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metalmania
So I heard on another forum that the sandy river might get closed down does anyone have any info on that?
Sandy closure
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ArcticAmoeba
There have been talks for a while about closing the Sandy River hatchery. It does not mean they won't still do fin clipped dumps. The Summer Steelhead in the Dog Creek hatch boxes, on the Clack are all bound for the Sandy. But the NW Steelheaders are having a meeting about it tomorrow night @ 7. a lot of questions will get answered there I think. Their guest speaker is a pretty decent guy.
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FishFinger
Are you refering to the Cedar Creek hatchery on the Sandy?
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ArcticAmoeba
Yes.
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FishFinger
How many more bad ideas do we have to endure?
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Kodiak
Ideas
Ideas
Prety much all of them.:lol: I got five bucks says that ODFW will blame it on "budget shortfalls" and pressure to return the system to "naitive stock". It never ceases to amaze me how bean counters can destroy a world class fishery just save a buck, when spending a a couple more to increase numbers would get them way more return on thier investment.
Ideas
FishFinger said:
Prety much all of them.:lol: I got five bucks says that ODFW will blame it on "budget shortfalls" and pressure to return the system to "naitive stock". It never ceases to amaze me how bean counters can destroy a world class fishery just save a buck, when spending a a couple more to increase numbers would get them way more return on thier investment.
Irishrover
Think I'll drive down to the hatchery and see if anyone down there might have an idea on what's up. I saw on the ODFW site that the have only had one fish return to the trap so far. That seems strange.
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ArcticAmoeba
There is no way. I don't fish the Sandy with any regularity, but that would mean that I have retained over 1,800% of the returned fish in the system this year on the Sandy??? Maybe they are all shooting, like the Coho did last fall. We saw a million booty, fin clips in the Salmon River this last November. The NW Steelheaders are having a meeting. It might be prudent to attend if you are a Sandy regular. It is in that building at the back of Glen Otto Park in T-Dale. Starts @ 7.
Irishrover
ArcticAmoeba said:
From the ODFW site
"SANDY RIVER: steelhead
Early in the week cold, clear water and extremely low flows continued to create challenging winter steelhead fishing on the Sandy. A few anglers are putting in some effort but the catch rates are fairly low. Some success was had near the mouth of Cedar Creek, and others have caught fish near the old Marmot Dam site. Guides working the lower river from boats say fishing is slow. Water levels on Monday showed flows up very slightly to 1,320 cfs (9.0’) and water temperature holding near 42°. The forecast for rain most of the week should improve conditions and get the steelhead moving again.
As of Tuesday, one steelhead had arrived in the trap at the Sandy hatchery, which is unusual, as they typically start to show up in good numbers by now. Historically, February and March are the peak months for steelhead fishing on the Sandy."
I just might venture down to that meeting and see what's up. Thanks for the information.
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ArcticAmoeba
If all the Gophers 'n Moles are dead around here, I plan to at least hang out in the back. Soak up whatever information is being presented.
Irishrover
That's where I'll be in the back.
Irishrover
metalmania said:
Acting on a suggestion from AA I went to the NW Steelheaders meeting last night in Troutdale. One of the folks from the Sandy river hatchery was there to speak to the group. The short version is the hatchery is a priority to remain open. The problem is that the Sandy Hatchery is a Mitchell fund (federal money) hatchery. Those funds have not increased in several years. The cost of operating the hatchery has increased and there is a gap. The plan is to use some of the money from the increase in fishing license fee to fill the gap. There is also the possibility that there will be an increase in the Mitchell funds. I wish I had been more on the ball and had taken pen and paper to take notes.
It just seems like there is an extreme amount of politics being played out and us folk are on the short end of the rod. If the feds can give all that money (millions) for the study of pig odor they should be able to find the $300,000 to run a fish hatchery that can generate more economic activity.
