Spring 2015 - NW Steelheaders
Transcription
Spring 2015 - NW Steelheaders
SAVE THE DATE! April 11 Salmon Quest Guided Fishing, Awards Dinner Fish and Benefit Metro-Area Fisheries June 6 Sandy Salmon Classic Protect Oregon’s Fishing Heritage, Wild and Hatchery Fish and Benefit Metro-Area Fisheries October 15-17 SHOT Tournament Fishing in Teams of Three, Awards Dinner Fish and Benefit Tillamook-Area Fisheries November 14 2015 Hall of Fame Banquet Hall of Fame Awards and Banquet Silent and Oral Auction, Games Benefit Fish and Their Habitats THE NORTHWEST STEELHEADER Volume 30, No. 2 Spring Issue, 20 1 5 THE NORTHWEST STEELHEADER is published quarterly by the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. 4 Columbia River Chapter Hosts Veterans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Don Hyde Staff 8 Opal Springs Passage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yancy Lind Executive Director Office Manager Outreach Coordinator Administrative Assistant Bob Rees Leslie Hinea Joyce Sherman Stevie Parsons 6 Will Work For Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bill Kremers, Bob Rees 10 Protect the Bait—a Three-Year Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Norm Ritchie 11 Raffle Tickets For Sale! Editorial Board 12 Fishing with Buzz: Summer Steelhead Tactics . . . . . . . . . .Buzz Ramsey Trey Carskadon, Joe Domenico, Ian Fergusson, Brad Halverson, Bill Kremers, Bob Oleson, Bob Rees, Norm Ritchie, Joyce Sherman, Tom Smoot 14 Obituary Junior Steelheaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tom Vanderplaat Design/Production Advertising Sales 15 Ways to Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Doug Briggs Chuck Voss Endowment Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joyce Sherman River Graphics 16 Volunteer Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bob Rees ANWS Officers/Directors 18 Volunteerism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tim Lenihan President Vice President VP Conservation Secretary Treasurer Communications Development Education Government Affairs Membership Resources Bill Kremers Joe Domenico Dan Drazan Tim Wilson Brannan Hersh Joyce Sherman Norm Ritchie Mike Myrick Trey Carskadon, Stevie Parsons Ian Fergusson, Brad Halverson River Rights Art Israelson Watersheds Doug Hunt Regional Bill Hedlund, Tom Smoot, Gary Lutman Chapter Presidents 20 Salmonberry River: A Wild and Wonderful Place . . . . . .Joyce Sherman 23 Legislative Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bof Oleson 24 Toman’s King Camp: Heaven on the Nushagak . . . . . . . . .Dan Drazan 27 Calendar of Events ODFW Budget 28 Activities, Angling, and Activism 29 Sandy River Chapter and ODFW Cooperate for Clinics 30 Chapter Reports 31 Chapter Meeting Information The Association of Northwest Steelheaders Anglers dedicated to enhancing and protecting fisheries and their habitats for today and the future. Bob Askey, Larry Bell, Doug Briggs, Bill Hedlund, Don Hyde, Ken Johnson, Duane Kitzmiller, Yancy Lind, Dave Reggiani, Bob Rees, Tom VanderPlaat, Brian Winn, Sam Wurdinger Your letters, photos, and articles are welcome and will be printed as space permits. Please call or e-mail River Graphics, 541-614-1252 or [email protected], for article specifications. Honorary Directors THE NORTHWEST STEELHEADER is published quarterly by the Association Frank Amato, Nick Amato, Bruce Belles, Jack Glass, Liz Hamilton, Eric Linde, Hobart Manns, Jim Martin, Buzz Ramsey About the Cover Yancy Lind, Deschutes Basin President, displays a typical Deschutes River steelhead. See the Opal Springs article, page 8. Photo courtesy of Yancy Lind Visit our website: www.nwsteelheaders.org of Northwest Steelheaders, 6641 SE Lake Road, Milwaukie, OR 97222-2161; 503653-4176, [email protected]. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the authors, chapters, and committees who submit and/or write material, and may or may not reflect the views of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. The editorial board reserves the right to edit all material in the interests of clarity, good taste, or to meet space requirements. Reprint rights reserved. Please contact the Association office and the author for permission before reprinting any material. Distributed free of charge. Spring 2015 • 3 Columbia River Chapter Hosts Veterans By Don Hyde, Columbia River Chapter President Sgt. Dolan Santero with a spring chinook he caught on the Columbia River just east of the I-5 Bridge. The guide was Damon Struble. Dolan was all smiles the rest of the day. _________________ with a spring chinook he caught _________________ __________ guided by Bill Kremers. Columbia River Chapter members, volunteer guides and boatmen, and veterans pose for a group photo at the end of the day. olumbia River Chapter of Northwest Steelheaders held their Annual Veterans Spring Chinook fishing trip March 21. It was held at Portco/Marine Park in Vancouver, WA. There was a total of 18 boats and 42 veterans. The veterans came from three different locations: Joint Base Lewis McChord in Tacoma, Armed Forces Reserve Center in Vancouver, and Helping Men Heal in Vancouver. C Four out of the 18 boats were provided by local guides who donated their services. Fourteen chapter members volunteered their boats and skills. All boats had a volunteer deck hand and took out anywhere from one to six vets, depending on boat size and capability. In addition to the boat captains and deckhands, there were a dozen or so volunteers at the dock who helped with parking, handing out food, and organizing setup and tear down. The chapter provided coffee and donuts in the morning and box lunches, drinks, and ice for the anglers to take out with them. The veterans were lucky enough to walk away with two fish; fishing conditions were extremely slow. The time on the water and making new friends made it all worthwhile, which is what matters most! Everyone had an amazing time, and the chapter can't wait to do it again in the fall. Columbia River Chapter would like to thank all their sponsors for helping make the event a success with special thanks to the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Councilman Larry Smith! Steelheaders Visit Washington, D.C. In February, NWF made possible a trip to strengthen the Lacey Act to restrict the imports of exotic species into the U.S. Pictured are, from left, Nic Callero (NWF), Mike Lithgow (Back Country Anglers/Hunters), Sen. Wyden, Bill Kremers (ANWS), Mia Sheppard (Theodore Roosevelt Foundation), and Ty Stubblefield (Oregon Hunters). 4 • The Northwest Steelheader W I L L W OR K F OR hroughout our 50-plus years of existence, the Association of Northwest Steelheaders has had many successful programs. One program has been our Eggs to Fry program under the leadership of Education Director Mike Myrick. Mike and our chapters, with the assistance of ODFW, set up aquariums with chillers in classrooms (incubation tanks) throughout Oregon. Eggs are delivered to the classroom, and students raise them until they are mature enough to release into a local stream. Recently volunteers from the Tualatin Chapter Northwest helped the students from Harvey Clarke Elementary School who raised 500 hundred rainbow trout eggs to young adults. Once the trout were mature enough, the Junior Steelheaders released them into Scoggins Creek. If they had had programs like this when I was in school, I am pretty sure I would have paid more attention in the classroom and perhaps even gotten better grades. The success of the Eggs to Fry T F I SH Steelheader Programs Program has spread to other states, as they, too, see the value of handson education and the connection kids make with nature. If you would like to find out more about Eggs to Fry, contact me at [email protected] or 541-602-0881; I would be glad to answer your questions. The River Ambassador Program is one of our more recent programs. Where the Eggs to Fry Program is designed for the classroom, the River Ambassador Program is designed to welcome veterans returning from overseas and to say thank you to them as they settle into our communities for their heroic service. Russell Bassett, our prior Executive Director, was the inspiration behind the River Ambassador Program. He was veteran who served in Iraq. Rex Cuniff, also a veteran, is our coordinator. Our first program was a three-day adventure at Bitter Brush Ranch on the Deschutes, where we taught vets the basic of fishing through both classroom sessions and getting out on the water, including an all-day drift boat trip on the Deschutes. A video of their experience can be viewed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=jwC4TW2Gk78. This May we will once again be hosting veterans at Bitter Brush for another three-day adventure. We have also held trips in Tillamook where we spent the weekend trolling for salmon. Several of our chapters have now started their own River Ambassador programs where they take veterans out on local waters for a day of fishing followed by a banquet or BBQ. I recently spent a day with the Columbia River chapter in Vancouver where they took 44 veterans out for a day of spring Chinook fishing. Since it was early in the season, the fishing was slow, but the enthusiasm was high. Just being out on the water with these brave soldiers is what being a Steelheader is all about. The next time someone tells you that the Steelheaders are just another fishing club, you can say that we are here to benefit our fisheries, a community organization that helps make the Northwest the special place that we all love and cherish. Bill Kremers, President Guides Association along with our top tier lawyer Maddy Sheehan (publisher and author of the famed Fishing in Oregon), we’d be hundreds of thousands of McKenzie River smolts down for this river as well as the Willamette and Columbia River sportfisheries. WE WON! ODFW has already released this year’s smolts into the McKenzie! Despite our recent victory on the McKenzie and our previous victory for the Sandy River hatchery, you’d think that interest in scaling back our hatchery production would slow. I don’t think this is going to be the case. We still have our work cut out for us. I typically reserve this space for going against what is common practice, after all, going with the flow has got anglers degraded habitat, a river system littered with fish-killing dams, and multiple warnings for fish consumption in our very own Oregon! It clearly doesn’t pay to go with the flow. I’m writing about hatchery fish, when historically, many have failed to see the benefits of hatchery produced salmon and steelhead. That is changing. There certainly could be improvements in our hatchery operations, and we feel that’s being worked on but since when was a hatchery fish public enemy No. 1? We’re in the process of developing a one-pager on the benefits of hatchery fish. I think we can all recount many ways that hatchery fish have improved our lives, but let’s take a quick look at just a few of those benefits: Going Against the Flow: Hatchery Fish e’re just