. It looks like an engineering solution will have to be designed to try and keep the gravel from filling the trap. The way the gravel bar in front of the trap, the water flow and water direction are the gravel will continue to inundate the trap. Possibly raising the dam height, removing the sand bags or something else can be done to help. We were back in Newport by 10:30 am.

Wayde

This in from Barb..............great pics

Lee Fries went with Wayde and I to the Schooner Creek fish trap this morning (Nov. 24th). It was Lee's first time at the trap and he literally jumped in with both feet. There were no fish in the trap but a lot of shoveling to clear it of debris. That's him crawling underneath the gate to get to the other side to shovel. No doubt he is going to be a great addition to our Club . . .

11/22/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Roger Wilson just called in his trap report for Friday on the Siletz. There were 33 clipped summer steelhead, 3 wild summers, and 1 wild winter steelhead. They then went to Bohannan and found 12 wild cohos that were 10-15# each. Roger reports that they were the nicest and largest cohos that he has seen at the trap. He attributes the numbers and the large size to the good ocean conditions we are having.

11/17/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

This in from Frank Stout............The work party for Schooner Creek is still on for tomorrow (Tuesday).
A special THANK YOU to Mike Samples for his work in making the trap operational after the big flood last week.

Hank, Butch, Brian and I went up to the Schooner Creek trap today. You could tell that Mike Samples did a lot of work because it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought that it would be. There was quite a build up of sand in both chambers of the trap. The water inside the trap was only about ankle deep so I was surprised to discover a wild coho male. He was pretty red with a well pronounced hook. He must have liked the trap because as soon as Brian released him upstream he made a U turn and swam right back down into the upper chamber of the trap. Brian had a fun time trying to net him by reaching through the upper bars. Brian was successful and he finally decided to head on upstream. Hank and Butch were able to install a new cable on the upper winch. ODFW has provided new locks and they did have some difficulty in getting the new padlock to fit through the hole of the metal rod securing the trap top lid but they got it to work.

The water level has dropped quite a bit but still a little brisk at mid stream. We placed a ladder in the stream and with someone holding the ladder steady from up on top of the bridge I don't think there will be any problem for tomorrow.

Take care, Frank

11/10/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

SCHOONER FISH TRAP REPORT >>>>>> TEAM CHINOOK on 10 Nov. 2008 (4 Men & Round Trip Mileage of … 54 Miles)

What a Great Day we had at the Trap >><<>

4 Native Coho >>> (3 Male & 1 Female)

2 Native Steelhead >>> (1 Dead Male & 1 Female on her last legs ??)

Trap conditions required some work to clear considerable debris, but stream flow was clear & never critically restricted.

**** You All will notice a NEW TRAP BAR LOCK provided, compliments of Surveyor DUDLEY !!!! It works SO MUCH BETTER than the Chain & Boys Howdy, is it ever handy to use down in the trap to clear debris off of the gates…….. Great Job Wayde & Special Thanks from all of the Trappers (No more “Skinned Knuckles” hooking up the Chain) ……….. ELECTRIC BILL

From: James Ray [mailto:James.Ray@state.or.us]
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 1:47 PM
To: John Spangler; BILL FURGASON
Subject: RE: SCHOONER TRAP REPORT ........ (11/10/08)

Great news about the fish in the trap today, I was really hoping we would get some.

I was wondering if there were any holes on the gill plates of the coho and to use this as an opportunity to remind everyone to remember to check. Also I am a little intrigued and concerned about the native steelhead. This is very early to see wild winter steelhead, and wild summer steelhead typically would not use a small system like South Fork Schooner. Bill, could you give me your opinion of the condition of these fish. I am worried about the fact that the male was dead. Did he seem healthy and fresh or was he beaten up like he’d been in the system for a long time. I’d appreciate your insight.

Thanks again and good job getting wild coho up in the system!

James

11/07/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:


Good afternoon,

I went to the trap today and found no fish! The trap was full of leaves and had almost stopped the water flow. There was about 6" of water in the trap. I cleaned all leaves out from both gates and the front of the trap and everything is now running well. Hopefully you will find some fish on Monday. the creek was up significantly.

Mike

11/03/08

Wayde, Barb and Wayne visited the Schooner trap Monday morning. We left LVH at 0800, stopped at Hail Mary's for a "road coffee" and reached the trap about 0845. There were no fish in the trap. We cleaned a fair amount of leaves and sticks out of the gates.

The clip board with the data sheets was not in the shed. Not sure where that is. Light showers but still a pleasant day. We were back at LVH by 1000. A few pics of the trap area.

10/31/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

This in from Hank Bryson...............

Without a prompting from Mr. Wayde Dudley I am putting out a report on the trap! There were eight Hatchery fish in the trap and one nice Native that went on up over the falls, two of the hatchery fish were tagged fish. Fall has been relentless in putting lots of leaves into the river which had the trap water backed up and quite high. Casey still thinks a good run of summer steelhead will be in the trap after this weeks rains and he said the first winter steelhead was reported caught last week. Wildlife seen was one nice white headed bald eagle and one small deer that was the same color as the steelhead--DARK. we also opened up the Bohannon trap, the river is very low and Casey wanted to have the trap ready as the Coho are showing up in large numbers down low in the river and with the rains flushing out the river they will be able to get a better count of the fish this year.

Hank

10/17/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

SORRY ABOUT NOT SENDING A REPORT UNTIL I SAW FIRST MATE WAYDE ON SUNDAY I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOT!! THE SILETZ TRAP HAD 46 FIN CLIPPED STEELHEAD AND 6 NATIVE FISH, ALSO 1 COHO WAS IN THE TRAP. WE TOOK ALL THE FIN CLIPPED TO THE NEWPORT FOOD BANK. WE SAW ONE SQUIRREL RUN ACROSS THE ROAD FOR WILDLIFE. TRACY SAID THAT SOME MORE STEELHEAD ARE IN THE RIVER BUT THE RUN SHOULD BE SLOWING DOWN SOON.

HANK

10/24/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

John Hall and I joined Casey today to check the Siletz Trap. There were a total of 15 steelhead in the trap, one of which was wild. All of the 14 hatchery fish were dispatched for stream enhancement. 5 were placed in the stream at the trap, 6 were taken upstream and 3 were saved to be placed into Mill Creek. We saw a beautiful red tail hawk flying ahead of us down the road during the return trip. It was a beautiful fall day in the gorge.
Frank

10/10/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Roger Wilson reports that there were 54 steelhead in the trap yesterday, 2 of which were wild. In addition there were 2 coho. Frank Stout

10/03/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP

Finally, back on the river.

