03/12/2010

SILETZ TRAP RUN:

Alice Smoker drove the ODF&W truck today on the trap run. Bill Sigler rode "shotgun" and Wayde was the "tail gunner".
We left the Pig House at 8:00 and headed south to Ona Beach where we turned east and followed the North Beaver Creek road to the 1000 Line road then south to the Bohanon trap. The water was high and dirty. There was 1 wild female Steelhead which we sent on her way upstream. We saw a herd of elk mid-way on the North Beaver Creek road and another herd at the 71/2 mile on the 1000 Line. The water temp at Bohanon was 43. We left at 9:26 and followed the 1000 line to Toledo and then Siletz.
We stopped at Palmer Creek. Bill put the trap into operation last Wednesday. There was plenty of water but no fish. The resident beaver had began rebuilding his dam at the front of the trap. The water was 42 and we left at 10:55 to continue the journey to the Siletz Falls trap. The road was busy and we met a pickup and a log truck on their way out which provided Alice with some avoidance training. Going up the grade just past Buck Creek we found a slide had come down and 3 trees were across the road. This time Alice got some training in backing down a steep and narrow grade. Bill got on the CB radio and told some trucks behind us about the obstruction. They responded thanks and arrived shortly. The lead vehicle was a pilot truck for a truck and lowboy hauling a skidder. The lead truck was being driven by Kong, "The Bull of the Woods" who seems to be a local legend around Toledo. He cleared the road quickly of trees and the trucks moved on. We had gone to Sunshine Creek to post some "no fishing" signs and saw the equipment continuing up the gorge.
We arrived at the Siletz trap at noon. The water was high and only 2 feet below the top of the trap headwall. The river looks great at this level as it crashes through the boulders of the falls, all white water. There were 9 Steelhead in the trap.
Hatchery 4 males 3 females The water was 39.
Wild 2 females
Bill punched holes in the tails of the wild fish and we put them back down the river. The hatchery fish were taken back and given to food share in Newport. We finished the day at 2:30.
It was an eventful day for Alice being on her first driving run.


Wayde