wrapping up a successful winter steelhead season, which I’ve only fished twice all season, on our way to our most prized fishery, spring Chinook. You’ll never see a higher rate of participation for such a low ROI (return on investment). It’s just what we do here in the Northwest and once again, we have the Association of Northwest Steelheaders to thank for the continued opportunity for fish for this magnificent run of fish. Of course, we couldn’t do it alone. You’ll see an emerging theme for the 2015 Hall of Fame Banquet: “Partnerships.” Without ODFW and the paralleling strategies of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association and the McKenzie River W 6 • The Northwest Steelheader • Anglers are much more likely to catch a hatchery fish in most major sportfisheries in Oregon. Without hatchery fish, there wouldn’t be much to catch and therefore, there wouldn’t be much interest. Without interest in sportfisheries, rural economies that thrive during productive fishing seasons would suffer great losses. Without interest in sportfisheries, anglers would lose touch with the outdoors and therefore, not feel compelled to protect our rivers and lands for future generations of outdoor recreationalists. • Excess hatchery fish provide thousands of pounds of protein to local area food banks and shelters. In recent years, volunteers have processed thousands and thousands of food quality hatchery salmon for needy families in rural and urban areas. These hatchery salmon provided numerous sportfishing oppor- tunities in the ocean, estuaries and rivers, and, now that they’ve arrived at the hatchery in excess, they will feed thousands of hungry Oregonians a healthy protein source that is typically out of range for lowincome families. • Excess hatchery fish provide an incredible nutrient base for starved ecosystems that historically had healthy runs of wild salmon and steelhead. The Steelheaders have invested heavily in reinvigorating these deprived streams with volunteers and equipment to disperse excess hatchery fish back into these remote areas to benefit the next generation of salmon as well as an entire forest ecosystem that has been starved since we began drastically altering our landscape. Now, armed with these simple facts, doesn’t it seem sensible that everyone might be on the same page here? Emerging science may help us answer how to manage our hatchery populations better, and we’re all for that. However, until our wild ecosystems can sustain strong rural economies and keep young anglers engaged in our sport, we’re going to need hatchery fish. The Association of Northwest Steelheaders is going to keep fighting for our rights to produce hatchery salmon and steelhead for a long time into the future. Thanks for being a member of The Association of Northwest Steelheaders! Bob Rees, Executive Director Step Up: Become a Budgeted Life Member Support the continuing efforts of the Association of Northwest Steel headers by becoming a Life Member through five equal annual payments of $100 each. All proceeds from this program are put into the Chuck Voss Endowment Fund and invested for the future. You are providing the Association with a stable membership to add your voice to our efforts to improve fishing and fish habitat, while adding to the endowment fund to ensure financial stability. To become a Budgeted Life Member, fill out a membership form (see page 31), go to www.nwsteelheaders.org/support/membership/, or contact the Association Office, (503) 653-4176. Spring 2015 • 7 Opal Springs Passage By Yancy Lind, Deschutes Basin Chapter or nearly 15 years a wide range of companies, organizations, agencies, and individuals have been working on the reintroduction of steelhead and salmon into the upper Deschutes basin above Lake Billy Chinook. This includes the middle Deschutes, the Crooked River, the Metolius River, and their tributaries. Around $200M has been spent on this effort so far. Approximately $150M of that has been spent by Portland General Electric’s ratepayers. Results from these efforts have not met initial hopes, but success remains within reach. As of March 18, 2015, 82 upper basin origin adult steelhead from the current season have been captured in the trap at the bottom of the PeltonRound Butte Dam complex, transported upriver, and released into Lake Billy Chinook. The genetics in these fish are priceless. They are the ones who managed to make it down river, enter the new collection facility in Lake Billy Chinook, go down the Deschutes, through the dams on the Columbia, survive life in the sea and make it all the way back. These are the fish whose off- F 8 • The Northwest Steelheader spring are best suited to repopulate the upper basin. To the surprise of the fish biologists who have been working on this project, the great majority of the returning steelhead and Chinook salmon have chosen to head up the Crooked River to spawn. Of the 82 steelhead returned to Lake Billy Chinook so far this year, one is now in the Metolius, four are in the middle Deschutes, one is in Whychus Creek (a tributary of the middle Deschutes), and 33 have been passed above Opal Springs into the Crooked. Of those 33, one has made it all the way to just below Bowman Dam, three are in Ochoco Creek, and four are in McKay Creek (both tributaries of the Crooked). The remaining 43 steelhead are still in the lake, mostly in the Crooked River arm. This overwhelming preference for the Crooked has been the case every year there have been anadromous fish returns. Historically, the Crooked and its tributaries were prime spawning areas for steelhead and Chinook who migrated up the Deschutes. Restoring runs in the Crooked could dramatically increase the number of sport fish available to anglers on the Deschutes and the Columbia. Unfortunately, a barrier remains at the bottom of the Crooked River largely blocking upstream passage for these returning anadromous fish. Successful reintroduction is in jeopardy if a fish ladder is not installed, and soon. To that end, www.opalspringspassage.org has been created. This is a collaborative effort on the part of the Steelheaders, Central Oregon Flyfishers, Native Fish Society, WaterWatch, Wild Salmon Center, and other groups. You can learn more about efforts so far by visiting www.opalspringspassage.org, but here’s a brief overview: As part of the relicensing of the Pelton-Round Butte hydroelectric facility in 2005, PGE and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, co-owners of the facility, were required to provide fish passage, resulting in a significant and well-publicized engineering project. The requirement for fish passage did not extend, however, to other dams on the rivers above Lake Billy Chinook, the reservoir created behind Round Butte Dam. Seeing the historic opportunity for anadromous fish reintroduction, numerous agencies and organizations began to work together on habitat restoration and removing minor dams on some of the waters that comprise the upper Deschutes basin. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) began planting anadromous fry and smolts in these waters in 2007. Fish were planted in the middle Deschutes and Whychus Creek, a tributary of the middle Deschutes just above the lake, in anticipation they would return to the release location. Fish were also planted in the Crooked River under the assumption that fish passage at barriers on the Crooked would be addressed in a reasonable period of time. Accordingly, Deschutes Valley Water District, the owners of the Opal Springs Hydro Facility, was approached. DVWD is under no legal obligation to provide passage as their license to operate the project does not come up for renewal until 2032. Nevertheless, they have embraced the opportunity to facilitate reintroduction under a cost sharing and operational agreement. This agreement was signed almost four years ago. In summary, the agreement stated that DVWD would pay for approximately one half the $8M cost of installing a volitional fish ladder and related required modifications. The other funds were to be obtained from outside organizations. To that end, the Oregon Water Enhancement Board (OWEB) has made a commitment of $1M. There is a potential of around $1M from ODFW, however these funds are conditional on the rest of the money being raised. As it stands now, there is a deficit of approximately $2M. Note that ODFW has rated passage at Opal Springs as the number two fish passage priority in the state. Number one is passage at Hells Canyon, where there are no current plans for passage. Time is rapidly running out to raise these funds. The agreement with Don Roberts with a hatchery Deschutes steelhead. More fish will be available for anglers if fish can return to the Crooked River above Opal Springs Dam. DVWD to provide passage will expire in October of this year. Early on in this process there was a reasonable belief that fry and smolts planted in Whychus Creek and the middle Deschutes would return to those waters to spawn, perhaps reducing the urgency felt by some to provide passage at Opal Springs. Outside of a handful of fish, however, this has not occurred. Fish have simply not yet returned to the middle Deschutes and Whychus Creek in numbers that will establish a viable population. The fish have spoken. They want to go up the Crooked River. If the remaining funding for fish passage at Opal Springs is not raised, it might not be until DVWD’s license is up for renewal in 2032 before volitional passage is installed, compromising reintroduction efforts to date. We invite you to visit www.opalspringspassage.org and lend your voice to this effort. Anadromous fish reintroduction into the upper Deschutes basin is a historic and worthwhile effort, and it needs your help. CUSTOM BOAT TOPS & UPHOLSTERY BOAT SEATS & MARINE CARPETING DO-IT-YOURSELF SUPPLIES BOAT ACCESSORIES www.bentleysmfg.com (800) 515-1275 or 503-659-0238 14020 SE McLOUGHLIN BLVD. In Milwaukie, 1/4 mile south of The Bomber HOME LOANS BY STEVE SALVESON Get your home loan from an experienced Mortgage Broker and NW Steelheader member! • In house underwriting and funding • Conventional and FHA Steve Salveson, GRI, CRMS loans MLO- 88726 ML-137 • Purchase NMLS 88726 Co. NMLS 1854 [email protected] • Refinance 16100 NW Cornell Rd. #210 Beaverton, OR 97006 Stearns® Stearns Lending, Inc. | Home Loans Division 503-716-5910 971-250-4510 Spring 2015 • 9 Protect the Bait—A Three Year Journey By Norm Ritchie, Development Director uly is the time of year to be on the ocean chasing coho and chinook out of coastal ports, moving out in the early morning, hopefully on flood or slack tide, with the expectation of finding the quarry before midday winds point the boat back toward a comfortable harbor. Most of us fishing the ocean take out a variety of common baits and will check stomach contents of our first catches in an effort to “match the hatch” and provide what they are feeding on. It is always concerning when you find an empty stomach. The first thoughts are, “Where is the forage? Is there enough out here for our sport