Tuesday, September 22, 2009

ODFW Paints It's Ass Into a Corner


Well it's the first day of autumn here in the Pacific Northwest and we are having mid-summer like temperatures.
We've had these type of late summer heat waves before and I will guaranty you we all will be bitching about the rain by Thanksgiving.
One thing this early fall drought does is keep the salmon holed up in tidewater and the bays of the coastal region. They will eventually move upstream but may not be as bright as some would like. That doesn't really matter to the egg hunters of Tillamook county though, the more mature the salmon the larger and better the eggs tend to be before the eggs single out for spawning.
This year Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife promises a veritable cornucopia of coho salmon including the allowing of the harvest of wild coho. Here is where it gets tricky though! ODFW is not allowing the harvest of any fall chinook in certain watersheds like the Nehalem. Meanwhile just down south it's business as usual in the Tillamook watersheds as far as fall chinook goes!!! Am I missing something here?
Okay let's see if I have this right. You can't keep fall chinook on the Nehalem system but it's balls to the wall on coho including wild coho. Then you drive less than 20 miles south and it's okay to harvest fall chinook along with the promised coho bonanza!?!?! My head is about to explode here folks.
What took place at the Tillamook ODFW office when they came up with this stuff? A week long kegger? Holy crap!
I guess Oregon State Police Fish and Game Division are keeping a wary eye on the Nehalem system trying to make sure no one is targeting fall chinook. Say what?
I am certainly glad that I don't fish for salmon anymore because this is confusing to say the least.
I just further proves that ODFW is not interested in managing the resource but desperately trying to bolster lagging license sales.
In the meantime wild salmonids get kicked to the curb as has been the modus operandi of a state agency that is out touch and out of control.

4 comments:

  1. Hello Shane. I just came across your blog when I was looking for information about fishing for, and flys for, Steelhead. I write a blog about fishing in Northern California for trout and have added your site to my blogroll. I hope you can stop by my blog and say Hi. I'll be visiting you on a regular basis and I'll be up in your area early next Month for Steelhead on the Deschutes.

    http://shoretroutfishing.blogspot.com/

    Tight Lines

    Mark (Shoreman)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would be happy to add your blog to my list of links.
    Good luck on the Deschutes

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7:44 AM

    yet again shane they show their true colors ,they careless about the fish and only about their pockets ,you need to post something on were to write letters to send complaints ,not just to odfw but to higher officals ,in the government who can help stop this from happening ! kolingowski doesnt care so he isnt one to write ,we have an governor election coming up ,it would be nice to know where the canidates stand on these isssues !!!! It is time for all out war the time is now !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nutman
    I am working on that very thing about contacting ODFW. Look for it in the next day or two

    ReplyDelete