Wayde & Casey went to the Siletz trap Friday, 10/3. It was good to be back in the gorge, the river and the fish. The river was 6 inches higher than my last trip in August. The level was even with the top of the flat rocks by the old headgate upstream from the trap. There was good variety today also. The trap suffered a malfunction in the main headgate lifting device. The collar at the top of the stem was broken apparently during the last use. Casey was able to squeeze it with his fingers while I turned the handle and we got the gate closed. They have another collar so it can be repaired.

There were 22 fish in the trap with the following count:

Steelhead

hatchery 7 bucks 4 hens

wild 2 hens

Chinook (wild)

7 bucks

2 jacks

The 7 male steelhead were penned and will be used for brood stock. Casey will take them over next Wednesday. We had 1 large male Chinook that we estimated at 25 lbs. A big, colorful and strong fish.

1 grouse was observed on the way in and 5 deer were seen by the log truck in front of us on the way out. A light drizzle continued throughout the day.

Wayde

08/29/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Kevin, my son Mike and I worked the trap today. It was a beautiful day up the gorge where 2 deer were spotted as we were leaving the great city of Siletz. We found a total of 26 fish in the trap consisting of 18 male and 6 female steelhead. In addition there were 2 jack coho that were released upstream. All of the steelhead were brought to Food Share in Newport. Today was Kevin's last day.

We understand that following the heavy rains there were in excess of 200 steelhead in the trap last week with approximately 140 brought down for distribution to the tribe in Siletz.

Frank Stout

08/16/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Wayde, John Spangler and Kevin Bastien left the cold, windy, foggy South Newport and headed for the Siletz River. The further east we got the brighter it became. About 4 miles into the gorge it was nice and sunny, 70 degrees and very little wind. Most pleasant.

The trap contained 69 fish plus 7 that were left in the pens for brood stock. These will be taken to Hebo next week. The count was:

Hatchery

29 males 10 females

Native

6 males 11 female

Previously tagged return fish

7 males 5 females

and 1 immature male coho. Not sure where he came from.

Trip wildlife consisted of a doe deer and 2 fawns, 1 cottontail rabbit, 1 red-tailed hawk, a buzzard and a falcon sized bird of unknown species.

There was no active logging today due to the high fire danger conditions in the forest. We took 39 fish to Newport Foodshare and were back at the ODF&W office by 1:05 pm.

Wayde

07/18/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Friday, 7/18/08

The trap crew today consisted of Wayde Dudley, Brian Hudson and Kevin Bastien. It was partly cloudy and mid 60's at the trap. Very little logging activity today. The trap held a total of 86 fish. All were Steelhead except one jack Chinook. The Steelhead numbers were:

Hatchery fish

35 bucks 31 hens

Wild fish

2 bucks 5 hens

There were 3 tagged Steelhead that had been in the trap before and 5 fish were left in the trap.

66 Steelhead were transported downriver to Moonshine Park and released.

Saw 6 deer on the way in, in 2 groups of 3 each. We were back in Newport by 2 pm.

Wayde

07/25/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

The vagabond (a.k.a. Drifter) Ron Gibbs, and I joined Kevin to the trap which contained a total of 71 fish. 31 bucks and 25 hen steelhead were recycled to Moonshine Park. 2 bucks and 10 wild females were released upstream and 1 hatchery chinook was sent back down the ladder. 2 previously tagged steelhead were dispatched. It was a beautiful day and we saw a doe with her 2 fawns on the way up.
Frank

07/11/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Lots of Fish!

My son Chris and I went to ODFW on Friday morning and met up with Kevin and Casey. They had a big day planned with two trips down to moonshine to release steelhead, an all day process. I informed them that we were only going to be good for one trip. Chris and I were to meet my wife Kathy at the Siletz tribal government hill for the Siletz all staff meeting and picnic. Chris and I drove to moonshine park and left my truck then Chris rode with Kevin and I rode with Casey.

After arriving at, and opening up the trap we found it to be full of fish. Casey estimated around 200 fish to be in the trap. We proceeded net and tag fish putting the hatchery fish into the pens. We placed 10 native steelhead, and one jack salmon in the release pen. Kevin did a tissue sample and scale test on the jack salmon before releasing it. Kevin, Chris, and I loaded up 62 hatchery steelhead and transported them down river to Moonshine park and released them at the boat ramp. Casey stayed at the trap to get started on the next 60 steelhead to be relocated down river. Casey estimated that there would be at least another 10 natives to go up river in the second group. The basic plan was to release the natives, and to transfer at least 120 fish to Moonshine Park. We dispatched three return hatchery fish and recycled them to the river for stream enhancment. I am sorry that I don't have an accurate trap count for the day because we left early. I do know that there will be a lot of fish for them to work on Monday with what were to be left plus new arrivals over the weekend. There was no wildlife spotted and it was a beautiful day up in the gorge. For everyone that has not taken the opportunity to participate in this project you are really missing out.

P. S. It was a good picnic!

Good Fishing!

Electric Bill

07/03/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Wayde & his grandson Scott Hutchings went to the Siletz trap with Kevin Bastien and Derek Wilson today. They wanted to check it on Thursday because Friday is a holiday and there are a lot of fish in the river. Mostly sunny in the gorge today and in the mid 60's.

The trap was checked on Wednesday the 2nd and 50+ fish were left in the trap and 60 were hauled to Moonshine Park and released. The trap held 110 fish today with the following count:

Hatchery Steelhead

36 bucks 53 hens

Wild Steelhead

6 bucks 14 hens

Wild Chinook

1 jack

60 fish were released at Moonshine Park and 29 were taken to Lincoln County Food Share.

The temperature in the trap and at Moonshine was 60 degrees. There were many fisherman today near the 1 mile mark.

3 deer were seen on the way in this morning.

Wayde

06/27/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Friday, June 27, 2008

Wayde & John S. accompanied kevin Bastien to the Siletz trap. Bright, clear and sunny day. It was actually hot before the day was over. Pretty big day at the trap. A total of 104 fish were in the trap, 15 left from Wednesday and 89 new ones. The best news was 4 spring Chinook were among the group. The breakdown is as follows:

Hatchery steelhead = 89

60 transported to a new dump spot about a mile below Moonshine Park

28 bucks 32 hens

4 tagged return fish that were recycled

25 left in trap for next visit

Wild steelhead = 11

4 bucks 7 hens passed up-river

Spring Chinook = 4

2 bucks 1 hen 1 jack passed up-river

On the way out we saw a spike deer in velvet.