fish to eat?” In July 2012, we started a new venture to ensure salmon and steelhead would have enough to eat in the ocean so that they could grow to 50 times their smolt size and become what we think of and yearn for when they return as adults. As of March this year, we have come away with two things: First, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) directed NOAA Fisheries to put unmanaged forage fish into Fisheries Management Plans as an ecosystem component, protected from directed harvest until the populations can be assessed and harvest limits determined based in part on the needs of predator species higher in the food web. While we primarily use herring, anchovy, and (a few of us) shad for bait in the ocean and salmon and steelhead certainly eat a lot of these as they grow bigger, much of their diet consists of lesser known smaller forage species such as sand lance, small squids, and saury. These typically smaller forage species are not currently targeted by commercial fisheries off our west coast, but are being harvested and even overharvested in other parts of the world. It would only be a matter of time before it happened here had it not been for the actions taken this March. A major component of these actions was establishing ecosystem based management of these species. J 10 • The Northwest Steelheader This means harvest limits would not only be based on the health of the target species population but the impact the harvest would have on the predators that depend on them. Managed species such as herring should also be managed with this consideration. The second thing we gained is an appreciation of how long it takes to get something worthwhile done in government, even when there is essentially no opposition to the goal. That sounds negative, but it really is a positive thing, one that applies to many things we try to accomplish. The process has many steps and safeguards to prevent unintended consequences. It took almost three years to vet all concerns, draft and redraft as questions came up and were answered. The public comment periods allow everyone the opportunity to review and express concerns and make suggestions. The PFMC and its advisory sub-panels and other various support bodies are made up of mostly volunteers. These are supported by federal and state agency staffs. All of them we worked with are dedicated and hard working. The established process could not have gone any faster. In fact, our efforts ensured this was done with priority and high level moni- toring. Council members acknowledged the efforts and support of the Northwest Steelheaders and other organizations and the public many times during their formal deliberations at their quarterly meetings. They really appreciated the attention and thoughtful input we all provided. We are continuing this effort with the state of Oregon. While Oregon showed great leadership within the PFMC toward getting the forage fish protections done, California and Washington worked on getting similar protections for their territorial waters. Oregon is taking a bit longer, but perhaps is working smarter. Oregon can now work to improve on the PFMC achievement while creating rules that are coordinated with the federal jurisdiction just outside the state’s threemile territorial limit. We have learned that getting it done will require continuous effort to maintain its priority and ensuring we get everything we expect it to achieve. Your support by sending letters and signing petitions will be an important part of that effort and a major part of our success and will ensure that this critical food base is left in our waters, versus shipped overseas for aquaculture or processed feed for livestock. It’s been proven that a school of forage fish is worth twice the value left in the ocean as it is removed for other purposes. Go to http://nwsteelheaders.org/ conservation/protect-the-bait/ to sign the petition. Steelheader Clothing Hoodies in five styles, short-sleeved tees, denim shirts, and premium hats in a variety of colors and sizes are now available from our new supplier, Stancell Graphics. Simply go to www.stancellgraphics.com/nws to order. In addition to the basic items shown, you will be able to order items that we don’t ordinarily stock from Stancell’s huge catalog. You can get embroidered items personalized with your name for an additional charge. We still have a small supply of hoodies and long-sleeved tees in stock, but not in all colors and sizes. Contact the Joyce at [email protected] or 541-614-1252 if you would like to order these with the large art on the back. Raffle Tickets For Sale! The annual raffles have been underway since mid-August, and there are still lots of tickets available. Not many chapters have turned in stubs, although there are lots of tickets checked out by chapters. As usual, Art Israelson has already turned in lots of stubs and money, even before the thousands of dollars worth he sold during the January Boat Show. If you aren’t comfortable selling tickets, consider buying a $20 block of 25 trip tickets or five boat tickets. There are not enough tickets printed for every member to buy $20 worth! Think about that for a moment: we have over 1,500 members and there aren’t enough tickets for each member to buy a $20 block. What does that say about your odds of winning? Far, far better than buying lottery tickets! If you want a pass from selling tickets, simply buy a block! For those willing to sell tickets, it’s a great way for chapters to fatten their treasuries. The Association pays all the costs (raffle license, printing tickets, providing airfare for the trip, etc.) and does the overall bookkeeping, but the chapters earn 50 percent of the gross sales amount. What a deal! Every chapter member who buys a $20 block has earned $10 for their chapter. That’s a very easy way for chapters to earn money to do the projects they always want to do. The trip drawing used to be done at the end of the February Pacific Northwest Sportsman’s Show, with the drawing done at the Yakutat Lodge booth. One year, a woman who had purchased a ticket only a few minutes earlier won the trip. The Mid Valley Chapter has sold more tickets than any other chapter—and the last two winners of the drift boat were Mid Valley members. Spring 2015 • 11 F I SH I N G WITH B U ZZ Summer Steelhead Tactics early every major tributary entering the Columbia River N west of and including the Hood and Klickitat Rivers is planted with a breed of summer steelhead known as “Skamanias.” Unlike steelhead bound for tributaries further up the Columbia, Skamanias start their migration early in the year. While I’ve caught these fish as early as March, when most Skamanias flood Lower Columbia and Willamette tributaries is from May through July. The “Skamania” strain of summer steelhead got their start at the hatchery located on the Washougal River in (you guessed it) Southwest Washington’s Skamania County, but they are now reared at numerous hatchery facilities in both Oregon and Washington. Besides the Hood and Klickitat, the list of rivers receiving plants of this unique steelhead strain include the Sandy, Cowlitz, Kalama, Washougal, Lewis, and major Willamette tributaries like the Clackamas and Santiam. If you own a boat and choose a river that maintains enough depth to float it, backtrolling plugs (like the all-new Mag Lip 3.0) should be added to your arsenal of tricks. Summer water conditions favor techniques like drift fishing, float fishing, and casting spinners. These fish have a real nose for natural baits like shrimp, egg clusters, crawdad tails, and even night crawlers are popular bait choices that are often drifted near bottom or suspended under a float. If you have yet to try drift fishing in a river here’s how: cast out, let your outfit drift downstream through the holding water (bouncing the bottom every yard or so as it moves along in the current). Once your rig swings in near shore, reel in and cast again. Drift fishing is a series of casts, drifts, and retrieves. The bite of a steelhead taking a bait drifting in the current is subtle, so pay close attention. If your outfit stops drifting, hesitates, or feels different in any way: set the hook! Bait combined with a small Corky or Spin-N-Glo is what many anglers use when drift fishing. Summer water flows are conducive to fishing floats, which produce best where the water is slow moving or when fishing current edges. Float fishing will enable you to get a precision drift without hang-ups, since your offering should only extend half to two thirds of the way to the bottom. Although all the natural baits listed above work with a float, you might try suspending a steelhead jig or four-inch scent12 • The Northwest Steelheader B Y B U ZZ R A MSE Y filled (PowerBait) or Gulp! worm under your bobber. Although bubblegum pink is the most popular selling worm color, other colors like black, dark red, light pink, or chartreuse work, too. There are two ways to rig your worm: on a jig head or whacky style. When attaching to a jig head, my advice is to cut your worm at the collar and thread the tail-end onto your jig head. While those chasing bass rig their worms “Whacky” by simply lancing the center of the worm, I’ve always started my hook near the center of the worm and worked the hook point toward the head. When properly rigged your “Whacky” worm should look like an up-sidedown “U,” which provides the horizontal presentation and lifelike movement of a real worm. A string of split shot works to keep your pink worm or other bait suspended under your float. Start 18 inches up from your hook and space your split shot every two to three inches up your line. The number and size of split shot required will depend on current speed, water depth, line diameter, and float size. I usually start with four to six cannon ball (CB) sized buckshot. The most common way to fish a spinner in a river is to cast out, across and slightly upstream and reel it back to you with a retrieve speed that keeps it working near bottom. Fished this way, the river current will swing your spinner downstream through the fishholding water. Once your spinner swings in near shore, it's time to reel in and cast again. In extreme clear water, where upstream looking fish might spook when seeing you, upstream casting can be the “go to” spinner method. It’s easy: position yourself within casting range of the fish-holding water and cast at an upstream angle. If the water is shallow, begin your retrieve as or just before your spinner hits the water. Then, reel as fast as possible until you’ve picked up all slack line and begin to feel the resistance of the spinning blade; then slow down your retrieve speed and work your lure just above bottom. Another productive technique is downstream casting, which works best on wide holes or tail-outs. Cast your spinner out across and downstream. Since the current is moving away from you, it requires a slow, or no retrieve, as your spinner swings through the fish-holding water. YAKUTAT LODGE TRULY AFFORDABLE WORLD CLASS FISHING ng t Bes Fishdi ! l ad lhe e Wo, rand r e e St in th l-May cembe pri De A berte o promolease t c O We e &R h c t Ca 2015ALS I shing SPSpEecC ial Fi es g a Pack # Kids Stay FREE July 15-August 15, kids under 18, 1 per Adult 10-20, June 1-15 - bring 3 paying guests # Group Leader FREE April and your trip is FREE SPECIAL FISHING PACKAGES Includes food, lodging, rental vehicle, boats to float the river each day, plus one day guided halibut or fly out fishing AS LOW AS $1,349 per person, 4 days/3 nights $1,460 per person, 5 days/4 nights $1,845 per person, 7 days/6 nights Based on four persons per room Ask about our Lodge and Deluxe Fully Guided Packages! A deposit of 25% per person confirms dates and reservations on all special packages. Prices do not include any taxes, gratuities, personal gear, fishing equipment, liquor, or air fare to Yakutat. Package prices are $75 more per person August 15-September 30. WRITE, CALL OR FAX TODAY FOR RESERVATIONS CALL 1-800-YAKUTAT FOR RESERVATIONS THE YAKUTAT LODGE Box 287, Yakutat, Alaska 99689 www.yakutatlodge.com PHONE (907) 784-3232 • FAX (907) 784-3452 Howard Worden Dies oward Worden, creator of the world famous Rooster Tail spinner and many other fishing lures, passed away on February 11, 2015 at the age of 93. Mr. Worden was one of the owners of Yakima Bait Co. in Granger, Washington, a company that was founded by his father in 1929. Howard was working for the company in the late 1940’s when he designed the prototype for what would become the Rooster Tail spinner. One summer, during a visit to a lake in California, Howard built a weighted spinner with a willow leaf blade and a hackle tail. He called the new lure the “Retreat Special,” and soon Yakima Bait Company was producing and selling it around the Northwest. The spinner started gaining some ardent followers, but Howard felt like the new lure needed a better name. After watching the hydroplane races in Seattle on TV, he began calling his new spinner the “Rooster Tail.” The Rooster Tail was mostly a regional lure until the 1960’s when some anglers from Florida took some of the spinner samples they’d received H Howard Worden (right) with a steelhead caught on the Columbia River with the late Steve Koler of Portland. at the annual Fishing Tackle Manufacturer’s Show in Chicago back home and immediately caught bass with them. Once the word spread that the versatile Rooster Tail was so productive on bass, it quickly became a “must have lure.” Sales of the lure quickly grew and today millions and millions of Rooster Tail spinners have been sold, used by anglers around the world to catch trout, bass, perch, crappie and many other kinds of game fish. Howard was also instrumental in the development and marketing of the Spin-N-Glo winged drift bobber, the Lil’ Corky drift bobber and several different versions of the Rooster Tail spinner, including the Super Rooster Tail, Sonic Rooster Tail and Vibric Rooster Tail. Besides lure design and manufacturing, Howard also developed a system that simplified the design and building of Tiffany style stained glass lamps. Known as the Worden System, the pre-designed kits allow hobbyists to build their own stained glass lamps in any one of dozens of designs. An avid angler all his life, Howard was always thinking about the next great lure and up until the last year or so of his life he was still tweaking and designing lure ideas. Rob Phillips Tualatin Valley Chapter Launches Junior Steelheader Program By Tom Vanderplaat, Tualatin Valley Chapter President he Tualatin Valley Chapter is pilot testing an additional element to the Fish Eggs to Fry Program which is to make Junior Steelheaders of each child in a class that is raising fish for the Salmon Trout Enhancement Program (STEP) chiller tank. The Chapter provided the teachers with stickers and an activity page that includes information on Northwest Steelheaders and ODFW's Family Fishing events. The pilot was very successful and will be further developed for this program. The TV Chapter will be seeking grant funds for expansion of the program. Thanks to Dwight Lind, Leroy Schultz and teachers Machelle Childers and Jeff Matasomoto for making this a great learning experience. T 14 • The Northwest Steelheader Machelle Childers Second Grade Class from Harvey Clarke Elementary School in Forest Grove. Back row: Machelle Childers, Tom VanderPlaat and Dwight Lind. Left, a junior steelheader sticker. Ways to Help By Doug Briggs, Jr., Sandy River Chapter President here are a number of ways you, the individual, can help your chapter and/or the Association, including the following: T Donate • • • • Cash New items Serviceable used items Estate Planning—Wills • • • • • The Salmon Quest, April 11 Chapter auction The Sandy Classic, June 6 SHOT, October 15-17 Hall of Fame Banquet and Auction, November 14 • • • • • Auctions Tournaments ODFW Clinics STEP Programs Grant Execution Participate Volunteer Membership • Become a Life Member • Join Leadership[ • Recruit New Members Since the Association is a 501 (c) (3), a non-profit Corporation, donations to the Association or the Chapter are deductible at the fair market value from both your Federal and State income taxes. The extent of the deduction should be determined by a tax professional. Fair market value can be determined by tracking the item through the auction and recording the sale price. Donations of titled items require the title to be clear and available upon delivery. TurboTax has an app called “It’s Deductible” for domestic items, typical of Goodwill donations. Estate Planning establishes a bequeathment of a portion of your estate for continuing your favorite activity, like defense of the hatcheries, providing disabled access, or maintaining river access. These donated funds are dedicated to your chosen area of interest, forever. Participation in the various ANWS activities provide non-deductible funding for the Chapters and the Association thru registration fees, auction donations, sponsors and dinners. These are primary sources of funding, designed to raise money for our any worthwhile and have some fun doing do. Volunteers are the backbone of Steelheaders, providing nearly 30,000 man hours of service to the fishing community. With 1,600 members working nearly two hours per month, ANWS accomplishes a lot of projects with those hours. ODFW receives payment per volunteer for a total of hundreds of thousands of dollars. These volunteer hours are used by grant committees in evaluating the proposal or application. Large amounts of volunteer hours give ANWS a big competitive edge on grants. Membership has a very low cost to the individual and the family. Lifetime memberships are another viable options. The cost of membership does cover postage and printing for tThe Nortweest Steelheader magazine. Members should invite neighbors, coworkers and fishing buddies to expand our ranks. Membership is the start of leadership as volunteers help with the planning and execution of events. Join the chapter or Assocation leadership— we’ll make room for you. The Chuck Voss Endowment Fund By Joyce Sherman n 1970, the merger of the Assocation of Northwest Steelheaders and Trout Unlimited provided enough money to hire Chuck Voss as the Association’s first Executive Director. Chuck Voss led the Association during the successful Oregon initiative to recognize steelhead as a gamefish so that they could not be sold commercially. Gov. Tom McCall was Chief Petitioner for Measure 15, which won in November, 1974. By 1976, the Steelheaders began to talk about separating from Trout Unlimited. Steelheaders started their own sport fishing show in 1979; they ran the show until the early 1990s. Chuck remained Executive Director until late 1983, when he resigned to organize the American Sport Fishing Alliance, which worked to decommercialize steelhead fishing at the national level. Chuck continued as Executive Director for a 90-day transition period and remained a board member for several years as president of the North Fork Lewis River Chapter. After Chuck’s death in 2010, the Sport Fishing Alliance ceased to be a strong voice for fish without Chuck’s leadership. The remaining directors decided to donate the Alliance treasury to the Steelheaders, where it would be placed in an endowment fund named after Chuck. The Steelheaders consolidated a handful of small funds, including all Budgeted Life Memberships, into the Chuck Voss Endowment Fund. I Photos from a June, 1981 meeting. Above, Chuck with Dick Thompson, President. Left, Chuck at the same meeting. Spring 2015 • 15 V O L UN T EE R S PO T LI G H T BY BOB REES Larry Bell, President, Mid Valley Chapter ur chapter presidents represent the local leadership. We need to grow our membership throughout our Association, and chapter presidents are one of the keys to doing that. Like so many of our volunteers, we have a deep pool to draw from. Larry Bell is one of those who stand out. Leading the Mid Valley chapter, Larry has brought meeting attendance up significantly in recent years. His commitment to bringing good speakers and quality content keeps members interested and coming back for more. Larry and his gang of power brokers fill necessary volunteer positions that keep that chapter just clicking along. Larry doesn’t just keep busy with a tightly-run meeting, but he’s been very busy outside as well. Public access to our fisheries has been an important goal for Larry, and he helped secure several grants for significant boat ramp improvements in the Alsea River Basin, particularly in tidewater, where access has been limited in recent years. He’s been working for the Mid Valley anglers long and hard in recent years. Larry is clearly a stakeholder in many different aspects of fisheries. He’s been all over the West Coast and has fished commercially, seeing the best and the worst of times. He’s helped organize tremendous fishing events for families and veterans, and the Mid Valley chapter was an organization leader in raffle sales last year. Larry deserves a standing ovation for all the work he’s poured into our Association, and now he’s in a battle with the “C” word. I know I speak for all his friends that we can’t wait for him to put this temporary barrier behind him and join us again on the water, where he belongs. Keep Larry in your thoughts and prayers—he’s as anxious to get back to the work of the Association as we are to have him back. Larry, you’re being sent hundreds of wishes for a quick recovery and return to fishing! hen we think of volunteers who keep the Mid Valley Chapter running, we cannot overlook the decades of work done by Don Heintzman. Don is just one of many volunteers who don’t operate with titles or public recognition but who work hard and long for their chapter and the Association. Don and his wife Vicky joined the Steelheaders back in the 70s, and both have volunteered for just about every task imaginable. One of Don’s special interests is the Mid Valley Chapter’s program to take veterans fishing. Not only Don, but his two sons have served in the military. In fact, his son Tony is still