Salmon on in Umpqua?

[Mad dog]

Yeah me and you are in the same boat. thanks for the info I guess i will just show up and troll and see what other guys are doing if there are any other boats out. I am curious though where is the dam at?

MY guess is that the tide water is pretty muddy during the freshets that will be pulling the springers into the main and the fishing will mostly be slow. I don't think the springers accumulate much in the tidewater the way fall fish do and tend to keep moving upriver. No reason for me to look for them down there! Lot's of steelhead in the north and the south during the time the springers hit the main! :dance: I'll still have 2 solid months of springer fishing upriver, closer to home!
Winchester dam is on the North in Winchester.

 

[Thuggin4Life]

Yeah that makes sense to me thanks. Yeah if i lived were you do i would travel all the way to reedsport when the fish come to you. Thanks I have been confused winchester bay winchester dam but knew it wasn't anywhere near the bay so always wondered were it was hiding at.

 

[Backcastwards]

40% of the Umpqua winter steelhead population are hatcheries anyway!

Huh? I live on the backwater of the dam and check the ladder very regularly. I rarely see a clipped winter run steelhead, and all the others in there looking are whining about it.

 

[Mad dog]

Huh? I live on the backwater of the dam and check the ladder very regularly. I rarely see a clipped winter run steelhead, and all the others in there looking are whining about it.

Good for you!!! No hatchery program on the north!!!!!!!!! Only On the south!!!!!!!! :think: It doesn't matter how much you look on the north! Again.....someone that doesn't have a clue! :naughty:

 

[Mad dog]

Huh? I live on the backwater of the dam and check the ladder very regularly. I rarely see a clipped winter run steelhead, and all the others in there looking are whining about it.

Backcastwards, I am glad you have caught this post. I have taken a few minutes to calm down and assess your comment! The North Umpqua probably has the healthiest wild steelhead population in costal oregon! Anyone want to argue this.....Call me out! I want to know what stream is better! The only hatchery winter steelhead on the north do not belong there! THEY ARE LOST! They were supposed to go up the south where.....even though the wild steelhead population is still better than 90% of Costal Oregon streams, there is a strong hatchery population of winter steelhead! Maybe 80% of the run most seasons!
You will never see many hatchery winter steelhead in the north!

On any given year, you will see 7,000-9,000 wild steelhead spawners in the North. Probably 2,000-3,000 in the south! And the ODFW estimates that half of all wild Umpqua river steelhead spawn in tributaries of the main Umpqua river!!! I'm not the greatest at math, but that adds up to a lot of fish! Not counting hatchery fish!!!
To get back to Steelhead Stalkers post....it is a shame!!! Not that they plunk! But that they can't keep the 5 wild fish a year that they could keep 2 years ago! Man, that would cut down on the waste! I would rather see those fish utilized as food than floating down the river! But....What the hell.... those plunkers didn't make that law! Care to guess who did??? I will continue this discussion! Let's talk!

 

[Backcastwards]

No hatchery program on the north!!!!!!!!! Only On the south!!!!!!!! Again.....someone that doesn't have a clue! :naughty:

If you think there is no winter steel hatchery program on the North you should go to the rock creek hatchery website. The only reason that most of the fish return on the south is because they are moved to and reared in Canyonville.

 

[Thuggin4Life]

Yeah with so many wild fish I can't figure out why they stopped leting people keep them. 5 a year would be perfect for me since I only make it down like 5-10 times a year. As for stealhead stalkers if he is is so worried about wild fish than maybe he shouldn't pay for guided trips to the umpqua and pull wild fish out of the water for his video escapades and photo albums. (not saying taking them out for a quick pic is wrong)

 

[Mad dog]

If you think there is no winter steel hatchery program on the North you should go to the rock creek hatchery website. The only reason that most of the fish return on the south is because they are moved to and reared in Canyonville.

The fish that the smolts are reared from are not captured on the north! The smolts are not even reared at rock creek hatchery! They are not released into the north....therefore, no hatchery winter runs in the North other than a few strays! Most of the 2007 smolts that died, perished at the Butte falls fish hatchery! That is where they were being reared! They were not fish from the North umpqua and were destined for 2 release points on the South Umpqua. Pretty much the only thing happening at Rock creek is that the fish were spawned there.

Are you now arguing that there are a lot of hatchery fish on the North during the winter run?

The point I am making is that the comment on plunking is absurd to look at it from the point of view that Steelhead stalkers has taken. Those fish should be kept and utilized as food, 1 per day, 5 per season on the Umpqua! There was no reason to take the 5 steelhead per season limit away in 2007. The wild steelhead population is very healthy with lot's of escapement. The wimpy, worthless ODFW knuckled under to pressure from an elitest group that is very organized and has the ear of the ODFW and becuase the VAST MAJORITY of fisherman that use the river didn't show up at the meeting, the minority won! The squeaky wheel gets the grease!

When you start limiting methods and tackle you had better be careful with what you ask for, you might not like what you get!

 

[Mad dog]

IHN Fish Virus found at Butte Falls Hatchery

Date: May 23, 2006
Contact: Dan Van Dyke (541) 826-8778 x234 or Meghan Collins (541) 440-3353


Fax: (541) 673-0372

ROSEBURG – Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials today announced that fish sampled from several stocks at Butte Falls Hatchery tested positive for the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), a virus that is not harmful to people but can kill fish.

IHNV is a naturally occurring virus that initially attacks the blood-forming tissues of the kidney in salmon and trout. External symptoms include lethargy, darkening of the skin and hemorrhaging at the base of the fins. Past experience shows that hatchery fish losses can increase dramatically from this disease, which has no known treatment. However, some fish carry the virus for their entire life cycle without any health problems and it usually causes mortality outbreaks only when fish are stressed.