John and I drove to Siletz and left John's rig there. Kevin was going on to the Salmon River Hatchery to get some rainbow trout for the ODF&W display at SEAFEST on Saturday. John and I drove home from Siletz.

Wayde

06/13/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Frank and I did the Siletz Trap visit with Kevin and had a really fine day in the outdoors. Saw four deer on the way up, and received a bit of a shock when we got to the gravel road entrance at Moonshine - ALL the trees on both side were gone. Hardly recognized the entrance - it looked better with trees. None of us expected very many fish, since there was only one on Wednesday, but we found the one left there earlier plus 16 more. One wild buck and one hen were released up stream, 9 were moved to Newport Food Share, and the rest were left in the pens. Looked like 2 of the 9 were about the very last of the Winters, but the others were very bright Summers. On the way down the Gorge, we jumped 4 more deer (does) on the road, dodged the log trucks, and finished early. All went well in spite of Friday the 13th.
Brian

06/21/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Friday, 6/21
Wayde Dudley and Larry Dale went to the Siletz trap today with Kevin Bastien. It was a beautiful day in the gorge with plenty of sunshine. Lots of fishermen around Wildcat bridge. Saw one guy who had 2 steelhead and was walking out. River is very clear and 53 degrees. Seems like many summer steelhead are in the river.44 fish were in the trap. 27 new ones and 17 holdovers. There were 6 wild hens and 2 wild bucks that were released upriver.26 hatchery hens and 10 hatchery males were tagged with yellow tags and transported across the river in two loads. These 36 fish were all returned to the river at the Moonshine Park boat landing. Not many trucks on the road today and no critters.Wayde

05/30/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Wayde, John & Josh accompanied Kevin to the Siletz trap today, 5/30. Nice day but overcast and we were hoping for sunshine to finish off the filming for our video. Josh and I in my truck followed Kevin and John in the ODF&W truck. Josh took some footage of the fish truck in various places. There were 15 steelhead in the trap.

Wild:

1 summer buck and 3 summer hens that were passed upstream.

Hatchery:

3 summer buck and 7 summer hens

There was 1 wild winter buck put back down the ladder.

It was a nice day at the trap. The water level was down about a foot from last Friday. Still about 18 inches to go to the lowest I saw last summer. We put 6 concrete blocks in the trap to set the transport box on. This will insure that the box stays in the new guides that were added during the recent repairs. Some logging on the main road caused a minor hold up.

Wayde

05/19/08 and 05/23/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Monday, 5/19

Report from Casey Deckard - 34 fish in trap with the following breakdown:

Wild 9 bucks 6 hens......

Hatchery 10 bucks 9 hens

10 of these were summer steelhead so the fishing should begin to pick up.

Friday, 5/23

Wayde, Kevin and Josh Jesinghaus (student videographer) checked the trap. There were:

Wild 7 bucks 5 hens

Hatchery 3 bucks 5 hens

There were some fish with punch holes in the tail which meant they had been in the trap before and had been put back down the ladder. The transporter bucket is operable again and the wild fish were moved across the river to the truck using the bucket instead of the tubes, much easier. The fish were released into Sunshine Creek which is a tributary about 8 miles below the trap.Josh filmed the entire operation today and we only have one day of filming left to get all the raw footage

needed for our video. Editing will soon begin. It was a good trip for Josh to be on. He saw things all in one day that probably took me at least 5 trips before I had seen them. The canyon was extremely busy today with equipment, log trucks, fishermen and one jeep convoy. Saw one deer on the way out.

Wayde

05/21/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

The summary for Longview Hills Fishermen's Club participation in the Schooner Creek trap from Nov.1, 2007 thru May 10, 2008:

38 Steelhead
220 man-hours
1917 miles traveled

Wayde Dudley, (stats guy)

05/09/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Frank and Kevin checked the Siletz trap on Friday. Weather was great and the area was not very busy. There were a total of 9 steelhead in the trap. 4 new fish and 5 in the holding pens. They were a mix of wild and hatchery fish. 3 pair were taken as brood stock to the Alsea hatchery. The fish were transported across the river in the tubes because the transport system has not been signed off on yet by the ODF&W engineers. 17 fish were returned to the Siletz River from Alsea. Only game of note seen was one grouse.

05/03/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

I went to Schooner Creek on Saturday instead of Friday this week due to my work schedule. Unfortunately there were no fish. It was a beautiful day in the afternoon. Saw the Elk bedded down in the field between the 1 and 2 mile marker on Schooner Creek Road. I haven't heard from James so I am copying him on this email to get an idea of a end date for the trap operation. Someone may already know but I don't at this point. Have a great day.

Mike

04/30/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Kevin and I had a mission to get a hen and buck for the ODFW Aquatic and Angler program at Newport Middle School, then add some wild stock to the pens in the Siletz Trap. Its planned for Friday to move wild pairs to the Alsea Hatchery. The weather got better as we moved up to Palmer and we chased a coyote down 116 for awhile. At Palmer, we found 2 dark, but acceptable for show and tell, so we kept the best one, cleaned the trap and choke points in the lower ponds and moved on to the Siletz trap. We had one hatchery hen to match up to our buck from Palmer, but there were 7 wilds, including one truly fine looking hen in the 18-20 lb class, and one jack. We kept the one hatchery for school and penned up the rest up with others already in there for Friday pickup. We also looked over options for storing a rescue sling inside the trap in case someone needs to be extracted by the hoist. The river looked in great shape as we came down. I needed to shorten my day, so Kevin dropped me at Ilahee and move on to Bohannan.

Brian

04/25/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Friday, 4/25, was a busy day. I met Kevin Bastien at ODF&W and we proceeded to the Logsden store where we picked up Casey. The 3 of us went to the Palmer trap. Bill and Kathy Furgason were "smolt sitting" and had spent the night in Frank's camp trailer. Things had not gone the best for them. The generator was not putting any power into the trailer and the 12 volt battery had died. There was no onboard water due to lack of juice for the water pump, no heat for the same reason and only flashlights for light. I think they were glad to see daylight come and things start to warm up. Bill told us there were fish in the trap. He was soooo right. We did the crowd, net, sort routine and ended up with 24 bucks, 18 hens and 4 jacks.