serving, now in Tennesee, far from the Northwest and the salmon and steelhead he loves to chase. Every year, he has Don send him raffle tickets so that he can sell them to some of the people he works with. Like his father, Tony spreads the word about all the things that Steelheaders do. Don works on Steelheader stuff endlessly. He’s been doing the door prize meeting drawings longer than Vicky can remember. Their current project is the chapter banquet on April 11. They did it for 30 years, took a two year break, and now are doing it again. The problem is they have so much fun doing it they can’t keep their hands off it. Vicky did tell him this is a one year thing, but Don said, “we’ll see,” which is his way of quietly disagreeing. One of Don’s special interests is the Mid Valley Chapter’s program to take veterans fishing. Not only Don, but his two sons have served in the military. Jim is military retired as of two years ago after serving 27 years in the Army. He is now a supervisor at the National Center for Credibility Assessment Polygraph specialists at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Jim and several of his military friends (some retired) purchase tickets for the Alaska Raffle each year, and the word is they told Jim that if any of them win the trip they will be take Don to Alaska! Tony served in the Oregon National Guard for three years and is now back in Oregon. The Heintzmans are most definitely a military family! Even though Don now spends three mornings every week hooked up to a kidney dialysis machine, he still is out selling raffle tickets and doing work for Mid Valley. We have no “hero” shots of Don in our files, but this photo of him displaying a vermillion rock cod says a great deal about someone who’s never in the spotlight but works tirelessly in the background. Joyce Sherman O Don Heintzman, Mid Valley Chapter W 16 • The Northwest Steelheader Personalized Service with Savings Every Day SALMON • STEELHEAD • TUNA TROUT • BASS • WALLEYE TUNA • HALIBUT • STURGEON Rod & Reel Repair We Have What YOU Need to Succeed! Tackle You Won’t Find Elsewhere; Special Tuna Selection Mike Potts and Joe Borba Hours, Mon.-Thurs. 9 am to 7 pm, Fri. 9 am to 8 pm, Sat. 7 am to 8 pm Sun. 10 am-5 pm after March 22 362 SW Oak Street, Hillsboro, OR 97123 971-245-6284 Spring 2015 • 17 Volunteerism and Steelheaders By Tim Lenihan, Tualatin Valley Chapter n 2006, I joined the Tualatin Valley Chapter of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. I started coming to meetings because I had recently moved to the Portland area from Southern Oregon. I fished quite regularly and knew methods, possessed skills, and knew run timings. That is for rivers that were now 200 miles away. It took some time to make strong relationships with members although I quickly became proficient in the fisheries in Northwest Zone. I Mid Valley Chapter members building a boat slide, giving more anglers access to the river. Now I can fish just about any weekend of the year either in my drift boat or on a fellow Steelheader’s boat. For this I owe a huge debt to the organization. Being a non-profit organization, Steelheaders thrives on people who volunteer. In 2012 I was asked by my local Tualatin Valley Chapter’s President if I was interested in becoming the STEP Coordinator for our chapter. I asked briefly what it was all about and as I recall got some answer like, “just get some guys for ODFW when they need them.” Maybe that was just all I heard or understood from the response to my question. I cautiously agreed. Little did I know that in a very quick time I would be helping manage over 4,000 volunteer hours annually by our chapter alone. I am fortunate enough to have a lot of dedicated chapter members to make that happen! In short order I started to receive requests from ODFW personnel for spawning events, carcass tosses, stream surveys, and other hatchery-related activities. I began building, or maybe rebuilding, e-mail lists for people in our chapter who were interested in 18 • The Northwest Steelheader these types of activities. I would send out requests for manpower for various events. I learned a couple of very valuable lessons early on about volunteers that I will pass along to you in this article. Before we start the lessons learned part of my article, let’s talk about the condensed version of how a non-profit works. A group of people organize Members from several chapters pitch in their wants and desires into a collective to fin clip smolts at Whiskey Creek goal or mission statement. An organiVolunteer Hatchery. zational chart is developed, articles are written to guide them, and then the work begins. The organization must net is closed and gradually surrounds establish their volunteered hours the fish. What happens next can only exceed whatever income they may be described as orchestrated chaos. receive. When a non-profit receives a Volunteers and ODFW personnel grant or income, a positive on a balreach into a pool of over 700 adult ance sheet, they must then show the salmon. Each person grabs a fish by its money spent on an activity or voluntail and tries to hang on for dear life. If teer hours to balance the intake of you enjoy fighting a fish with rod and money. Basically it boils down to, reel, imagine it with your bare hands! money in, man hours out. The fish is taken to an ODFW staff This is where each member of the member who determines if the fish Association becomes vitally important. should be used for hatchery collection Not only are your volunteer efforts (milt or eggs) or if the fish should be important to the goals and mission of used for streambed enrichment (carthe organization, your hours help to cass toss). At the Cedar Creek event balance the money flow. We as an the day is capped off by a nice barbeorganization must volunteer: it’s that cue lunch provided by ODFW. They simple. We will not survive without it. sure know the way to my heart—fish The greatest thing I have learned and good food. as a STEP Coordinator is that volunOne of our more popular events teering is fun. I know it doesn’t sound like it should be—after all, it’s work someone else can’t or won’t do. My favorite event I have participated in (and it’s a close second with the next event) is salmon spawning collection. I particularly enjoy the spring salmon collection at Cedar Creek Fish Hatchery. As I fisherman, I like to handle fish, big fish preferably. During the Cedar Creek collection, they place a weir trap across the river at the dam near the hatchery. Volunteers and ODFW personnel place a seine net A Mid Valley Chapter member helping during a kids’ in the holding water where fishing event. Cleaning fish after fish is definitely not the fish are trapped. The the most enjoyable task during a kids’ day! within the chapter is Free Fishing Day. This event is sponsored by ODFW each year where for one weekend of the year, adults are not required to possess a license to fish. That alone is a special event although we team up with I’m Hooked (another non-profit organization) for a kids fishing event at Hagg Lake. Each year we provide boats, rods, and captains to take kids fishing. The event started as a method to take at risk kids or underprivileged children on a day trip to the outdoors. It has since morphed into an opportunity for parents without fishing knowledge or equipment to take their kids fishing. Each year over 300 kids attend. ODFW is kind enough to stock the lake with upwards of 30,000 fish before the event, making catching the easy part. Boat captains report daily catches of over 50 fish every year, and that equates to a lot of smiling children. Twice each year the chapter is called upon to do fin clipping. In the spring, we do fin clipping of spring salmon at the Whiskey Creek Hatchery. Early in the summer we perform fin clipping at Rhoades Pond near Three Rivers. Both of these hatch- eries are privately run separately from the state. The state provides the salmon eggs and the expertise, while volunteers run the hatcheries with private donations. If it weren’t for these two hatchery operations, there would be considerably far fewer fish to Sandy Chapter member Norm Ritchie using his drift boat catch in the Tillamook as a “garbage scow” during a Clackamas River cleanup. and Nestucca River It’s important for river users to help remove trash that basins! collects along river banks. An ongoing activia member of the Association there is a ty we have each year is broodstock colpresumption you like the outdoors. lection. Broodstock collection is essenWith that desire alone, there is an tially anglers contributing live wild fish event with you in mind. Just ask, there to the hatchery to help mix the genetare plenty of things to do! ics of new hatchery fish. Fish are I would have never been able to caught by anglers, placed in a live well, contribute to these fun and rewarding delivered to a collection area, and later events had I not been a member of the collected by ODFW personnel to be Association of Northwest Steelused for spawning at the hatchery. headers. The entertainment, exciteThere is a real sense of pride when you ment and sense of accomplishment is contribute fish to the hatchery for colan immeasurable value of my memberlection. I have had the privilege to ship. I recently participated in a new place fish into the broodstock tank, membership drive and struggled to participate in the egg collection, and explain to perspective new members participate in the fin-clipwhat this stuff is really about. Yes, you ping of the smolt. I hope are doing free work, although I would someday to take it full cirsuggest the personal rewards far cle and catch a fish that is exceed any “work” you perform. the descendent of one of Remember, your free work benefits the the fish I collected. Association, allowing all of us to conThere are far more tinue towards our mission and goals. requests for activities and If you are already doing volunteer volunteers. There’s a cirwork for the Association, I thank you cuit of family fishing days wholeheartedly as you are part of the around the Washington reason this organization succeeds. If County area, other fishing you haven’t started to volunteer, then clinics, streambed projects, contact your chapter or the Associadrift boat slide repairs, data tion office and find something you are Tualatin Valley Chapter members spawning fish at collection (see page 20), interested in! the Cedar Creek Hatchery. and many many others. As Three Volunteers Thwart Dam Plans wenty years ago, Oregon Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) determined that the impassable culvert under tens of thousands of tons of fill at Rocky Creek would be the most effective culvert fix in terms of cost per mile of passage opened up. At the same time, the City of Newport identified Rocky Creek as the perfect place to build a $200 million dam for additional water supply. T Steve Hinton, who then worked for Oregon Trout, urged me to get involved. Soon I found myself creating a report to prevent Newport’s application for a water