SCHOONER FISH TRAP:
The trap was empty, no fish, the flow is wide open with plenty of cold water running thru which I expect is the reason for no fish in the trap, took the entrance that starts in Lincoln City, saw a herd of twenty plus elk but could not see any bulls, Happy New years to all the LVH Club Members and the ODF&W fish People.
Hank
Monday, December 28, 2009
12/19/09
SILETZ AND BOHANAN FISH TRAPS:
Wayde and Bill Platte made the trap run today.
We first went to the Palmer trap and got it ready to "fish" by installing the intake weir, finishing the weir in the mainstream to force the fish into the trap and pulling 2 boards in the main diversion headwall. When we left it was all in order.
The water temp was 46 F.
Drove on up the gorge to the Siletz trap. River was up pretty high, 7 or 8 is my guess. The trap had flow and was not too silted up. There were 6 steelhead in the trap.
Wild Hatchery
2 m 1f 1 m 2f
2 of these fish were winter Steelhead and the rest were summers. Saw 1 fisherman vehicle on the road and no wildlife.
The water temp was 41 F.
We left there at noon and headed back down the gorge on our way to the Bohanan trap.
Bohanan had 19 wild Coho.
8m 9f 2jacks
The water temp was 50 F.
We left the trap at 2:20 and got into town at 3:20. Sprinkled most of the day with the temp in the 50s.
Wayde
12/16/09
SILETZ FISH TRAP:
Larry, Ginger and their son Mike Dale followed Bill and I on the Wednesday trap run. It was a very rainy and blustery day and the water levels were very high. First we went to the Palmer Creek trap and cleaned around the weir and then cleaned silt from the bottom of the trap. They plan on opening the Palmer trap at any time. We then proceeded to the Siletz Trap. The water was higher than I have ever seen it. They close the trap when the water level reaches 10' and the water level today was around 9'. We were very surprised when we checked the trap as there was no flow through the trap. Something had blocked the inflow but Bill and I were able to get the outer gate open enough to free the blockage. It was so muddy inside the trap that you couldn't see any fish. We finally netted 2 hatchery hen steelhead which were dispatched and sent back down the river. We attempted to scoop as much of the gravel and silt from the trap as best we could but there is still a good amount of gravel on the trap floor. Then we headed for Bohannan where there were no fish. The trap was pretty well clogged but we got everything cleaned and flushed out the best we could.
We pointed out the wolf to Larry and his family on the way back down the Beaver Creek Rd. and I was surprised when Bill spotted the elk herd. Since I was driving I couldn't get a count of the elk but there were quite a few. Got back around 3 o'clock.
Frank
12/16/09
SCHOONER FISH TRAP:
Good morning everyone,
Just returned from Schooner Creek and it was wet, wet, wet. The wind was howling and the rain was blowing sideways but, it was warm, in the low 50's. We had fish today, two in fact, both Coho and both wild and both male. These two fish were in their holiday colors with green backs and red sides, all ready to spawn. Both fish were released upstream and seemed to be pretty strong. The trap had pretty good flow but had quite a bit of debris in the upper gate. After cleaning everything the trap is ready for Friday. Hope you have fish. As of today the road is clear of limbs and rocks. Hopefully there won't be any surprises later in the week.
Mike
Good morning everyone,
Just returned from Schooner Creek and it was wet, wet, wet. The wind was howling and the rain was blowing sideways but, it was warm, in the low 50's. We had fish today, two in fact, both Coho and both wild and both male. These two fish were in their holiday colors with green backs and red sides, all ready to spawn. Both fish were released upstream and seemed to be pretty strong. The trap had pretty good flow but had quite a bit of debris in the upper gate. After cleaning everything the trap is ready for Friday. Hope you have fish. As of today the road is clear of limbs and rocks. Hopefully there won't be any surprises later in the week.
Mike
12/10/09
SCHOONER FISH TRAP:
Good afternoon everyone,
I apologize for the late report but I had a "Root Canal" yesterday in the valley and had to put off trap duty until today. With that said, it was another day void of fish. The flow in the trap was good with approx. 15" of water depth. No wildlife today but I did meet a biologist from the US Forest Service at the trap. Apparently the Forest Service will have their hydrologist at Schooner Creek tomorrow to assess the stream flow situation and make decisions on some changes to improve the year round flow. We had a good visit and both headed back down stream. I am sure we will hear more about any changes planned for Schooner Creek as plans come together.
