Winter 2014 - NW Steelheaders

Steelheader
Newsletter of the Northwest Steelheaders’ Molalla River Chapter
Winter 2014
President’s Message: Gaining Opportunities
By Sam Wurdinger
All over the state, we
fishermen and women are
losing opportunities. These
lost opportunities come in
several different forms. It
could be the reduction of
hatchery plants in a certain
river to supposedly mitigate
the interaction of wild and hatchery fish. It could be
the closing of a piece of property that provided access
to some great bank fishing. It could be condensing the
return of hatchery fish to a small section of river, leaving the other sections void opportunity. It could be as
simple as bait restrictions on certain rivers or sections
of rivers. It could also come in the form of increased
costs of licenses and tags that may keep you from fishing as often as you’d like or at all.
It’s not very often that a group of anglers or a
particular river GAINS opportunities these days. But
that is exactly what we have going on here on our
home river of the Molalla. The wild winter steelhead
have been the mainstay of what anglers chase on the
river. Sure, it sees its ups and downs of the run size
from year to year, but what run doesn’t. Overall, this
fishery seems to be stable. These fish are hardy beasts
and can stand up to most anything that can be thrown
at them. When hatchery plantings were terminated in
the Molalla River (lost opportunities) back in the late
’90s, these resilient buggers seemed to hang on and
In this issue
still do to this day. There is a portion of the Molalla’s
steelhead that are of a distinct ‘early run’ of fish that
many believe are the remnants of the hatchery fish
taking hold on their own. These fish return as early as
November/December if the water conditions are right,
See President’s Message, Page 3
Page 2 2013 photo review
Page 3 Events, activities, and meetings
Page 4 Online fishing info
Page 5 Treasurer’s report
Page 6 The confidence fly
Page 7 Chapter supporters
2013 Remembered
1
2013 marked the second full year of the
Molalla Steelheaders chapter that included
several fun and meaningful events for
chapter members including 1) The Tackle
for Turkeys November meeting, 2) Shorties at Shorty’s kids fishing event, 3) Winter
steelhead fishalong, 7) work parties including river cleanups and work on the acclimation facility, and 8) Bassapolooza summer
fishalong.
2013 also marked a few historical events
like 4) the opening of the Wagon Wheel
and Feyrer Park boat ramps for longer
periods of time, 5) the third largest Upper
Willamette coho run on record, and 6) the
first releases from the new spring chinook
acclimation facility.
2
3
Best wishes for all in 2014. Please join Molalla Steelheaders for another fun year!
4
5
6
7
8
The Molalla Steelheader Winter 2014 Page 2
Save the dates!
Events and Activities
Chapter Meetings
Winter Fishalong: The chapter is hosting a drift of the
Molalla River on Sunday, Feb. 23 starting at 6:30 am
at Wagon Wheel. All chapter members are invited and
lunch is provided. Drift boat captains needed. To join this
popular, fun event please contact Sam at 503-932-8386
[email protected].
All meetings are at 6:30 pm the third Thursday of
each month at Farmstead Restaurant in Arrowhead
Golf Course, 28313 S. Hwy 213, just north of Molalla.
Food and drinks are available before, during and after
the meeting, and several raffles are available to participate in. Speakers are subject to change.
Shorties at Shorty’s kids fishing day: Molalla Steelheaders will once again be helping out ODFW STEP for
the kid’s fishing event at Shorty’s Pond in Molalla from
9am-2pm on Saturday, April 12. A few volunteers are
needed. Contact Steve at 503-698-1913, smgustafson@
gmail.com.
Jan. 16: Pro Guide Brandon Glass of Team Hookup
Guide Service will provide insider knowledge on consistently getting into fish.
Work Parties: The Molalla River Spring Cleanup begins
9 am April 26 at Feyrer Park. Winter steelhead spawning
surveys are scheduled for Saturday, May 10. Additional
work parties may be scheduled. For more information,
contact Russell at 503-735-5088, russ.bassett@comcast.
net.
