05/03/08  Fishing today was just OK. We didn't set the world on fire ,however I did confirm a couple of Springer's. OSP checked two today. The locals here are still trying to keep a tight lip but the jig is up.   It was a little slow for Steelheaders today I only saw two Summers, heard of a couple others and no winters and so far I have not heard of too much else going on. I know fish are around because it was better yesterday. The free fishing event for youngsters at Hebo lake went well today. Quite a  few happy kids.

 Just when I thought we were making some headway on the river etiquette  I get an e- mail from  Todd. Todd writes " I say if you get a real rude dude on the river, take it to the bank and beat the S_ _ t out of him....I bet next time he will tread a little lighter. Do you subscribe to this sort of actions? I'm 6'8" and 270Lbs.  I can take care of most of these dumb A_ _ _ s.  LOL   take care Todd"   Well first off I'm going to assume here that LOL means Lots of laughs . Having said that No, Todd, I don't subscribe to this method. And please before all you guys that are 5'4" or less start e-mailing me saying "the bigger they are the harder they fall",  lets take a step back before this thing degenerates into stupidness.( made up word). I was only trying to make everyone aware of an issue. Beating someone up will not make most people " tread a little lighter" It usually will make them start packing heat, then where do we go. No ,I think putting yourself in the other persons shoes is a better idea.  NO MORE ON RIVER ETIQUETTE !

It was pointed out to me that my post the other day may have broached on a little insensitivity . I pointed out that the original group who got me to thinking about good sportsmanship were fly fishermen. This person, didn't think I needed to identify them in this manner. I don't know why, I thought being a fly fisherman was something to be proud of , and anyway that's exactly how they identified themselves !. I didn't hunch up my back , shake my head from side to side like a cheap Z grade Italian western, chew flyin from both sides and growl   fffffllllllllllyyyyyyyyy fishermennnnn.  In fact I thought nothing of it when I said  it . It was as I said, how they identified themselves. There was no intent on my part ,but I will apologize anyway for the possibility of it being miss interpreted. I like fly fishermen, Sometimes they have a point. Heck I  have even fly fished now and then myself, I like fly fishermen as much as any other group of fishermen.  (Except of coarse (head shake, chew flyin)  illeeeegggaaallll  fishermen.) Now there's a group I just can't wrap my arms around. I am of coarse referring to snagger's ,flosser's no licenses, and those that retain native fish. I am not referring to those folks from south of the boarder, unless those folks are also snagger's and flosser's and retaining native fish, then I am referring to them as well. Man, I'm finding myself explaining everything so as not to offend any particular group. In the process I think I have offended everyone. That being the case I think I'll quit before someone gets upset for leaving them out. As you may have been able to tell today was pretty darn slow and I have way to much  unsupervised time on my hands. Their coming to take me away Ha Ha ,their coming to take me away He He Ho Ho Ha Ha....... Where are my little green pills when I need them !.  Just so it's clear: this post was tongue in cheek. Geeeezzzzz  I hate having to say that. Maybe these big  red  pills will work .

05/02/08 Well the dust has finally settled in regards to boater and fishermen etiquette. After sitting back and reading all the different points of view, the one thing that was obvious was that there are many points of view. Many pointed to newer fishing techniques like side drifting as creating some of the bad behavior like fishing through the water that someone else is already fishing. The excuse often given when asked was , were just fishing through and we won't be here in a minute. Tell that to the guy who has been fishing a drift and a un courteous fisherman slides through and bangs a fish right out of the water your fishing. Others thought anchoring up in holes  shouldn't be allowed The guys pulling plugs and side drifting don't like to see the anchored boats. Bank fishermen don't like  to see any boats.  Most described it as  a necessary evil that would be better tolerated if only  few were more respectful. Everybody had an axe to grind and everyone had at least one negative experience to relate. I know there are many of you who work hard at being a good sportsman unfortunately you are being overshadowed by those that could care less. We all need to try harder to put ourselves in the shoes of the next boat or bank fishermen  ,take the high road, set a good example, and make your day  and everyone  around you,  a good day.