right on Rocky Creek along with Glen Kirkpatrick and Mike McHam. We prepared our report very carefully, sticking to proven facts, and it was quoted for over a decade. We were just notified by Water Resources that Newport’s applications for a water right and a storage right have been rejected, almost 20 years after we went to the ANWS board and asked them to endorse our report, along with many other organizations. Although it’s tempting for us to indulge in a victory dance, we now must pursue fish passage with the culvert fix that was designed all those years ago. Three ordinary people can make a huge difference! Spring 2015 • 19 Salmonberry River: a Wild and Wonderful Place By Joyce Sherman The magic of the Salmonberry draws us back, year after year, to collect data to document its special run of wild winter steelhead. We’ve seen the river in good times and bad, following major floods. We’ve hiked mile after mile, enjoying the warmth of sunshine or hoping that our raingear will keep us dry on days when rain is recharging the river. For 22 years we’ve counted redds, watched hens courted by several bucks at the same time, installed monitors to record water temperatures throughout the summer, and collected macroinvertebrates to determine the health of the river. The wildness and inaccessability of the river draws us back again and again. The project started in 1993, when we pledged to collect baseline data on a unique, healthy run of wild steelhead for five years. The 1996 flood changed our plans by reshaping large sections of the river, and no one mentioned the five-year plan again. We were stunned by the damage the river suffered in 1996, but (continued on page 22) 20 • The Northwest Steelheader PREFERRED BY PROFESSIONAL GUIDES GRANT SCHEELE Siletz, Alsea, Nestucca GLEN HALL/ HAWG QUEST Anywhere Fish Swim SCOTT AMERMAN STEVE LEONARD Willamette, Coastal Streams Washougal, Kalama, Cowlitz 16’ Steelhead Deluxe 18’ ClackaMax NEW! 17’ Magnum ft Cra nated a k c o l Cla sly d choo 015 u S 2 ero ld he e gen 16’ O for t Raffl a Side oat h SB HigANW Designed for all fishing techniques Many seating options ClackaCraft: Tunnel Hull™ • Tracking Channels • Gulfstream™ Bottom 100-Year Warranty against bottom leaks and punctures. 13111 SE Highway 212 Clackamas, OR 97015 clacka.com (503) 655-9532 Spring 2015 • 21 Salmonberry River continued from page 20 juvenile surveys that summer demonstrated how well most of the fish survived. We thought that the winter steelhead run was so strong that nothing could impact it. The December 2007 flood showed us just how much damage could be done to the river and its fish. Not only the railroad rails and ties but entire stretches of the rail bed itself were torn away. Every major tributary except Belfort Creek blew out, many leaving barren strips 100 feet or more wide. Much of the river within the canyon was scoured clear of gravel; the gravel was piled up shoulder high on one side and the stream was channelized for long stretches. We had done baseline temperature monitoring for five years early in the project, but it was obvious that we needed to collect temperature data every year. We soon learned that even this river, which we had believed would never have temperature problems, had many summer days Crossing an unnamed tributary to the North Fork. Note the when the tempera- lack of even an informal trail. tures were too high for steelhead. Not only did we add crossing the river multiple times, he temperature monitoring every year, decided that the next time we do this but we collected macroinvertebrates work we need to assign younger peoover two years to check the overall ple to this stretch and pick one for ourhealth of the river. selves that’s closer to the truck! Meanwhile, our regular volIf you like to hike and would like unteers were aging at the same to watch fish of up to 20 pounds in a time that surveys and monitor small river, join us this year. We plan placement had become far more several Sunday surveys, beginning difficult. The fall day that Ian April 12. We’ll also need to place temFergusson and I hiked up four perature monitors at the end of May miles from the mouth to do a and in early June—and retrieve them macroinvertebrate collection and in September. If you’re up for a chalremoved three temperature monilenge, contact Ian at 503-957-8875 or tors on the way back downstream, [email protected]. ODFW Budget: Proposed Fee Increases By Trey Carskadon, Legislative Director ack of representation on the Fish and Wildlife Commission and recent decisions by the Commission, coupled with longstanding issues on ODFW funding, have been instrumental in the Association of Northwest Steelheaders’ position to oppose the proposed fee increase by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. This is not a position we take lightly, but, after a year of discussion, direct involvement in the budgeting process, and hearing from our legions of Association members, we believe this hefty increase warrants further consideration and discussion by the legislature. On the one hand, there is much to be thankful for in supporting ODFW. Historic returns, defending current hatchery practices in the courts, and trying to run the agency on a shoestring that meets the needs of so many divergent stakeholders is no easy task. Many in the agency are people we consider to be friends. But the fact that these core issues, agency funding and stakeholder representation, have not been addressed leave the Executive Board of the Steelheaders and their members deeply troubled and concerned. We believe, as an Association, that now is the time to address these issues for the good of the agency. To allow this L 22 • The Northwest Steelheader agency to limp along like it has for a decade and a half in accepting more conservation responsibility with less revenue as enforcement is cut, essential programs are cut, hatchery production is constantly threatened, and outreach and education is reduced to a token effort is fundamentally wrong for a state with a rich outdoor heritage like Oregon’s. We need to fund all of these efforts fully, not just partially as we have been doing for too long. The last two times fee increases were proposed we supported them on the premise that these issues, which are not new, would be addressed. What other commission in the state lacks the representation of the agency’s largest stakeholder? Unless an aggressive discussion and meaningful campaign to pursue durable, long term funding solutions is not pursued immediately, you can bet we will be facing further increases in 2020. The Association is hopeful that the agency, Governor’s office, Chair of the Commission, and legislators will come together with us and other stakeholders to start the process of remedying these issues that we believe are holding the agency back and compromising the health and well-being of Oregon’s fish and wildlife resources. Only then can we support this unprecedented fee increase. O RE GO N L E GI SL AT I V E R E P OR T B Y B OB O LE S ON The 2015 Legislative Session atural Resource programs are receiving unprecedented attention during the current fast moving legislative session; because of new political players and alignments we are in a position to work for a wide range of public policy improvements benefiting anglers. Here is a list of bills in the 2015 legislature that may be of interest to Northwest Steelheaders. It’s early in the process, and many of these bills may be modified for better or worse. Via your communications on these bills to ANWS and legislators, you can influence legislation. N Senate Bills SB 125: Intended to eliminate ODFW involvement in dam spill decisions, this bill is an example of more than a dozens bills to control or curb the existing authority of natural resource agencies. We should oppose this one and monitor others. SB 202: New approach giving natural resource agencies better access to "best science"-- support if the case is made for it. SB 203: Requires natural resources agencies to closely coordinate, something we should continue to support. SB 247: This is the ODFW fee bill connected to the agency budget (SB5511). We do not support, but it’s likely to advance. SB 613: Notification of aerial spraying; the kind of action that should be supported when streams and watersheds are affected. SB 803: One of several bills intended to expand hatchery programs (some using new fees). These are bills we should closely monitor. SB 812: This is a back door approach to extracting large amounts of water from the Columbia River and should be opposed. SB 830: Expected to be possible vehicle to advance ongoing efforts to regulate suction dredge mining—no compromise yet. House Bills HB 2053: We should continue to support efforts to establish trophy lake trout fishing (when done within proposed budget). HB 2402: Creates ODFW long range funding task force. Rep. Witt is asking for input on a possible work plan. HB 2537: Increases the penalties for serious poaching crimes. The work group is making progress, hopes to soon have draft. HB 2538: Studies whether to transfer the OSP fish and wildlife enforcement unit to ODFW, a concept receiving attention. HB 3012: We have supported the concept of improving the Hatchery Research Center but do not have a position on this funding bill. HB 3122: A ban on GMO fish and Atlantic salmon; we have supported this in past but it’s likely to be killed again by the agricultural lobby. HB 3197: Creates a cumbersome nominating committee to assist the Governor with appointments to the ODFW commission. The bill will not advance but has given some of us a forum to push on the new Governor to make needed appointments of sports anglers. HB 3315: Good proposal requiring ODFW to recoup costs when providing services to other agencies. HB 3333: We are working directly with Rep. Witt, Chair of the Ag and Natural Resources Committee, to get action on this measure that would have salmon license plate funds be used specifically for salmon habitat projects. HB 3411: Adds requirements and more analysis to the ODFW fish carcass program. HB 3459: An expensive program that creates more free fishing days and a task force to increase related outdoor activities. Joint Resolution HJR 30: New version of a constitutional amendment intended to preserve the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife. There are several forestry measures affecting watersheds. If they come alive, those bills will be added to this list. Note that there are five legislative work groups on major subjects which we are closely monitoring. These subjects include a state predation program, increasing penalties for hard core poachers, improving mining regulations around waterways, assessing the general status of fish and wildlife habitat in our state, and planning for long range ODFW funding. Please take the time to discuss some of these topics with your local legislators. If you contact me a several days in advance, I’ll introduce you to them. I always enjoy tagging along on your visits to legislators when invited to do so. See ODFW Budget, facing page. Legislative Contacts State Legislative Websites - Information about bills, hearings www.leg.state.or.us/ for Oregon http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ for Washington ANWS Government Affairs Team Bob Oleson, [email protected], 503-329-9528 Trey Carskadon, [email protected], 503-723-5723 Ext. 102 Bob Rees, 503-653-4176, [email protected] Legislators To find your state legislator, go to: www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/ for Oregon http://apps.