President’s Message,
From page 1
but generally the run peaks in January/February. The typical wild run
of winter steelhead that have called
the river home for many years tend
to return later in the winter/spring
and are centered around FebMay, with March and April being
the peak of the run. The later run
tends to be a larger breed of fish in
general but there are exceptions to
every rule. All of these fish are wild
and must be released unharmed
unless you win the lottery and find
a lost hatchery stray, something I
have not been fortunate enough to
find yet.
Where the Molalla River’s opportunities are increasing is with
its salmon runs. As the steelhead
The Molalla Steelheader Feb. 20: The guys from Fishing Addicts Northwest
will be on hand to discuss strategy and tactics for winter steelhead fishing.
March 20: J.T. Goulet of Shortbus Flashers providing
some insight into trolling with flashers.
April 17: Pro Guide Dave Johnson will get us ready
for the spring chinook season.
start finding their spawning gravel,
the river’s spring Chinook start
entering the river. The Molalla
only receives 100,000 smolt plants
each year and has traditionally
had a poor return on these plants,
estimated at ~0.5%. That’s only
~500 fish returning each year. With
the addition of the spring Chinook
acclimation facility on the upper
river, many people think this will
increase the return rate of these
fish back to an acceptable level of
1-2%. This number may not seem
like much, but this increase would
at a minimum, double the run size
of spring Chinook on the Molalla
River, with the potential of tripling
the run if we’re lucky. On a smaller stream like the Molalla, double
or tripling the size of a run will
make fishing very good.
Working with Clackamas County Parks, we have also allowed the
boat ramps to remain open longer
into the spring giving people with
boats the opportunity to fish for
this run in sections of the river that
weren’t available to us in the past.
Once the summer ends and kids
go back to school we start to see
some Coho salmon staging at the
Molalla River mouth, in the Willamette River. These fish are staging, waiting for rain to ascend the
Molalla. This is a run of wild Coho
salmon that have staked a claim in
the watershed after hatchery plants
were ceased (lost opportunities)
more than 20 years ago. A few
hundred fish (if that) kept returning after they were told not to and
See Message, Page 5
Winter 2014 Page 3
Want
Chrome?
Resources are available online
to help get you into fish
By Jay Spassov
The Portland area is a
mecca for Winter Steelhead fishing. There are a plethora of rivers and streams within a two-hour
drive of the metropolitan area and
beyond. These waters constantly
fluctuate with the ever changing
Pacific Northwest weather. Savvy
anglers keep a pulse on the weather
conditions and their favorite
streams. Networking with other
fishermen and checking related
Internet sites daily is a good way
to keep in touch with conditions
and planning for the next outing
to the river. After each trip, it’s a
good idea to keep a log of the river
and weather conditions and your
field observations. It may help you
figure out patterns that lead to good
fishing.
Here are a few informational links that may help you out:
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/rr/steelhead_guide/willamette.asp
ODFW publishes an annual Steelhead fishing guide. This guide lists
all the rivers by region and the timing of the runs they hold.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/mapping/
salmonscape/
SalmonScape, the WDFW's interactive, computer mapping system,
is one of the most important tools
created thus far to deliver scientific
information to those involved in
on-the-ground salmon recovery
projects. SalmonScape merges fish
and habitat data collected by state,
federal, tribal and local biologists
and presents it in an integrated sysThe Molalla Steelheader tem that can be readily accessed by
other agencies and citizens. Learning a few Washington streams is a
good idea.
http://www.ifish.net/board/index.
php
http://northwestfishing.info/
These fishing forums often offer
reports and advice by local anglers.
Getting in with some of the more
knowledgeable guys can really
help.
http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Mt-Hood-Ski-Bowl/6day/mid
This link offers a quick look at current freezing levels and forecasts
on Mt. Hood. Freezing levels are
a major factor in winter river level
fluctuation. Even without a rain a
rapid rise in the freezing level can
cause the Sandy to blow out. Conversely, the river rapidly drops and
clears when it lowers.