The Siletz trap had 2 wild hens, 2 wild bucks and 1 hatchery hen. The wild fish were transported across the river to the truck using the small tubes. The large transport box has not been certified yet by the engineer so is not in service. Kevin was going to take the 2 pair to the Alsea hatchery for brood stock. We went back down the gorge road and they dropped me off at Moonshine Park where Barbara was waiting for me. The 2 of us then went back to "Camp Palmer". We unloaded and set our stuff up. I went off to check the smolts, screens and general conditions. Frank came in about 3pm. He found a tripped breaker in the trailer that was preventing 110 volt power from working. He also had a battery to replace the dead one. We fired up the generator and a battery charger for the dead battery. The furnace kicked on in the trailer and it looked like we were all set. Frank and I toured the ponds and noticed there were very few fish left. Most had headed downstream. I fed the remaining fish at 5:30 pm and cleaned the trap face. Barb and I had dinner by the fire and read till around 7pm. The generator quit when the gas ran out but everything was functioning on the 12 volt system. The furnace quit during the night and it was a bit cool this morning. Air temp was 40 and the water temp was 45. Saturday morning there were only a few fish in each pond. I fed them and we broke camp. Did not see a reason to babysit any longer. We got back to Newport about 11:30am.

Wayde

04/22/08 and 4/23/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

NO FISH! NO ELK! Oh well, it was still a beautiful morning up there. As an additional note. Paul Katen and his wife went to the trap on Wednesday and were happy to discover a pair of wild fish in the trap. I think it was his first encounter with fish in the trap so it was nice to hear. They released one male and one female.

Good luck on Monday.

Mike

04/21/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

Barb and I visited the Schooner trap this morning. It was cool with snow/rain showers and a little snow on the ground. No fish in the trap and it was clean. We took the Lincoln City fork on the way back to try and see Mike's elk herd but they were not there.
Wayde

04/18/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:
Made the trap trip with Kevin Bastian. The Palmer trap had no fish in it. We cleaned debris from the trap face that came from the beaver dam area upstream. The ponds are full and ready for the smolt planting of Tuesday 4/22.

The Siletz trap had 5 fish. 4 steelhead and 1 cutthroat trout. The steelhead consisted of 1 hatchery female, 1 hatchery male, 1 wild female and 1 wild male. The trap was clean except for a silty bottom.

The cable anchors for the tram box have been repaired. The cables need to be adjusted but I think the equipment is close to going back in service. The repairman used a 24 foot extension ladder leaning against the cliff to work from. I think I would have passed on that assignment and an OSHA guy would have fainted.

The Bohanan trap had 1 wild male. We saw 8 elk at the 9 mile mark on the 1000 line road, three vultures roosting in a tree and a pair of osprey on a nest. We were back in town by 1145.
Wayde

04/18/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

Good morning everyone,

We had another wonderful day at Schooner Creek. We had a pair of wild Steelhead this morning. The buck was fat strong and about 10lbs. The hen was fat strong and around 7lbs. Both fish shot out of my hands when they touched the water. I think I saw the buck wink at the hen so, we may have some little ones in the future. The water
was low and the trap was clean. I wasn't expecting to find fish with the low water but there they were. The elk were grazing just east of the 1 mile marker on Schooner Creek Road in the big field on the South side of the road. Have a great weekend.

Mike

(Note from First Lady: Mike is such a romantic)

04/16/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

HI

I met with Casey & Derek at the ODFW. Kevin had left already for the trap. We went there with him, there was some hold over fish in the trap to be transported to the hatchery. Kevin had the tank full of water. We transported about a dozen fish to the tank. One was a real large male probaly about 30 pounds. Kevin went to check the other traps & on to the hatchery. We stayed to do some repairs to the trap. Derek stayed to meet with some other people. Casey & I went to Palmer to get the ponds ready for the smolts. We had to remove a large, about 4 feet high, beaver dam from the one. Casey tore the dam apart & I kept the trap open below him. It was a long day. We were back to the office about 4:15. A long but rewarding day.

Butch

04/11/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Hi Everyone

I met with Kevin at ODFW this morning and we headed for the Siletz trap. After stopping by the storage unit and picking up some tools, and then fueling up we were off. Our first stop was the Palmer trap where we cleared out a bunch of blackberries and brush so that the stocking truck would be able to get down to the pond and stock the pond. We then checked out Palmer trap which was empty, and cleared some debris from the front gate.

Then we were off to the Siletz trap. After arriving at the trap we stopped a moment to see what, and how they were doing at repairing the Cable way, not so well. After looking at the problem and seeing where 2 of the 3 cable securing points broke off it was scary. We could have lost one of our wonderful members so very easily if the last point had broken also. When the trap is repaired and up and running again we all need to pay extremely close attention to all safety aspects of moving the bucket. Upon going into the trap we found that we had fish, as it turned out we had 5. There were 3 native bucks, and 1 native hen which we turned around and put back into the ladder. There was 1 hatchery hen which was given last rites, and dispatched then placed back into the river. We buttoned up the Siletz trap and headed back, at the 10 1/2 mile mark as we came around a corner there were 6 deer crossing the road, 3 does and 3 fawns. This was our major game sighting for the day. I did see a very fast ground squirrel. There was also an eagle in a tree at south beach on the way back.

After we left the Siletz trap we went to the Bohanon trap. The trap was empty as it has been recently. Kevin and another volunteer dug and set some posts going down into Bohanon. This will help when the rails are installed getting into and out of the trap. We had a 6 1/2 hour day today, pretty light duty for a change.

Electric Bill

04/11/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

What a beautiful day at the creek. Once again we had success on Schooner Creek. There was only one but, she was a nice fish. This hen was still very bright and weighed in at around 10 pounds. I wish we had 100 of those fish. Fortunately, she was a native fish so she was gently released above the trap. Good luck on Monday.

Mike

04/09/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

A big thank you to the Monday Schooner Creek crew. You got the ball rolling again with the two fish you had in the trap. This morning when I got into the trap I didn't think we had anything, then, not one, not two, but three Steelhead in the trap. We had a wild male and a wild female that we released upstream with a gentle kiss on the snout. Both fish were heavily into their spawning colors but in good shape. The third fish was a stray hatchery male that we dispatched and returned to the creek. We cleaned the trap and are now looking forward to Friday.