Stay warm this week,
Good afternoon everyone,
I apologize for the late report but I had a "Root Canal" yesterday in the valley and had to put off trap duty until today. With that said, it was another day void of fish. The flow in the trap was good with approx. 15" of water depth. No wildlife today but I did meet a biologist from the US Forest Service at the trap. Apparently the Forest Service will have their hydrologist at Schooner Creek tomorrow to assess the stream flow situation and make decisions on some changes to improve the year round flow. We had a good visit and both headed back down stream. I am sure we will hear more about any changes planned for Schooner Creek as plans come together.
Stay warm this week,
12/14/09
SCHOONER FISH TRAP:
A Full Team Chinook made the run without much rain. We did not find any fish, but the stream flow was clear & the trap free of debris. All In All, we had a Fun Time & Lot’s of Chuckles ….. Perhaps our Friday Run will be more productive with this Current Rain Storm.
JCS …. for “The Team”
12/09/09
SILETZ, PALMER AND BOHANAN FISH TRAPS:
Bill and I first hit the Bohannan Trap this morning but there were no fish. The falls were beautiful with ice covering the surrounding rocks and branches. We dropped off some fish tubes at Don Larson's home in Siletz this morning and he said that it was 11 degrees outside his shop earlier today. It was 20 degrees inside his shop while we were there. There were ice-flows on the Siletz River from the Quarry hole on down and all of the creeks and falls feeding into the Siletz were frozen solid. They were really pretty. Bad day to leave my camera at home. There is a rock ledge along the road just below the Siletz trap that has a spring running down the rock. The ice cycles hanging from the rock were 10 to 12 feet long. There were no fish at the Siletz trap either. Bill walked down the ladder and said that there are quite a few fish holding just below the ladder so we should have quite a few fish into the trap once the weather warms up and we get some rain. We were going to test the temperature of the water but there wasn't a thermometer in the metal box as we thought. Then on down to Palmer Creek where we drove some metal stakes to help support the weir and then we filled a little over a dozen sand bags. The ground was pretty well frozen. Back in town around 2:30. It was a bright sunshiny day and very enjoyable.Frank
12/07/09
SCHOONER FISH TRAP:
Hank and I checked the trap this morning but there were no fish. It was too cold for fish to swim. 23 degrees at the trap upon our arrival. Flow was good and the trap was clean except for the ice cycles hanging between the bars. No wildlife observed and there were no Japanese Zeros in site. Frank
12/04/09
SCHOONER, SILETZ AND BOHANAN FISH TRAPS:
Wayde checked 3 traps with Bill Platte on Friday. There were no fish in the Schooner, Siletz or Bohanan traps. The weather had been cold and there was heavy frost everywhere we went.
We saw an otter at the Schooner trap. It was eating on a salmon carcass atop one of the large logs near the dam. One hen was resting upstream of the trap.
Bill said they worked on the Palmer trap Thursday and it will probably be opened in the near future.
Wayde drove today and the trip was 154 miles with a time of 7 hours.
12/02/09
SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:
Hi everyone,
Beautiful day at the trap. The sun was shining and the weather was warm. However, the trap was void of fish. Surprisingly, no fish in the trap. The flow was good with very little debris. I saw two fish in the creek above the trap finning in the current. No wildlife today.
Mike
Hi everyone,
Beautiful day at the trap. The sun was shining and the weather was warm. However, the trap was void of fish. Surprisingly, no fish in the trap. The flow was good with very little debris. I saw two fish in the creek above the trap finning in the current. No wildlife today.
Mike
11/30/09
SCHOONER FISH TRAP:
Wayde & Barb checked the Schooner trap today, 11/30. We had 3 male Coho & 1 female Coho. One of the males was caught in the grating of the inlet structure and had died. The other 3 were passed up-stream. Wayde was in the trap and Barb was the transport/release crew member. (she gets her merit badge now)
Water flow was good with little debris on the grating.
The only wildlife noted was a fresh elk trail from the hillside onto the entry road near the switchback.
Wayde
11/27/09
SILETZ AND BOHANAN FISH TRAPS:
Bill and I traveled to Bohanan this morning where there were 6 male Coho, 7 Female and one Female Rerun Coho for a total of 14. Bill accidentally dropped the chain that locked the gate wheel into the creek but after opening the gate he was able to retrieve it inside the trap. Water was running very high today but not as many leaves as last week.