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/
fish_counts/willamette%20falls.asp
Keep an eye on the counts to determine when planning to fish the
Molalla or Santiams.
http://www.portlandgeneral.com/
community_environment/initiatives/protecting_fish/clackamas_
river/daily_fish_counts.aspx
This link show fish counts over
River Mill Dam on the Clackamas. Keep in mind that Dog Creek
hatchery is below the dam and
many wild fish spawn in the lower
river and its tributaries.
http://www.streamnet.org/mapping_apps.cfm
https://maps.google.com/
Interactive mapping programs are a
good way to take a look at the river
and the terrain.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/or/nwis/
current/?type=flow
http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc/
These links display data on river
levels offering current CFS, median
and mode levels. NOAA also gives
a forecast. Too bad they can’t tell
you how clear the water is. When
on the river always check the level
before heading out and again at the
end of the day. Become familiar
with how the river fishes at different levels. Fish hold a travels in
different places in relation to the
water level.
http://www.weather.com/
weather/today/Portland+OR+9
7207?par=igoogle&site=www.
google.m&promo=currrentcon
ditions&cm_ven=igoogle&cm_
cat=www.google.com&cm_
pla=forecastpage&cm_
ite=CityPage
Of course your favorite Weather
Center is also a good link to frequent.
When is the best time to go
fishing? Whenever you can go, is
the best answer, in my opinion. It’s
important to know your rivers well
and this is done by fishing them
under various conditions. If you
wait for prime conditions, they may
not coinside with a day you can go.
It’s better to make a report than to
read one!
Have a great winter steelhead season!
Winter 2014 Page 4
Treasurer’s Report: Tell us how
you want chapter funds spent
By Brandon Silence
The last month has been an exciting time for
the Molalla River Chapter. Financially we are doing well thanks to the membership! At the November
meeting the chapter raised $270 from the raffle, and
our current balance is $2,559.52. As you know, the
money raised stays directly in the chapter account,
and is ours to use as the chapter membership chooses.
I would ask each of you to think about a topic that is
important to you, the Chapter, and follows the mission
of ANWS as to how we can put our money back into
the resource.
Also in November, the Chapter sponsored a
table at the annual Associations Hall of Fame Banquet
“Opportunity” for $550 ($55 per person). The banquet
was held at the Sheraton PDX. Those in attendance
were Jay & Debbie Spassov, Brandon Silence, Steve
Gustafson, Dale Ballard, Richard & Alla Cassar, Julia
Chambers, Leslie Robinson, and Sam Wurdinger, who
was presented with the Volunteer of the Year award! If
you have never attended I recommend trying to make
it to next year’s event!
My goal as Treasurer is to maintain between
$500 and $1000 in our account at all times. Most of
our monies come directly from the raffle each month
at the chapter meeting. We also received $150 from
the Association from an article that Sam Wurdinger
wrote for STS. Thanks Sam! Other sources of income
are from memberships and the raffle tickets for the
drift boat and Alaska trip. In the past our expenses
have been for food during work parties, fishalongs,
clean-ups, etc, along with purchasing rods from Lamiglas to raffle off at monthly meetings. Other expenses
have included a portapoty for the kids fishing event in
Molalla, and materials for the Tackle for Turkeys for
meeting.
We want
to be sure we
Chapter Officers
are spending the
chapter’s funds
President
on activities the
Sam Wurdinger
(503) 932-8386
chapter members
[email protected]
want, so if you
have suggestions
Vice President
please be sure
Jay Spassov
and talk to your
(503) 477-2978
board members
[email protected]
about them.
President’s Message, From page 3
conditions, spring runoff and ocean conditions lined up and we have had
two-three years of good returns and three years of great returns to the
Molalla. These fish are self-sustaining, and we are allowed to harvest two
un-clipped (wild) fish per day. Until a few years ago, this is an opportunity
that didn’t even exist. These fish tend to come over the Willamette Falls
in September thru November with the peak of the run being in October.
