03/30/09

Monday, March 30th
Wayde, Lee and Wayne made the morning drive to Schooner Creek to check the trap. Nice clear and mild day. There were no fish in the trap but we did see some wildlife. A pair of ducks were swimming in the pond by the trap. We did not recognize what they were but hope Frank will look at the photos and identify them for us.
Two herds of elk were seen on the way out. The first on was on the south side of the road near the junction of Drift Creek Road and the road to the landfill. (Also near the natural gas switching facility). The other herd was on the south side of the Drift Creek Meadow. We were back by 11:00 PM
Wayde

Note from Frank "Ducks":
Mystery solved by Frank...............

I checked out the photo and the only duck I can see in the photo is a drake common merganser.

The drakes have a white body, green head but usually looks dark from a distance, and a long narrow orange bill. The hens have a reddish brown head with scraggly looking crest feathers as if it was having a bad hair day. They are a fish eating duck and usually ingest around 10 fish per day. They have been known to swallow a trout weighing 4 lbs. Thanks for sharing. Frank

03/27/09

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

John Spangler and I joined Casey on the trap run today. We had an enjoyable trip and spotted a herd of approx. 15 to 20 elk about a mile west of Logsdon. Casey also pointed out a new landmark on the way up the Siletz at approximately the 101/2 mile post called "stump rock". It is a large rock that apparently fell from the sky and is now balanced on top of a tree stump. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera so will have to photograph the new landmark on my next trip up.

There were 9 hatchery fish in the Siletz trap ( 4 male and 5 female). 7 of the fish were placed into the holding tank and 3 were dispatched. There were 9 wild fish (5 female and 4 male) that had their tales punched and sent back down the ladder. We then proceeded to the Palmer Creek trap where we found 1 hatchery male and 1 hatchery female. The beaver have been busy so there was a lot of debris to clear from the trap grate but all is running clear now. Casey proceeded on to the Schooner Creek trap on his own as I had a doctors appointment. It was a very enjoyable day. Frank

03/26/09

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Good afternoon,

I just returned from Schooner Creek. We had fish today. There were two wild male Steelhead in the trap. Both were released in mid stream and headed for the dam (not back to the trap). The trap was clean and the flow was close to 30". Yes, I saw the Elk again today just West of the two mile marker. They were bedded down in the grove of trees in the middle of the field. None of the herd seemed to mind my being there because I stopped and looked at them for a while through binoculars. I had a nice surprise when I returned to my truck. Bill Ferguson and his wife Cathy were on a drive up Schooner Creek Road and wondered who the goof ball was partially blocking the road at the gate. They found out when I came walking down the road. We chatted for a while and then parted company, me back home and the two of them on their trip up Schooner Creek Road. Very nice day at the trap.

Mike

03/23/09

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Bill Furgason and Hank left at 8;00 am, found the trap to be in good shape, lots of water in it but no fish!

03/16/09

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

We had one wild buck steelhead. We also saw the elk herd on the way out. It was a very nice day. Take care,
Frank

03/13/09

SILETZ FISH TRAP:

Matt and Wayde made the trap run with Casey. The first trap was Schooner Creek. No fish and the trap was clean with moderate flows. Tracks from 2 motorcycles were on the access road. They had been to the trap site but we did not find anything wrong. Hope it does not become a habit.
The Siletz trap reached by following the Siletz river from Hwy 101 to the trap. 4 fish today. 2 very large steelhead that Casey estimated would weigh 20#. Matt was quite impressed, especially when he had 1 in the net.

Wild 1 male
Hatchery 1 male 2 female

Leaving the Siletz trap at noon we went back down the gorge, through Toledo then on to the Bohanan trap on Drift Creek. No fish here today. Went back to Newport along Beaver Creek to Hwy 101 at Ona Beach then on to the "Pighouse" in Newport.
The only wildlife encountered were 4 urban deer seen in Toledo between Pig Feathers restaurant and the GP mill. 2 of them had hair loss disease and looked bad.
The weather was great but I found another leak in my boots. May have to start thinking replacement.
Wayde

03/09/09

SCHOONER CREEK FISH TRAP:

Wayde, Barb and Wayne went to the Schooner trap Monday morning. It was snowing hard most of the time along Schooner Creek. There was 1 to 2 inches of snow at the trap site but piling up. There were no fish in the trap with good flow and clean. The road out was a bit slick but Wayne handled it well and got us back safe. No critters to report.
Wayde