Mike

04/07/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

WE-GOT-FISH! Finally there were fish in the trap today. I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice buck steelhead in the trap this morning. While climbing out of the trap to release the buck I felt something on my leg which turned out to be a very nice looking steelhead hen. Both were released upstream with orders to propagate with great vigor. The hen was ripe as she left a few eggs behind as being released. Saw some quail between the gate and the trap.
Take care, Frank

04/04/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Went on the trap run with Kevin Friday, 4/4. We had rain and snow showers all day. No fish at Palmer. 10 fish at Siletz. & were new fish with 3 holdovers for brood stock with the new Alsea program. The new group consisted of 5 wild hens, 1 wild buck and 1 clipped hen. We left them in the trap to be transported to Alsea on Monday the 7th. Did not see any critters of note.

Wayde

04/04/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Good day all,

No fish in Schooner Creek trap yesterday. I didn't replace the winch yesterday because I had too much on my plate for the day. I went this morning and replaced the winch. The new one is up and running and barring any future trees crashing into the trap we shouldn't have to replace any more winches in our lifetime. Have a great weekend.

Mike

04/02/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

After completing our trap duty, Casey requested that we start digging post holes for the installation of a hand railing adjacent to the fish ladder at the Bohannan Fish Trap. We therefore loaded up the gear to accomplish that including concrete mix. We then proceeded to Palmer Creek where we dispatched 3 steelhead that have been in the trap for several days. We then proceeded to the Siletz Trap where we released 3 wild steelhead back down the ladder (2 hens and a buck). There were also 3 hen hatchery fish that we left inside the trap for possible brood stock. We then headed for the Bohannan trap but were cut off from reaching the trap by logging operations that had felled trees across the road. There were trees across several hundred feet of the roadway. We were not able to find a way to detour around the logging operation and therefore returned to Newport and arrived around 3:00 pm. Nice day to be out in the woods. Great weather. Didn't see any elk today.
Frank

04/02/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAPS:

Good morning,

As you might imagine, the trip Schooner Creek this morning was beautiful. No fish again this morning. We cleaned the trap although there was very little debris. One interesting note. There were Elk tracks everywhere on the road past the gate to the trap. You could
see where they either came down to the road or left the road on the hillside. Nice touch.

Excellent job as usual on removing the tree from the road. I saw Butch yesterday and he said it went pretty smooth. Hope everyone can absorb a big dose of vitamin D with all of this sunshine.

Mike

03/31/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

Butch and I visited Schooner today and spent most of the time clearing the road. With Butch's handy chainsaw, we removed the tree blocking the trap road, and then did a little brush clearing the rest of the way in. There wasn't much sap in the branches, so most snapped off easily, but give it all about 3 weeks and the brush will be in full bloom. No fish in the trap and it only needed minor clearing. Didn't rain, but most things were frozen everywhere in the shade.

Brian

Hi

I have a heavy duty winch with new bolts. We may need to drill new holes. The total cost was only about 22.00 with my store discounts. I may have been able to have gotten it for less but Dean was with other customers & out in the shop. This one has a rating against salt water even. I will bring it to the breakfast meeting. If everyone likes it we can keep it or I'll exchange it.

Butch

03/31/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

Butch and I visited Schooner today and spent most of the time clearing the road. With Butch's handy chainsaw, we removed the tree blocking the trap road, and then did a little brush clearing the rest of the way in. There wasn't much sap in the branches, so most snapped off easily, but give it all about 3 weeks and the brush will be in full bloom. No fish in the trap and it only needed minor clearing. Didn't rain, but most things were frozen everywhere in the shade.

Brian

03/28/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP

Snow, snow, snow. Picked up Larry Dale and met with Casey and Kevin B at Hatfield. After looking over some winch photos he had made the day before, Casey decided that we would all go up and handle "tubes" of fish across the river since there are brooders waiting in the trap's side cages. Casey has notified the original contractor, and is waiting word on starting the repair process. The weather had other ideas! Snow was about 2" on the road from Toledo to Siletz and deeper and coming down lightly as we left Logsden. We slid into Palmer (so to speak) and Larry and I jumped in to find 3 nice bucks that Casey decided to leave in the trap. As we crossed Wildcat, it really started to snow heavy, so the day was called off for Larry and me. Probably just as well since the woman at the Logsden store told us the loggers were not going in because it was too dangerous for the choker setters. We had left my truck at Logsden, so we came back and Casey and Kevin headed off to Bohannan. By the time we got back to Newport, the sky was bright and clearing, but it still looked ugly in the direction of the gorge. Larry promised he would be back, and is looking forward to getting up to the big trap.

Brian

03/28/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

It was a rather interesting morning on the way to and at Schooner Creek today. On the way up it was it was 33 degrees, snowing hard with an accumulation of between 2 and 4 inches. No other vehicles had been up this morning and I found my way blocked with an alder that had
broken and fallen across the road. I was finally able to move it after a few minutes and clear the road. Unfortunately I left my chain saw in Prineville last weekend, foolishly believing that winter was over. When I arrived at the gate I met Duane, we parked and began walking up the road as we have been doing now for about two months.
Half way up we encountered another tree that has fallen and is currently blocking the road (again no chain saw). We had no fish in the trap. We cleaned the trap and it is working well. On our way out we heard a loud crack and saw a large fir or spruce bough break off and tumble into the canyon close to the creek. Once back at the gate we were talking at our trucks when two large alders broke one right after the other and fell into the North Fork of the creek just below
the weir. At this point we thought it best to leave the canyon as the snow was continuing to fall. The weight of this wet snow was really beginning to create a dangerous situation. My way down was clear and I was treated to a herd of approx. 30 Elk just past the one mile marker. I know the Longview Hills team turns before you get that far down but that is the location I usually see the Elk.

If anyone has a chain saw and wants to go up I will be glad to accompany you and help clean up the tree that is blocking the road. I will be gone once again this Sunday and Monday. So, it would either have to be today or tomorrow. If not, you might think about walking from the gate to the trap until we can get it cleaned up.

Duane and I will be working the trap also on Wednesdays for a few weeks as the Wednesday crew has lost most of the volunteers.

Sorry for the long winded email but thought it necessary to pass the info.

Mike

03/26/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

NOTE: Bill needs volunteer help for the Siletz trap for April 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, & 23. Please help Bill fill these dates.