This year’s run might have been the largest single run of fish the Molalla
has seen since the hatchery steelhead plants were cut. If all goes well with
Clackamas County Parks and the Molalla River boat ramps in the next 10
months, we’ll have boating access to these fish, an opportunity that we
haven’t had for many years.
The opportunities that we are benefiting from are in large part due to
the hard work of individuals like ourselves that are passionate about our
resource. Without the support and efforts from our local chapter we would
not be seeing the increased opportunities that we are experiencing now.
Get out and fish before these opportunities are taken away!!
The Molalla Steelheader Secretary
Mike Harris
(503) 266-5213
[email protected]
Treasurer
Brandon Silence
(503) 421-8101
[email protected]
Education Director
Steve Gustafson
(503) 698-1913
[email protected]
Volunteer Coordinator
Russell Bassett
503-735-5088
[email protected]
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/molalla.steelheader
Winter 2014 Page 5
Winter Marabou: The Confidence Fly
other materials like flashabou,
feather wings, Ostrich herl, or
rubber legs can be added to
make it as fancy as its creator
likes.
By Jay Spassov
When asked what is the
best winter steelhead fly, most
seasoned anglers will reply,
“The one you have confidence
in.” Steelhead will hit flies in
an array of different patterns
and colors. Most fly tiers make
flies that have worked for them
and then they can tie quickly
and inexpensively. For many
it is disheartening to lose a fly
that they took more than ten
minutes too make and spent over a dollar in materials
on.
In recent weeks there have been a number of
winter steelhead fly threads started on the fly fishing forums and numerous posts have been made. The
general consensus has been that most tiers prefer the
Winter Marabou as their favorite fly. It can be tied in
about 5 minutes with a couple feathers and a hook.
Yet, it is extremely effective accounting for countless
hook ups over the last couple decades. They are often
referred to as a “guide fly” because a guide can whip
out a dozen in an hour the night before a trip and provide his clients with a cheap, disposable fly that will
catch fish.
The fly is versatile in that it can be tied on a
hook, shank, or tube and fished on the swing with a
Spey rod or dead drifted with a switch or single hander. It can be tied in any color combination or size and
can be weighted, or not. Besides the marabou, many
Directions:
1. Mount a hook, shank, or
tube in the vice.
2. Attach 6/0 fly tying thread
and wrap a base to the bend of
the hook.
3. Tie in a piece of polar
chenille, and wrap a body about 2/3 the length of the
shank. Tie it off and snip off the tag end.
4. Select two Spey Blood Quill marabou feathers and
prepare them for tying.
5. Tie in one feather by the tip or at the base of the
fibers, whichever you prefer.
6. Wind the feather forward three times, tie it off and
repeat the process with the second feather.
7. Tie in some flashabou and/or other of your favorite
goodies (optional)
8. Tie in a Schalpen or Guinea Fowl feather, wind it a
couple times and tie off.
9. Add a cone or Dumbell eyes for weight. (optional)
10. Form a neat head with the thread, whip finish, and
add head cement.
Please feel free to contact me at jspassov3@comcast.
net if you have questions. Now go fishing with confidence!
Chrome
Due to very low water
levels, early winter
steelhead fishing
on the Molalla was
not good, but Sam
Wurdinger took some
buddies fishing on
Dec. 26 and 27, and
they caught these fish.
The Molalla Steelheader Winter 2014 Page 6
Support the businesses that
supported the chapter last season!
Many thanks to the guest speakers who
presented at the chapter last season
September: Vaunt Marketing’s Carmon Macdonald on the hatchery vs wild debate.
October: ODFW District Biologist Tom Murtagh talking Upper Willamette coho.
November: Tackle for Turkeys event with takle-making instruction by Sam Wurdinger of Dinger Jigs, Matt
Halseth of Matt Halseth Guide Service, Jay Spassov, and Derrel Hewitt.
December: Lance Fisher, pro guide and radio host of the The Northwest Outdoor Show, on winter steelheading
tactics.
The Molalla Steelheader Winter 2014 Page 7