 04/28/08 I can't believe the can of worms I opened up yesterday. ( see below for yesterdays report) I don't understand how what I said could have been taken at least six different ways . This apparently is a hot button issue that needs to be further explored. First off my statement should not be characterized as " giving Cart Blanche to  guides".  Anyone can exhibit poor etiquette .I was not giving a pass to anyone.  I'm not here "just to defend the guides" as one person stated but rather to point out that  we all need to be more conscious of everyone on the river. The circumstances I described were the only circumstances I was referring to. In yesterdays report  the guide did the right thing .I said he came in close to the bank fishermen so as not to run over the water they were fishing. This was common courtesy.. I did not say that he continued to have his clients fish through ,I did not say he pulled plugs through where they were fishing. Those  would be the  acts of   an un courteous person. Trust me the guides can be just as bad as anyone. If you stood in my shop day after day you would hear many of the guides  complain about other guides . Bank fishermen are not immune to displaying bad character either. If your on the bank and a drift boat comes down into the hole your fishing, you have first right to the hole. On the other hand if you walk into a hole and see a drift boat already there, working his way through the hole, this is not the time to start casting just in front of him and then run down the river in front of him trying to get first bait in every hole. It happens!. I have seen bank anglers angry just because the boat was coming through.  Guys there's no choice here they have to go down stream and  hurling obscenities is never going to make a situation better.  One of the things that boaters most complain about is river runners and low holer's. Low holing is when you see another boater working down a stretch  and you slide in  front of him and drop the hook, cutting him off from finishing his drift. WAY NOT COOL ! do it once  and you might be forgiven .Do it twice and you might need an extra drain plug or two. River running is just that, making an all out effort to beat other fishermen into every hole. A river runner will usually be his own worst enemy as many folks will catch fish  behind them where they just hurriedly vacated. Running your plugs down under another boater that is anchored is also not cool. It  happens I hear it all the time. Put yourself in the place of the other fishermen  and ask yourself " how would I like to be treated under these circumstances". Then teach by example. Not everyone will get it ,but most will and you will be creating good will for a future meeting.  Those that can't be convinced to be better sportsmen will probably never change no matter what you have to say. Our river is small and most everybody knows or recognizes you. Doing stupid stuff just comes back another time.

04/26/08 One of the topics that came up in the store yesterday had to do with boater etiquette. There  were three fly fishermen in the store and they were complaining and asking me if I knew a certain guide. I answered that I did and they started telling me about their experience that afternoon. Their complaint was that they were out of their boat fishing from the bank when this guide came in close to the bank right under their rods and prevented them from fishing while he passed by. I tried to explain to them that this guide was practicing common courtesy but they didn't think so. So I'm going to try to explain what happened here. When a drift boat passes another boater they will usually ask what side you want them on. If possible they will comply. Then they will get as close as possible to your boat so as to not run over the water your trying to fish . Like wise when you pass someone on the bank it's common courtesy to get as close as possible and not run over the water that's being fished. That's exactly what happened with these fly fishermen. The guide was trying to be courteous and spare the water where they were (or should have been ) fishing. These fellows took exception just because he was so close. If they had been thinking and doing their homework they would have realized  that ,being a guide he probably knew exactly where the run was and where the fish should have been. Taking a key from that might have been helpful and just possibly the guide might have clued them into to something they hadn't realized. In stead they were mad. There is a lot of poor etiquette out there and we all should be interested in improving it. Sometimes without thinking we make a circumstance worse with a quick reaction. It's especially frustrating when you try to do the right thing and someone still gets upset. Then it's "why did I bother." Another fisherman can't gauge your level of knowledge he can only do what he knows is right.   Coming in close and staying out of the water he knew fish were in, was exactly the right thing to do.