ODFW’s hatchery and disease policies maintain a strong focus on preventing the spread of pathogens to areas where they do not naturally occur by regulating releases of fish. ODFW fish biologists are working to coordinate hatchery releases so the virus does not spread to IHNV-free waters, while also maintaining legal-sized trout releases for the remainder of the season. So far, the season’s trout releases have been successful, with early releases into urban ponds, additional releases into Agate Lake, and extra fish for some of the area’s other lakes.

Fisheries biologists believe the hatchery was likely exposed to IHNV from adult wild steelhead above the water intake. Passage above Butte Falls is highly dependent on water flows in a particular year and higher than normal water flows in Big Butte Creek this year allowed many more adults to spawn upstream. Steelhead and coho salmon have been found upstream of the falls in previous years.

Samples that tested positive for IHNV came from the Butte Falls Hatchery’s legal-sized and fingerling rainbow trout, fall Chinook stocks intended for the Coquille River, and winter steelhead being reared for the South Umpqua River. The virus is not currently present in either river system so biologists are considering options for stocking these rivers with IHNV-free fish.

The rainbow trout fingerlings that tested positive were being reared for release in Howard Prairie Reservoir. Last week, Willamette Hatchery stocked legal-size trout in Howard Prairie Reservoir and Hyatt Lake.

The Butte Falls legal-sized trout that tested positive were scheduled for release in the Rogue River above Lost Creek, Medco Pond and Willow Lake. Willamette Hatchery will step in and provide some legal-sized trout for the Rogue River above Lost Creek. “We’re working to minimize the impacts of the detection of IHNV to anglers,” noted Rogue District Fish Biologist Dan Van Dyke. “Stocking the Rogue River above Lost Creek is a high priority for the district along with area lakes that still need to be stocked.”

Recent tests also confirmed IHNV’s presence at Cole Rivers Hatchery in juvenile rainbow trout and in juvenile winter steelhead that were destined for release into the Applegate River next year. These fish were exposed to IHNV earlier this month when adult winter steelhead escaped broodstock holding ponds and entered the water supply conduit. The hatchery has installed redundant screening to prevent fish from escaping holding ponds in the future.

It's unfortunate, but that is what happened to last year's class of hatchery steelhead! Bummer!

 

[Fishtracker]

I am a member of the UFA (umpqua fishing association)
Several times I have been at the fish viewer at Winchester listening to guys complaining of not seeing any marked steel, and it it is hard to convince them that there is no marking on the N Ump, so they mite as well quit looking.

I helped w/ 3 steel releases (70,000 each) last year into the creek there at the Canyonville acclamation site, which ends up into the S Ump river.

I also helped w/ the floating ponds at Galesville, and releasing 30,000 Coho into the creek there, which also goes into the S Ump.

I also helped w/ hauling big (all 15-20 lb) fish from S Ump Falls to Rock C for their brood stock.

I also helped install the trap at Happy Valley boat ramp (on the S Ump) and haul those huge fall run Chinook into tank trailers headed to Rock C, where the eggs are taken, processed, then (300,000) hauled to "our" (not ODF) hatch boxes at Bear Creek, (behind Dillard) (near to where I live) where they are hatched out, and culled for a month, then moved around the corner into "our" (not ODF) raceways and fed for another couple months then moved to the Canyonville Acc site for another couple months, while being marked, (fin clipped) all 200,000 of them, all by 1 week of volunteer donated help (no help from ODF) Then they are hauled to some creek off the Main Ump, released, and worried about for the next month that they will make it to Reedsport before the Bass get them. There is something like a 7% return, and most believe it is not that high.

Off topic a little, but this just for a little info as to all the donated work by a very dedicated few, to help the salmon/steel fishing. The UFA disagrees w/ ODF in many ways, but they are still dedicated to help make it better.

I was an active member of UFA for 1 1/2 yrs, which was long enough. I am now an inactive member, as I could not keep up w/ all the donated time involved.

Fishtracker

 

[Mad dog]

Fishtracker good info!!! :clap:

We have seen a few of UFA's finclipped fall chinook in the window at Winchester this fall. I would believe that 7% is a generous estimate for the return on the finclipped fall chinook, I don't think it is nearly that high!

10 Bass per day! Those things need some serious culling! Way overpopulated! Someone needs to organize some catch and kill bass tournaments! Mmmm....fish taco's!

 

[Thuggin4Life]

Lets do it. My ol lady doesn't like fish too much but likes white meated fish so I think I could get her to eat bass. I heard you can caatch 50 in a day floating down the river.

 

[Mad dog]

Lets do it. My ol lady doesn't like fish too much but likes white meated fish so I think I could get her to eat bass. I heard you can caatch 50 in a day floating down the river.

50!!!! Are you out of your mind! :shock:

I stopped at one hole on the south, fished it from the bank and caught 15-20 in about an hour! I can't imagine how many you would catch in an entire day of fishing for them! The south is truely over-run with runty little smallmouth! The main is only slightly better! Too many of them!

 

[Thuggin4Life]

50!!!! Are you out of your mind! :shock:

I stopped at one hole on the south, fished it from the bank and caught 15-20 in about an hour! I can't imagine how many you would catch in an entire day of fishing for them! The south is truely over-run with runty little smallmouth! The main is only slightly better! Too many of them!

well the gut who ws telling me about it was saying they would get 100 each every time the would go but you know how people like to exaggerate when they get to drinking. Guess he wasn't ful of it. Every once in a while we get one plunking and they go on the bank.