The Siletz trap was all steelhead. There were a total of 8 consisting of 7 hatchery and 1 wild. One if the hens was very bright and Bill considered it to be a winter steelhead. There was a second hen that was bright but not as bright as the first that may have been a winter fish as well, In addition we noticed that one of the males had a red tag indicating that it was a rerun and one had the left mandible plate clipped.
ODFW employees had their first furlough day today so there was no one in the office. No logging trucks were running but there were lots and lots of elk "road-hunters."
Frank
11/27/09
SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:
Friday 11/27
Wayde went to the Schooner trap today accompanied by my 2 sons-in-law and 2 grandsons. No wind at the trap which was nice. There were 9 Coho in the trap. Everyone helped in getting the fish upstream.
6 bucks and 3 hens. One fish had what looked like a seal mark. There were no other identifying marks or features. All 9 fish were passed upstream. One fish swam back into the upper chamber of the trap So I did not lift the front gate. The leaves were not bad and I cleaned them off without raising the gate.
Cut and removed 2 small trees that had fallen after last storm.
Saw no wildlife. 1 pickup parked at the gate on way out. Presume it was an elk hunter.
Wayde
11/25/09
SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:
Good afternoon,
Great day at Schooner Creek. The sun was shining and the weather was warm. Upon arriving at the trap I noticed there was good flow, good enough that I couldn't see any fish in the trap. That was until I stepped in and immediately had fish slamming into my legs. The result was three (3) Steelhead, 1 buck and 2 hens. I also had six (6) Coho, 3 hens and 3 bucks. All fish were in great shape. I saw two Coho that had swam back into the upper chamber of the trap but after cleaning the entrance was able to chase them back up into the creek and upstream. I cleaned the leaves from the trap and it is ready for Friday. No wildlife today other than something had made a bird kill on the road. It must have either been a hawk or a coyote.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone,
Mike
Good afternoon,
Great day at Schooner Creek. The sun was shining and the weather was warm. Upon arriving at the trap I noticed there was good flow, good enough that I couldn't see any fish in the trap. That was until I stepped in and immediately had fish slamming into my legs. The result was three (3) Steelhead, 1 buck and 2 hens. I also had six (6) Coho, 3 hens and 3 bucks. All fish were in great shape. I saw two Coho that had swam back into the upper chamber of the trap but after cleaning the entrance was able to chase them back up into the creek and upstream. I cleaned the leaves from the trap and it is ready for Friday. No wildlife today other than something had made a bird kill on the road. It must have either been a hawk or a coyote.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone,
Mike
11/23/09
SCHOONER CREEK, SILETZ AND BOHANAN FISH TRAPS:
Wayde went on the trap run Monday with Bill Platte from ODF&W. Left the ODF&W office at 8:08 am. We first went to Schooner trap. Two elk hunters were parked at the gate and had just started walking in on the road. We waited a bit before driving in.
Wayde went on the trap run Monday with Bill Platte from ODF&W. Left the ODF&W office at 8:08 am. We first went to Schooner trap. Two elk hunters were parked at the gate and had just started walking in on the road. We waited a bit before driving in.
There were 13 wild Coho & 2 Steelhead, 1 wild hen and 1 hatchery hen.
The Coho were 6 bucks and 7 hens. Good to see some hens finally showing up.
No seal marks were noted nor other identifying marks or clips.
We left Schooner about 11:00 am and headed to the Siletz trap through Kernville and Hwy 229 to Siletz then up Logsden Road to the Gorge Road ending at milepost 13. The Siletz trap is down a short road to the river. We arrived at 11:54 am. A very slow day for the Siletz trap. Only 2 fish, both hatchery Steelhead, 1 buck and 1 hen. We did some trap cleaning of silt and leaves and then left for the Bohanan trap via Toledo and the "1000 line" road.
Good day at Bohanan. 13 wild Coho, 1 wild hen Steelhead and 1 hatchery hen Steelhead.
The Coho were 6 bucks and 7 hens. No marks or other identifying clips were noted. Left the trap at 3:00 pm and headed for Newport via the Beaver Creek Road to Hwy 101 at Ona Beach then up Hwy 101 to Newport. Arrived at the parking lot at 4:00 pm. Weather was exceptionally nice, log trucks were few and we saw 1 grouse.