 I recently read an article In STS ( Salmon, Trout and Steelhead ) magazine. The author a guide himself,  talks about how some of the lesser experienced clients sometimes do better than those with a  more seasoned background. He postulated that these less experienced folks have a tendency to do nothing when a fish strikes and therefore get more hook ups. I  don't necessarily subscribe to his belief but it got me to thinking about my own remembrances of truly large fish. In my lifetime I have seen three over 60 Lbs salmon caught  in Oregon. Alaska is a different situation entirely as many of you Kenai enthusiast can attest. Of the three over 60 Lbs fish I have seen in Oregon all were caught at the hands of  totally ,clueless first time fishermen. The first one occurred in  1968 when my fishing buddy John ( nick named the Rose for reasons I may someday disclose) and myself were fishing out of Ilwaco on a charter boat called the Gabeline. Before you all inform me that this is in Washington, the reason I consider this an Oregon fish is because the skipper on this boat always fished south of the Columbia and  on this particular day we were just off the beaches of  Sea Side. This particular trip I was seated next to an older gal from somewhere in the mid west. She came here to see the pacific Ocean for the first time and to fish for a King Salmon. Where she came from, she and her grandfather fished for catfish when she was a little girl. Other than that she hadn't had a rod on her hand for many years. Guess who caught a 62  pound King Salmon that day. You guessed it.  Miss Mid-west first time fisherman The next really big fish was in the late 1970's when a co worker of my then wife called and said you have to come over here and see the huge salmon my husband caught. Knowing my interest in fishing she thought I would enjoy seeing it. So we hopped in the car  not knowing what I was going to see. We arrived at their home and her husband began to tell me how his buddies invited him to fish with them. He himself had never fished and with a borrowed rod from one of his buddies and a red and white Daredevil that he purchased from the old Lee's Camp store ,where they had eaten breakfast , hit the Wilson River  for some fishing time .The next thing I know  I'm staring at a 76 pound buck King Salmon that looked like he was big enough to eat me. The head was enormous.  I asked if he had a great battle with the fish? no not really was the answer it took about five minutes . Go figure.! The last truly large fish I saw came in 2004. We were anchored up at the Gaurdrail Hole in Pacific City when these two young men pulled alongside and asked if they could anchor next to us. I said  go right ahead. After they were situated they dropped in a couple of kwikfish and settled in for some fishing. In conversation I found out that they were in his dads boat and that his  dad had taken  him salmon fishing for the first time a couple of weeks ago. They caught a salmon or two and he thought it might be fun to try again. So with dads  borrowed boat and rods, he brought along his best friend who also had never fished.  Not very long after he dropped in, his rod goes down and just burry's itself. I noticed he was having a very difficult time getting the rod from the holder and the rod tip was in the water. He finally was able to get the rod in hand  I noticed right away that the heavy rod he  was using was bent almost in half. The fish was running hard  but not  taking line and was not more than about fifteen feet from the boat . I realized he didn't have the drag set. I yelled that he needed to loosen the drag if he was intent on catching the fish. How do I do that ?. ( What do you say ). So I told him to pull anchor and drift out of the boat line or his fish would soon be on someone's anchor line or one of the lines that  were still in the water. At this point we were laughing so hard because it looked like a Chinese Fire Drill with the one friend holding on to the back of his buddies belt to keep him from going over with the way the fish was pulling. Between the two of them they managed to pull anchor and drift up river ( Incoming tide) about 75 or so feet. We continued to watch as the fish just went round and round the boat with the drag set tight not ever getting far from the boat. Finally this fish, exhausted, broadsided and presented itself to the net . His friend stuck the net in the water ,the only trouble was this fish was twice the size of the net and that combined with the fact he had never before netted a salmon was a disaster in the making. Sure enough the fish got half way in the net then flopped back out with the weight stuck in the net. I though for sure at this point they were going to loose this giant fish, but as luck would have it the weight broke off and away went the salmon, still hooked and ready for round three. The next time the fish came up they were able to get it in the net. It took the strength of  both of them to pull the fish on board. It weighed in at the Pacific City Sporting Goods store at 66 pounds. The K-16 kwikfish was completely engulfed and could not be seen from the outside of the mouth. These two did everything  wrong  they could possibly have done  and somehow still managed to get the fish.  Dumb luck ? I don't know maybe the good Lord had his reasons. Many of us have spent our entire fishing lives and have never hooked or landed anything close  to what these three non fishermen accomplished.