First stop after getting a fresh oxygen tank and gas for the truck for Kevin Bastian and I was Palmer Creek. No fish but the beavers have been busy so much cleaning to do. Proceeded to Siletz with periods of very heavy and hail snow. The accumulation of snow on the road was getting pretty thick and we considered aborting the mission before it started to let up. There were 3 fish in the trap, 1 wild pair and 1 clipped buck. We had a serious malfunction of the fish bucket/winch and were not able to transport the fish to the Alsea hatchery as planned. After several radio discussions about the problem we then proceed to Bohannan where we released one wild hen upstream. I'm not sure what has to be done to repair the winch and cable but they were going to go back up today to assess the problem.

We saw 7 elk at the intersection of Roads 1000 and Beaver Creek. At about the 5 mile post of Beaver Creek Rd. we then spotted 30 plus elk but were not able to get an accurate count because of the distance and trees blocking our view. All Elk appeared to be cows. I'm not sure exactly when the bulls drop their antlers but perhaps they have already done so. See you for the tour this morning.

Frank

03/23/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Hello to All

Well team Chinook had a beautiful trip up to the Schooner Creek Trap. There was no rain and the sun broke through.We were not able to spot any wildlife except for one busy snowy egret on the tidal flats. Bob Abbot was the tour guide while I rode shotgun, and Wayne navigated the terrain. Everything was beautiful as usual in the canyon with the stream flowing high and clear.

We approached the trap with much apprehension after all of the tales of limited fish for so long. I jumped down into the trap and eureka there was a tell-tale flash and splash. I called Bob and asked him to get down and help to corral our prize. Bob got down in there and got into a wrestling match with a beautiful steelhead, and he won with the fish netted. I turned the fish, which turned out to be a beautiful native hen over to Wayne and he released her. In the process of capturing the hen we saw another fish flash. Bob and I went around and around, up and down, and we couldn't find or corner the other fish. Bob climbed out of the trap and I got real serious but it was as if the fish disappeared. I finally was able to net the elusive fish which turned out to be a native male. I turned the fish over to Bob, who in turn turned it over to Wayne, and he released it. We cleaned some debris from the trap and buttoned it up. All ill it was a great trip with good friends.

While I have the stage I want to emphasize that the Siletz trap for April needs help. Wayde, Wayne,and myself are unable to participate on Wednesdays because of prior obligations. The 11th is taken other than that the month is open. If you want to go with someone else there is no problem as there is always room for one more. This a major service that we do and is not only appreciated but is necessary so please step forward. We need to have additional help so that those who have been covering the traps do not get burned out. The Siletz trap slows down for a short period, but then it will be picking up for the larger summer runs. Let us know when you will be available to give a hand. "Good Fishing"

Electric Bill

03/21/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

I went with Wayde and Kevin Bastien to Palmer, Siletz and Bohannan Friday, and we had a great wildlife day. Started out with a little rain, then snow, but then cleared up as the day wore on. Palmer had 4 bucks and 3 hens, all from 10-18 lbs (big fish), and one buck was an "ad only" (adiposed clip only - not sure what system he came from). We dispatched them and took them up to the Siletz trap. There were 3 hen hatchery and one each wild buck and hen at Siletz. All the hatcheries were thrown in the river and the wilds sent back downstream. Around the 8mi marker going in and out we saw two deer (maybe the same deer?), and then we headed off to Bohannan. Trap was empty, but on the way down N. Beaver Creek, we followed a very light brown coyote for about a quarter mile, and ended the day on a high note counting a herd of 25 elk very close to the road. The were at least two bulls - one spike and one 3-4 point.

Brian

03/19/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

This in from Bill--Be sure to read Bill's request in the last paragraph. Starting in April, Bill will take over the job of coordinator for the Siletz trap. Welcome back Bill. Bill is now taking signups for the April trap volunteers. At least one volunteer will be needed every Wednesday and Friday for the month of April.

Hi Friends

My day started at ODFW this morning and I met up with our very own Mr. Frank Stout there. Frank was there on official business to present Derek Wilson with his membership certificate. I met the new Siletz trap person Kevin Bastien he is a commercial fisherman and worked with our trap program last year on our off days. Kevin has helped with the traps, and other related programs.

Kevin and I went to the Palmer trap first. Our instructions was to get 5 pair of hatchery steelhead, and to transport them to the Alsea hatchery. As we arrived at trap our road in was blocked by a pickup. I walked the road into the trap and there were two guys looking at the stream and into the trap. One of the guys had a rifle slung over his shoulder. I called out the guys and told them we needed to get in to work the trap. It turns out that they were just a couple of guys out to go fishing and spotted some coyote tracks and were following them. They wanted to stay and watch and help if they could so we let them. Latter were very glad that we had there help. We easily were able to get our required 5 pair of fish. We then also pulled out 29 bucks and 25 hens out of the Palmer trap. We then went on up to the Siletz trap. We loaded up 16 Bucks, and 10 native Steelhead, and dispatched 3 bucks, and 3 hen hatchery fish. After loading up the Siletz trap we went back down to the Palmer trap, and picked up the 10 pair of hatchery fish, and loaded them into to the truck. We then headed out Kevin dropped me off at the Dairy Queen and headed to the Alsea hatchery. I had put in 7 and a half hours and was done.

I would like to put out a request to everyone the Siletz trap has a lot of sand and gravel in it. It would be great if 1 or 2 people could step forward and and help out on the Friday trip. We were just not able to work with the trap to day because of time and all of the fish. Our total count was 96 steelhead, 37 hatchery males, 33 hatchery females. There were 16 male, 10 female Natives it was a good day on the river.

Bill

03/17/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Tom Roederer and I found no fish in the trap yesterday.