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/ for Washington Get to know your legislators by attending their Town Halls, held throughout the year. Sign in so that your legislators know you attended. Send your legislators an e-mail if you didn’t speak or if your topic wasn’t covered. Spring 2015 • 23 Toman’s King Camp: Heaven on the Nushagak River By Dan Drazan Photos by Dan Drazan uring the Association’s 2013 Hall of Fame Banquet, I recall sitting at my table watching Doug Briggs inconspicuously bidding on the five-day stay for two at Toman’s King Camp on the Nushagak River, Alaska and thinking to myself “what a great way to spend a week.” When Doug was officially declared the high bidder, a slight grin appeared on his face before he resumed his volunteer duties at the event. As the evening was winding down, Doug came by our table and asked if I would like to join him on the trip. “Of course – thanks for the invite,” I replied instinctively. Within 24 hours I had cleared my calendar for late June 2014 and secured the necessary permissions. This would be my second trip to Alaska, and I was already anxious to go. After enduring a rough winter steelhead season and a poor spring Chinook season, summer finally rolled around, and it was time to prepare for our Alaskan adventure. My packing list was relatively short since Toman’s provides the meals, lodging, and fishing equipment. In addition to clothing for all weather conditions, I elected to bring some basic survival items in case of an emergency, a generous amount of 100% DEET bug spray, Smith & Wesson bear repellant, and my Spey fishing outfit. After several rounds of eliminating D 24 • The Northwest Steelheader fun but probably unnecessary items, I was able to fit all my gear into one backpack which fit neatly inside a large marine cooler. On June 24th, Doug and I flew out of Portland around 5:00 a.m., switched planes in Seattle and Anchorage, and arrived in Dillingham by mid-afternoon. We were welcomed to Dillingham and shuttled to our floatplane by Tikchik Adventures. After a brief flight, the floatplane touched down on the Nushagak River in front of the camp, and we were greeted by Jeremy Toman. Within an hour, Jeremy had us assigned to a canvas tent cabin, issued Alaska fishing licenses, and out on a boat with his father, Bob Toman, in search of salmon. As I sat in Bob’s boat, it was hard to believe that I had begun the day in Portland, but those thoughts quickly faded as we were hooked our first salmon within 15 minutes after deploying plugs, and the takedowns were constant. While we were hoping to catch kings, the river was thick with chum salmon. No complaints from me, however, as these chum were chrome bright, energetic, and bore no resemblance to the purple-striped, (continued on page 26 Fish, fish, and even more fish! Above, Dan Drazan with a bright chum that bears little resemblance to the dark chum encountered in Oregon’s short coastal streams. Upper right, Bob and Dan with a sockeye. Right, Doug, guided by Bob, actually did land a nice Chinook. Below, shore lunch for the camp? Spring 2015 • 25 Toman’s King Camp continued from page 24 snaggle-toothed variety I’ve encountered on the Oregon coast. Fishing with Bob was a real treat. His enthusiasm is contagious, and he has a seemingly endless supply of interesting stories. I particularly enjoyed his tale of a recent fly fishing trip to New Zealand with a local “guide” who had no idea what Bob did for a living. We also learned how the Toman Thumper spinner blade received its name. Bob also has the uncanny ability to know exactly where to find fish at all times. On each of our days in camp, we fished with a different guide. Each guide had their preferred technique and spot. While much time was spent pulling plugs through the deeper holes, we were able to do some back bouncing as well. Plugs were very effective, but there is nothing like fishing for salmon in a way that lets you feel the bite as it is happening. Because of the high number of bites, you quickly develop the patience to let the fish sample the bait until it commits before setting the hook. As a side note, Alaska State Troopers’ river patrols are very active on this stretch of the Nushagak. Our boat was contacted each day, and all licenses and paperwork were closely inspected. Twenty-two hours of daylight is something you don’t get used to in a week. As happened most days, we lost track of time. Eight hours of boat fishing seems like a small part of a nearly endless day. So, naturally, to use as much of the remaining daylight hours as possible during our trip, we fished from the shore in the mornings, during our lunch break, and in the evenings. Doug and I were not the only ones afflicted with this Business Members These people have business memberships, which means that they are supporting Northwest Steelheaders on a regular basis by paying $100 annually (instead of a $30 regular membership). These people deserve your support in return, so please patronize their businesses whenever possible. D & G Bait, Inc., Clackamas, Oregon; Dan and Cindy Pickthorn Farmers Insurance/Joe Domenico Agency, Milwaukie, Oregon; Joe Domenico Knipe Realty, Portland, Oregon; Tim Wilson Maupin Market, Maupin,Oregon; Randy Bechtol Plano Molding Company, Plano, Illinois; Shelly Finnell Tom Posey, Portland, Oregon Pro-Cure, Inc., Salem, Oregon; Phil Pirone Rubber Resource, Inc., Portland, Oregon; Robin Olson Stevens Marine, Tigard and Milwaukie, Oregon; Paul Mayer 26 • The Northwest Steelheader Dan Drazan, Jeremy Toman, and Doug Briggs as Dan and Doug prepare to fly toward Dillingham, Anchorage, Seattle, and home. madness; it turned out most of the others in camp took part in the shore fishing as well, especially after seeing a few landed. Various techniques were employed, including plunking, float fishing, spinners, spoons, and, my favorite, swinging dark-colored steelhead flies with a Spey rod, and all were effective. As it turned out, we were blessed to be in camp while tens of thousands of sockeye per day were piling into the river. The chum and chinook jacks were also within casting distance from the bank. I was fortunate to land all three species with my seven-weight fly rod, and several times learned the color of the backing line in my reel. At times, there were upward of a dozen fellow campers “combat” fishing side by side—not because we lacked space to spread out, but because we enjoyed watching each other catch fish, sharing equipment and tips, and spending time with each other in this great Alaskan paradise. Toman’s camp is composed of two large canvas buildings which house the kitchen and dining room and a cluster of two person canvas tents nestled in a grove of low canopy trees. Other features include a washing station and shower, as well as onsite fish processing and freezing. All anglers have to do is bring their fish back to camp and an expert team will fillet, vacuum seal, and freeze your catch. We were spoiled, for sure. When boats return from the water, there was always something ready to eat. Each appetizer and meal was unique and tasty, many featuring fresh salmon dishes. No one goes hungry. As the pictures confirm, this truly was a great way to spend a week. The camp had become home for a short while due to the fine hospitality of the Tomans and their staff, and all who were there spoke of their desire to return again. A big “thank you” to Jeremy and Bob for donating the trip to the Association and for making our week in camp one which we will not forget. C A LE N D AR April 11 Salmon Quest. Fish until 3:00 p.m. Awards dinner at Portland Airport Holiday Inn, 8439 NE Columbia Boulevard, Portland. Catch registration from 3:00-5:30 w/bar open; dinner, 5:45; awards ceremony, 6:45 April 11 Mid Valley Chapter Banquet and Auction, Lum’s Garden, Albany; 5:30 Happy Hour, 6:30 Buffet Dinner. For reservations call Don Heintzman, 541-979-1616 April 15 Ex Com Meeting, Association Office, 6:30 p.m. May 6 Sandy River Chapter Dinner and Auction, Glenn Otto Park, 1208 Historic Columbia River Hwy., Troutdale, 6:00 May 16 Quarterly Board Meeting, location to be announced, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. June 6 Sandy Salmon Classic, fish until 2:00. Weigh in, Historic Springdale Pub, 32302 East Historic Columbia River Hwy., Troutdale, 2:00-4:00. June 17 Ex Com Meeting, Association Office, 6:30 p.m. July 15 Ex Com Meeting, Association Office, 6:30 p.m. August 15 Annual Meeting, Camp Magruder, 17450 Old Pacific Hwy, Rockaway Beach; time to be announced September 17 Ex Com Meeting, Association Office, 6:30 p.m. September 18-20 McLoughlin Chapter Annual Crab A-Long, Barview County Park, Garibaldi October 15-17 SHOT Tournament, Tillamook. Fish in teams of three; awards dinner Saturday evening. October 21 Ex Com Meeting, Association Office, 6:30 p.m. Note: You may participate in meetings via teleconferencing; check meeting agendas or call the office, 503-653-4176. To have your chapter’s events included in the calender, provide the date, time, and and location when you are prompted for chapter news prior to each issue. Become a Budgeted Life Member Instead of simply renewing your membership every year, sign onto the Budgeted Life Membership program by paying $100 for the first of five annual payments. Money from these memberships goes into the Chuck Voss Endowment Fund to provide necessary funds for future Association work toward our mission of providing better fishing and more habitat for fish. With your fifth annual payment you will become a paid in full Life Member, and you will know that you are a major Northwest Steelheaders supporter. Volunteer Opportunities One of the main strengths of the Northwest Steelheaders is the many dedicated volunteers who make the organization successful. There are many ways to get involved at both the chapter and Association level. Here are some suggestions for volunteering: • Office and clerical support suited to your skills and interests in the Association’s Milwaukie office. Contact Stevie or Joyce at [email protected] or 541-614-1252. • Help your local chapter organize river clean-ups, habitat restoration projects, kids’ fishing events, environmental education activities, fundraisers, and other events. • Participate in Association and/or chapter events and work parties. • Volunteer to become a director or officer for your chapter, or for the Association. Support Our Advertisers The companies that advertise in The Northwest Steelheader help support our mission. They know that their future sales require more than simply advertising. By advertising in the Steelheaders’ magazine, they are demonstrating that they have a huge stake in healthy fisheries. These companies have earned our support! ANWS Membership . . . . . . . .11, 31 Bentley Boat Tops . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 ClackaCraft Drift Boats . . . . . . . . .21 Hoggs/Jo-Mar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Knipe Realty (Tim Wilson) . . . . . .17 Kone Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Lamiglas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Line Keeper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Quest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Stearns Lending, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Yakutat Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Spring 2015 • 27 A C T I V I T I ES , A N G LI N G , AN D A C TI V I SM During the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show in February, Doug Briggs, Sandy River Chapter President, presented a donor plaque to Ken Fanning, owner of Yakutat Lodge, in appreciation for the Lodge providing trips for our Alaska Trip Raffle. Following their marriage, Reneee Johnson and Sean Derry combined their individual memberships and became active in the Newberg Chapter. Bruce Belles purchased the always popular trip with Jim Martin at the November Hall of Fame Auction, and they decided to float the Alsea. During the Cub Scout Lock-in January 30 at the Linn County Fairgrounds in Albany, 178 scouts went through the Mid Valley Chapter's casting booth and received a member-tied fly. Many learned the “fine art” of casting an object into small wading pools (and maybe a light fixture or two). Many other booths or stations provided the scouts with several hours of different learning activities. All scouts and their chaperones camped out at the fairgrounds afterward. 28 • The Northwest Steelheader Sandy River Chapter/ODFW Clinic The Sandy River Chapter has now done three clinics in cooperation with ODFW, gaining almost 100 new members. Larry Palmer (right) had the initial idea, prodded people until he made it happen. Classes are followed by a chance to cast. Metal Salmon Sculpture Available For Patron Donors Artist Rip Caswell has crafted an original metal sculpture of an adult salmon to be mounted on a wooden plaque with an personalized Patron Donor Certificate to recognize those who support the Steelheaders’ campaign to defend and promote the hatcheries that make our pursuit of salmon and steelhead possible by donating $500. Each sculpture is individually cast upon order, which takes up to six weeks. Only 100 of these beautiful sculptures will be cast, and each will be numbered. This is a great way to help Steelheaders work toward their mission while obtaining a highly collectible piece of art. Place your order today by calling the Steelheaders office, 503-653-4176, so that your Patron Donor sculpture and plaque may begin preparation for delivery to you! Spring 2015 • 29 C H A PT ER R EP O RT S Salem First, let me introduce myself. My name is Brian Winn and I am the President of the Salem Chapter of the Northwest Steelheaders. I have been the President for a year now and am very glad I took the position. We have been busy this winter working on our new logo and coming up with a new website for our chapter members to be proud of. We upped the calendar of events last summer and hosted our first fishing tournament. We have added some clinics to the roster as well as the projects we do every year. Our calendar is on the website, but I will give you a break down. January 10, we had a trout tournament at Detroit Lake. Our February 18 General Meeting featured a “How To” Clinic. Our first Learn the River Trip March 7 was postponed due to a log across the river. Bill Sanderson, President of North Santiam River Guides organizes these monthly spring trips to help boaters learn sections of the North Santiam. March 21, we did a Winter Steelhead Clinic at North Santiam State Park with ODFW. The second Learn the River Trip will be April 4, Greens Bridge to I-5, and April 25 we’ll do a clean up at North Santiam State Park, followed by a potluck. May 2 will have two events, a Steelhead Fly Fishing Clinic at North Santiam State Park plus the third Learn the River Trip, Stayton to Greens Bridge. May 16, we will host the Association Board Meeting in Keizer. The annual Youth Outdoor Day at EE Wilson Refuge will be May 30. June 6 and 7 will be Free Fishing Days at Roaring River Hatchery. June 6 will also be a Learn the River Trip from Mehama to Stayton. The entire month of June will be a can and bottle 30 • The Northwest Steelheader drive organized by our Fund Raising Director, James Johnston. July 11, we plan to do a Fishing tournament, and July 25 will be the chapter picnic and potluck at North Santiam State Park. August 15 will be a Summer Steelhead Clinic with ODFW at North Santiam State Park. In September, we plan to do a Coastal Salmon Tournament. In between all this, we try to get in a little fishing for ourselves. The clinics came about from talks with Doug Briggs of the Sandy River Chapter. We felt that having them in Salem would benefit anglers to the south as well as the west and east, closer for those who didn’t want to drive all the way to Troutdale. Our Steelhead Clinic was a success, and everyone left a little more excited about trying to catch the Big One. Let me just say that I am proud to be associated with such a great organization as the Northwest Steelheaders, and especially our chapter members. We have a wonderful group, and they make all this possible. McLoughlin Chapter The busy time of the year is upon us as we plan vacations, fishing, camping, hunting, gardening ,and enjoying the sunny days ahead. One of the projects that our chapter has been involved for many years is the acclimation pond for salmon smolts at Carver on Clear Creek. At first, acclimation was in the lagoon behind the Oregon City Shopping Center. Three batches of smolts are delivered by ODFW. Each batch is fed by volunteers for three weeks and then released. I want to thank those who have helped make this a success. One other activity I personally like to be involved in, is helping ODFW, working with Jeff Fulop, during the free fishing weekend at St. Louis Ponds. There are about seven ponds and several ponds will be stocked with trout before June 6. Volunteers help the families new to fishing learn how to do it. Rods and bait are furnished for those who didn't bring them. Most everyone catches a fish, which is a great experience for the kids. There are other dates and local places where fish are stocked: Canby Pond, April 4; Shorty's Pond in Molalla, April 11; St. Louis Pond in Gervis, April 18; Trojan Pond, April 25; Sheridan Pond, May 23; Mt. Hood Pond, May 30; St. Louis Pond for Free Fishing Weekend, June 6 and October 10; and, last, Mt. Hood Pond, October 17. Get yourself involved, help out, and take your kids and grandkids fishing. Some people think that hatchery trout are kind of bland to eat, but that depends on what you do. I always soak my fish in salt water overnight until ready to cook: Put a tablespoon or more salt in water, and stir to dissolve, and add the cleaned fish. Soy sauce, spices, or whatever can be added for flavor. Drain and fry. The salt flavor is throughout the whole fish instead of just on top of the skin. Twice-cooked trout make good fish tacos, too! June 9 will be our last meeting for the spring, with meetings resuming September 8 at Denny's Restaurant on old 82nd Drive in Clackamas. September 18, 19 & 20 will be our annual Crab Along held at Barview County Park in Garibaldi. Saturday, we will have a day of crabbing for anyone wanting to crab, followed by a crab feed and potluck in the evening. There is a trophy given to a person for one year for the largest crab. This is always a fun weekend. Everyone is invited to join us. I want to thank all those who volunteer their time and energy to help the Steelheaders. Things are not always easy to accomplish, whether it is the seal problem or gillnets. Battles take time and persistence and, most importantly, not giving up. We have rights and our voices need to be heard regarding fishing and all it involves. That is what the Association is all about. With members’ support, we can continue to be the voice for sport fishermen. I am looking forward to salmon fishing this year and getting the smoker going. Fall fishing was so good last year that we’re hoping for another great fall fishing season for 2015! Carol Clark C H A PT ER S Salem West Region Regional Director Bill Hedlund, [email protected] Newberg Second Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. Chehalem Senior Center, 101 Foothills Drive, Newberg Contact President Bob Askey at 503-201-5330, [email protected] Third Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. City of Keizer Community Center (at City Hall), 930 Chemawa Rd. NE, Keizer Contact President Brian Winn at 623-363-7387, [email protected] Columbia River Region North Coast Regional Director Tom Smoot, [email protected] Fourth Thursday, 7:00 p.m. ODFW Tillamook Office, 4907 3rd St., Tillamook Contact Co-President Bill Hedlund at 503-815-2737, [email protected] Columbia River (Vancouver) Tualatin Valley Second Thursday, 7:00 p.m. Aloha American Legion Hall, 20325 SW Alexander, Aloha Contact President Tom VanderPlaat at 503-357-4825, [email protected] Central Region Regional Director, Gary Lutman, [email protected] Deschutes Basin Meetings scheduled based on fishery needs Contact President Yancy Lind at 541-788-5514, [email protected] Emerald Empire Second Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Pied Piper Pizza, 12300 NE Fourth Plain Rd., Vancouver Contact President Don Hyde at 360-835-3372, [email protected] McLoughlin Second Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. Denny’s, 15815 SE 82nd Drive, Clackamas Contact President Duane Kitzmiller at 503-799-0368, [email protected] Molalla River Third Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Farmstead Restaurant, 28313 S. Highway 213, Molalla Contact President Sam Wurdinger at 503-932-8386, [email protected] Sandy River First Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. Veterans’ Memorial Building, 1626 Willamette St., Eugene Contact President Ken Johnson at 541-520-9082, [email protected] First Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. Glenn Otto Park, 1208 Historic Columbia River Hwy., Troutdale Contact President Doug Briggs at 503-729-2023, [email protected] Mid-Valley Tom McCall First Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. Albany Senior Citizens Center, 489 Water Ave. NW, Albany Contact President Larry Bell at 541-337-5427, [email protected] Third Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. Old Spaghetti Factory, 0715 SW Bancroft St., Portland Contact President Dave Reggiani at 503-657-5379, [email protected] Please call the office, 503-653-4176, if you are interested in developing a new chapter. Spring 2015 • 31