No Crystal ball: This morning the Big Nestucca is at  6.8'. I walked in the door this morning  at 6:00 A.M. and before I got the alarm turned off  I got my first call.  "How's the river"?. Then the second call , and a third. "How's the river look this morning" ?. My honest answer  was I don't know it's still dark ,I can't see it,  and right now I'm in the shop answering your phone call. It will be light around 7:30 and someone will come in and tell me what the river looks like. " Well what color is it" ?. I don't know it's dark out. "What color do you think it is" ? "Did it blow out again last night"?. Well when I went to bed last night the color was improving and had a green look to it. I don't believe it rained hard enough to blow out again but to tell you the truth I was asleep most of the night and didn't hear a thing. "What "?  came the relpy from the other end. I repeated that until a half hour ago I was asleep and  I didn't stay awake all night doing research.  "What's the river height"?. The graph says it's 6.8' and dropping was my answer. "Is it raining now"?. Yes ,I said ,it's just a light sprinkle. "Do you think that this rain will make the river come up"?  I don't know it depends on how hard it rains I said. "Do you think it will rain hard enough to make the river brown "?."What's your forecast for the rest of the day"?, Stop ,  Just stop I said. It's 6:00 A.M. I just got up a half hour ago and I don't have a crystal ball. The graph says it's going to rise late this afternoon. If you want to take NOAA's word for it  the river should go on a rise late this afternoon.

 Real Science: The first thing I do every morning is check the NOAA graph,  the real time is all you can rely on ,the rest is seldom correct. . My experience sometimes is better but  not always.  Remember we live in a part of the country where Weather Forecasters make a good living being wrong. Here's what I rely on before daylight :  When I walk out my back door I can hear the river, if it's roaring I know it's high. When I get to work I check the big mud puddle out back if it's full of water and muddy, it rained hard last night. If the parking lot is wet but the mud puddle is empty it rained slightly but not enough to color the river. I put these three things together  with the graph, then I factor in one of 17 possible factors that only I know,( This morning was Tuna or roast beef)  and I can give you my take on the  Pre- daylight river conditions. Saturday morning a guy called and asked " is it raining right now"? , it wasn't so I said no. Ten minutes later we were in a torrential downpour (could have used that crystal ball ) and guess what the guy shows up 45 minutes later mad at me because I said it wasn't raining. Well it wasn't when he asked .I don't have a crystal ball !. I don't know when it will rain, how much it will rain, if it will rain enough to turn the river brown, or for that matter, what kind of day you will have fishing. (ask your wife she knows what kind of fisherman you are) I don't have a crystal ball. There goes the phone again,. Hello, "Hey what color is the river this morning"?.  Uhhhhhg ! , How much are crystal balls?.

Some changes in store for the winter Steelhead Broodstock program I attended an ODFW meeting  in October . The purpose was to share the data from the last three years of the  creel, trap. and hatchery  surveys and to take public comment on how to proceed from here. The Broodstock program was introduced in 2001 and had to meet some very tough federal guidelines in terms of making sure it didn't exceed certain established standards for stray fish and competition for spawn grounds between the Alsea hatchery fish and the native broodstock fish verses the native Steelhead.. This program  was written in stone and could not be changed until all the surveys had been accomplished and there was  firm ground to make decisions about how to fine tune the program. The results are in and  all goals were met or exceeded. That's great news.  The effort now will be to reduce further the impact on wild fish and to provide more opportunity for these hatchery fish to be caught. First and foremost we want to protect the wild fish and at the same time ODFW wants as many of the hatchery fish as possible to be caught. Listed below is a comparison of the program as it exists and the proposed changes. Note that there will be less Alsea fish and more Broodstock fish in the Nestucca. More of the Alsea fish will go back into Three Rivers. The attempt here is to further reduce the Alsea strays  in native fish territory and to also increase the number of fish available in Three Rivers for fishermen. ODFW will continue to take written  opinions and suggestions through November. I personally like the new suggested proposal as  I believe this accomplishes the most important goals and provides more fish to catch ,where most of us fish. If you support this proposal please let ODFW know. If you have other suggestions , be sure your voice is heard.

 Current program:

55,000 Alsea fish ,    55,000 Nestucca Broodstock

All released at Bays Creek near 5th bridge

 Proposed Program:

40,000 Alsea Stock   30,000 released in Three Rivers, 10,000 at farmers Creek

70,000 Native Broodstock, 20,000 released it bays creek, 20,000 released at 1st bridge, 15,000 released at farmer creek , 15,000 released in Three Rivers