Frank

03/14/08

SILETZ AND PALMER FISH TRAPS:

A good friend of mine, Gary Smith, accompanied Kevin Bastian and myself on the trap runs today. Casey met us at the Wildcat bridge and went with us to the Palmer and Siletz traps. Cool with overcast and showers all day. Kevin is the new ODF&W employee for trap duty.
Palmer had 47 steelhead in the trap and 3 in the pool below. We crowded them to the west end and did a sort. All the ripe males and females that were in good shape were left in the trap as potential brood stock for a new study being started to spawn wild fish with hatchery fish. The program is being done at the Alsea Hatchery. 20 fish were dispatched and returned to the river.
The Siletz trap had 11 fish from Wednesday and 6 new ones. 1 was killed and put back in the river. The remaining 16 were transported across the river to the tank on the truck. We went back down to Palmer and netted 2 pair to add to the mix and then took the 20 fish to the Alsea hatchery. Casey went back to Newport.
At the Alsea hatchery Matt and Eric handled the fish we brought them with each fish getting an antibiotic shot and a tag in the jaw. None were spawned at that time but would be later. They had 2 spawned fish that we loaded and took back to Siletz and returned them to the river at the Ilahee ramp. We got back to Newport at 1725. A long but interesting day.
Wayde

03/14/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

Good morning,

We can add at least one more wild fish to our total this year. This morning we had one wild male Steelhead in the trap. He was in good shape and in his spawning colors. The creek is up but is holding it's color well. The trap had quite a bit of debris which was cleaned and the trap is running well. Hopefully Monday will also provide fish. I repaired the upper gate winch again. I am not sure how long it will
last but be careful as it can slip and release the gate. I am including James in the email because I believe it is time to replace the upper gate. I am going down to Newport Marine later today and see if they might have a winch possibly a used one that I can get at a reasonable price. If I do I will let everyone know. Additionally, I saw a nice herd of elk down in the bottom land on my way in and again
on my way out. Great day.

Mike

03/12/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

The new guy, Kevin Bastien was not available today so I had a very pleasant day with Casey. The Palmer Creek trap has been closed so Casey and I opened it today after cleaning out an accumulation of debris from the local beaver tribe. We ten proceeded to the Siletz Trap where we netted 6 female and 5 male steelhead. All were saved and are to be transported on Friday for brooder stock. That includes the hatchery fish. We then headed to Bohannon but it was clean with no fish.

Casey informed me today that they are required to install seatbelts into the cable tram over the Siletz. I don't know who is going to enforce their use but they are to be installed. I bumped my head on the cable getting out of the tram and suggested to Casey that helmets also be required. Anything for safety. I don't think that tram will float very well and would therefore choose to bail out once we hit the water and wouldn't care to worry about unbuckling a seatbelt. Just my 2 cents worth.

Take care, Frank

03/10/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Short report. Wayde and I went to Schooner this morning and found it running clean, but no fish. The weather was relatively warm and the morning was dry. Nice day to visit the trap. Saw Mike's tile next to the shed - haven't got a clue what they were doing in the stream, but there were some faint traces of wheels (like a mountain bike) or something like that in the bottom sand at the low point crossing just below the bridge. I guess only the "Shadow" knows!
Brian

03/07/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Guess what? No fish in the trap on Friday. The trap was in good shape but quite a bit of beaver activity upstream. We cleaned out quite a few chewed branches from the trap and just above at the grate. Also, there were four (4) 6" by 6" terra cotta tiles in the stream just above the bridge. These were new clean tiles that look as though they had been placed in the stream. I don't know of any reason why they would be there so I removed them and placed them on the wood adjacent to the shed. If anyone knows more about this I would love to know. Additionally, I am not aware of any structure higher in the stream that would break up or lose these types of tiles. Once again, down stream I saw a lone Steelhead finning in the water.

Mike

03/03/08

Schooner Creek Fish Trap:

Team leader Bill Furgason, Bob Abbott, and Wayne Hill took the trip to the Schooner Creek trap. No fish, no wildlife........just a nice drive in the woods in a light rain. The only excitement came when Wayne (he drove) backed down by the bridge. When we started to leave we became stuck. Bob seemed quite worried, then Wayne discovered the 4 wheel drive was not engaged, then the Xterra jumped right out of the hole!!!!!!!! Bob was quite relieved.

Wayne

02/29/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Another NO FISH day at Schooner Creek trap on Friday. We cleaned the trap and removed some branches down the fish ladder. On my way down the creek between the 5 and 6 mile markers I stopped and looked in the usual places I see fish and was pleasantly surprised to see a couple
of Steelhead finning in the current just waiting for higher water to move up the creek.

Mike

02/29/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

THREE TRAPS CHECKED TODAY, FIRST WAS PALMER CREEK WHERE THE BEAVERS HAVE BEEN BUSY AND A LOT OF DEBRIS WAS BLOCKING THE ENTRANCE TO THE TRAP WITH LOTS OF WATER BEHIND IT, CLEANED THE MESS UP AND FILLED THE TRUCK TANK WITH WATER, NO FISH IN THE TRAP. THEN TO THE SILETZ TRAP WHICH HAD ONE NICE SIZE MALE HATCHERY FISH AND FINALLY TO BOHANNAN TRAP WHICH HAD NO FISH BUT TWO STEELHEAD WERE IN THE POND ABOVE THE FALLS AND TOOK OFF ONCE THEY SAW US. THE BEST PART OF THE DAY WAS LOTS OF SUNSHINE AND BEING ABLE TO GO ON ROGER'S LAST DAY OF WORK WITH ODF&W, WHAT A GUY HE IS, HE SERVICED ALL THE EQUIPMENT HE COULD ETC. HE WILL BE MISSED!

HANK

02/27/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Roger Wilson checked Palmer and Siletz today alone as Wayde forgot it was his day in the truck. Roger forgave me and said there were 5 Steelhead in Siletz and none in Palmer. No wild fish at Siletz.

Wayde

02/25/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Tom Roederer, Butch Minich and I took the trip up to Schooner Creek this morning. There was absolutely no debris in the trap nor were there any fish. I have never seen the trap so clean. Water was lower than our last trip and very clear. Jeannine Roeder also rode along with us for the pretty drive.

Wayde, for your records, Tom drove his vehicle today. Take care, Frank

02/22/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Went to Schooner Creek today. NO FISH. I think we will have to wait for the next significant rain fall before we will see anymore fish in the trip. Always a beautiful day up in that gorge anyway.

Mike

02/22/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Headed out to the Siletz traps with Roger this morning in a light rain; by the time we stopped at Palmer Creek to clean the trap and fill the truck tank, the rain was heavy and getting heavier. The river hasn't been high enough lately, so no fish at Palmer. We wrung out our rain gear and headed up to the Siletz trap, where we found one fine looking hen and that was it. We scrambled around in the four steps below the trap and found one hatchery hen, but nothing else. After that, it was off to Alsea Hatchery with the hen for broodstock, then back to the ODFW shop to give the truck a wash down. Other than the loose oxygen bottle held in by a light rope!!!(what's a little 3000psi among friends!) we were able to keep our image up as we made our way through the MASSIVE parking lot maze around the Wine and Cheese Festival. All in all, had a great day with Roger. He parted with a lot of good advice on steelheading which will be put to use in the near future (maybe Brian will share that advice with the rest of us).