Wayde
11/20/09
SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:
Hank Bryson and I checked the Schooner Trap yesterday which contained a total of 10 Coho. There was one female and 9 bucks. There were no clips or tags visible and all were wild. One buck coho had what appeared to be a seal scar. Quite a few leaves in the upper grate and water was waste high in the trap when we left. We checked for the elk herd but it was in hiding. Frank
11/18/09
SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:
Good afternoon everyone,
Another good day at Schooner Creek trap. Three (3) wild adult male Coho. Two of the fish looked like twins. Each were approx. twelve lbs. and in full spawning colors. The third fish was stuck by the gills in the entry way grate again. However, this fish was still alive so I removed him and spent some time reviving him upstream which seemed to be the ticket as he was still hugging the bottom in the middle of the creek when I left 30 minutes later. The trap was pretty well plugged up when I arrived with only about 6' of water running through. The debris was again mostly leaves and was easy and quick to clean. When I finished there was a good 24" of water running through the trap with no silt on the bottom. I saw our elk herd both on the way up and on the way down. They were bedded down in the field in the rain just West of the two (2) mile marker. Hopefully on Friday you won't find trees in the road after the big wind we are expecting tonight and tomorrow.
Mike
Good afternoon everyone,
Another good day at Schooner Creek trap. Three (3) wild adult male Coho. Two of the fish looked like twins. Each were approx. twelve lbs. and in full spawning colors. The third fish was stuck by the gills in the entry way grate again. However, this fish was still alive so I removed him and spent some time reviving him upstream which seemed to be the ticket as he was still hugging the bottom in the middle of the creek when I left 30 minutes later. The trap was pretty well plugged up when I arrived with only about 6' of water running through. The debris was again mostly leaves and was easy and quick to clean. When I finished there was a good 24" of water running through the trap with no silt on the bottom. I saw our elk herd both on the way up and on the way down. They were bedded down in the field in the rain just West of the two (2) mile marker. Hopefully on Friday you won't find trees in the road after the big wind we are expecting tonight and tomorrow.
Mike
11/16/09
SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:
There will be a hot time in the ole creek tonight. We finally passed 2 hen Coho along with 2 buck Coho upstream today. There were no visible clips or marks on any of the fish.
Larry and Ginger Dale as well as Ellie LeMaster went with me to the trap. This was Ginger's and Ellie's first trip to Schooner and they both had a good time. We had some rain at the trap but the winds were not bad at all. We didn't get back into the wind until just before entering Lincoln City. No other varmits were cited today other than a few cows. Thanks, Frank
11/13/09
SCHOONER FISH TRAP:
Team Chinook 4 Men & 54 Miles R/T. Fish Count 2 Male COHO & 1 Native Male Steelhead all passed Upstream.
Hello Casey, This is the 1st in our series of Trap Operations Reports, which we hope will make you feel very much a part of what we do in the Bush & at the Traps. (Hang Tough Casey!!)
Our Run Today was made without any rain, but it was a little chilly. We had a full team with Captain Bill, Bud Roark, Larry Dale & Me. Bill opted to be the Trap Man today & he initially found 2 beautiful Male COHO, which Larry passed to Bud, who is our Stream Release Man. The last fish Bill found was a healthy Native Male Steel Head, which we passed upstream. We had moderate water flow with minimum debris in the Trap.
Once again Bud defied “All Odds” & got out of the Creek with his Waders Dry Inside !!! Of course, I deftly handled the Driving & the Clipboard Duties. Bill & Larry secured the Trap & then we all Saddled Up & Pulled for home.
What a Team & We always have Fun & a Bunch of Laughs. Sorry to report, No Wild Life Sightings this trip.
JCS for Team Chinook
11/13/09
SILETZ FISH TRAP:
Frank and Wayde made the trap run to Bohanan and Siletz along with Bill from ODF&W. Wayde drove because the paperwork is not complete for Bill yet.
We left town about 8:20 and headed south on Hwy 101 in the rain. Arrived at the Bohanan trap near 9:00 am. There were 21 Coho in the trap, all wild fish. 12 males, 9 females. 2 of the females were return fish that had been in the trap before. We left for the Siletz trap about 10:00 and the rain had lessened to just showers.
2 sites of logging on the road up the gorge. Both had highlines over the road and we had to stop and check with the CB radio before proceeding. We reached the trap at 10:55 and geared up to cross the river. Water was quite high and the falls looked great. A lot of white water. The Siletz trap help 38 fish, all Steelhead with the following breakdown:
Wild Hatchery
1 m 4 f 15 m 18 f
We worked on the fish a couple of hours and returned 33 as stream forage between the falls and Gravel Creek.
Headed back down the gorge and got back in town at 3 pm.
No wildlife was sighted.
Wayde
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)