Brian Hudson

02/20/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Wednesday, 2/20/2008

Bill Furgason, Roger Wilson and Wayde Dudley went to the Palmer and Siletz traps today. The weather was great, river was down and pretty clear. A herd of about 20 elk were seen on the north side of the road half a mile west of the Logsden store. A large group of Canadian geese were in the same area.

Palmer had 1 hatchery male. We filled the tank with water in anticipation of wild fish at Siletz. Many fishermen on the river today and the logging activity was busy.

Siletz had 7 steelhead. 2 wild hens and 1 wild buck, 4 hatchery hens and 3 hatchery bucks. The wild fish were transported across the river and into the truck tank. Roger will take them to Alsea for brood stock.

The big news for me was I found the knife I lost last Friday. It was in the upper chamber of the Siletz trap.

Wayde

02/18/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

The Coho team went to Schooner on Monday. Unfortunately, no fish were in the trap and it needed was clearing of a little debris. Brian, Wayde and Barb were accompanied by Parker Ogburn (OSU Extension Service), and three members of the Mid-Coast Watershed District on an orientation tour. Parker was invited specifically to survey the site and develop a plan for supporting a student visit on Apr 24th (part of the ODFW Aquatic and Angler Program that angler instructors in the Club will be presenting at Newport Middle School). After viewing the site, Parker has some exciting plans including wet suits, snorkels, and waders.

Brian Hudson

02/15/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Went to Palmer and Siletz today. No fish in the Palmer trap but 1 was below and 1 above. We put water in the tank then headed up-river to the Siletz trap. There were 5 in the trap, 2 from Wednesday and 3 new ones. 2 wild hens and 1 buck were transported across the river to the truck. Roger took them to Alsea Hatchery for brood stock. Weather was great and the trap was clean and quite clear. The day started off with a flat tire on the truck and I lost my Spyderco clip knife somewhere so it wasn't all good. I plan to go back next Wed.,2/20, and see if I can find the knife.

Wayde

02/15/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

What a beautiful day it was today up in the Schooner Creek gorge. It would have been even better had there been any fish in the trap. Oh well, probably after the next rain. I walked in today and broke most of the branches that were hitting our vehicles. I don't think there are any that we can't miss now. Have a great warm weekend.

Mike

02/13/08

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Roger and I went directly to the Siletz Trap this morning where there were a total of 5 fish. There were a pair of wild steelhead which were left in the trap and will be taken for brood stock on Friday. The 3 clipped fish (2 male and 1 hen) were dispatched back down the river. We then went to Palmer Creek. Upon arrival we discovered that the right rear outside dual tire was flat. We had a very difficult time with some of the lug nuts but were finally able to get it changed. We then loaded up 19 steelhead (13 male and 6 hens) and took the to lake Ollala for release. We then proceeded to Bohannan where we released on wild steelhead hen up stream. Got home about 4:30. (Damn AAA doesn't go to Palmer Creek.). Take care, Frank

(Doesn't Logsden have a AAA????)

02/13/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Good afternoon,

The Wednesday group servicing Schooner Creek was unable to put together a team today so I was asked to go to the trap. It was a beautiful day at the trap or for that matter anywhere. There was one male wild Steelhead in the trap. What a beautiful fish with pink gill plates and just a bright as could be. He was released into the
creek. The trap was cleaned and is running very well.

Mike

02/11/08

SCHOONER FISH TRAP:

Bill Furgason, Dave Dinsmoor, Bob Abbott, and Wayne Hill (Wayne drove) did the Schooner Cr. trap duty today. JACKPOT: There were 4 Steelhead in the trap, ALL WILD, 3 males and 1 female. All were released upstream. There was a lot of debris at the top of the trap, mostly from beavers working up stream. The grates were all cleaned. After cleaning the water level in the trap increased nearly a foot. It was a beautiful day for the journey and having the 4 wild fish was the frosting on the cake.

02/08/08

SILETZ AND PALMER FISH TRAPS:

I went with Roger to the Siletz trap and the Palmer trap. Casey checked the Bohanan trap because they knew we had a lot of work at Palmer.

Siletz:

Most of the snow is gone and we were able to drive down to the trap. The last few visits they walked down from the main road. The water was high and just 3 feet below the concrete front wall of the trap. Roger had the collar to install on the drive nut to raise and lower the gate. He put that on and we checked the trap. There were 2 hatchery female Steelhead. The trap has a build-up of sand and silt. Will have to be cleaned soon. Lots of traffic on the road.

Palmer:

Trap had many Steelhead in it and some were quite large. We filled the truck tank with water and then crowded the fish to the west end of the trap. We checked all the fish and had 2 major groups, bright fish that got a tag and put upstream of the pen divider and dark fish that got tossed out to be hauled away. 2 wild males were packed over to the weir and placed upstream of it. I noticed 3 fish upstream of the trap in the beaver pond. I guess they remembered that spot?? After all the fish were sorted we again crowded the tagged fish to the end and loaded them into the truck tank. Roger would hand me the net and I would put them in the tank and record the info. That got to be work with the larger fish and more than 1 in the net. We then loaded all the dark fish that were culled into the back of the truck. Those fish were taken back up river and deposited in the river at 2 different locations.

The numbers were:

56 hatchery males

59 hatchery females

2 wild males

Total of 117.

56 were taken to the Illahee ramp in Siletz and released for another run up the river.

13 had seal bite marks, 1 had net marks and 6 were repeat fish that had been tagged before.

We were back in town at 1534 and I was tired.

Wayde

02/08/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Just returned from Schooner Creek. We had one wild female Steelhead this morning. The trap was pretty well blocked but there was sufficient water to handle the fish. We cleaned the trap and everything is running well. My partner, Duane is planning to check the trap on Sunday just as a precautionary measure. He won't remove fish unless there is some problem with the trap. There has been so much debris that we don't want to take a chance on mortality. Good luck on Monday.

Mike

02/04/08

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Tom Roederer and I checked the trap today (Monday) and found 1 dead wild female coho and 1 wild hen steelhead. We released the steelhead upstream and returned the dead coho downstream. The trap had some buildup of debris but the water was still about 18" deep upon arrival so I'm not sure what caused the coho's demise.

Frank Stout