The Molalla Steelheader - Association of Northwest Steelheaders

The Molalla Steelheader
Newsletter of the Northwest Steelheaders’ Molalla River Chapter
Summer/Fall 2013
President’s Message: Back to school
fishing journal and a couple entries took me back to
that exact spot on that exact day and I could remember
As many of us graduate from the last level of
vividly the frustration I was having because I could
schooling (whatever level that may be) there is a
not get fish to bite even though “they should have been
tendency to become complacent; stop learning; we
there”. I sat back and realized that since then I have
no longer desire to be taught anything. I don’t know
learned to stop wasting my time on that river at that
if it’s because we get tired of the school environment
time of the year. I had also learned a better technique
or because we think we “already know everything”.
to fish that particular run without losing much gear.
Whatever the reason is, we must fight it. I too find
Why? Because I sought
myself fighting this
out information. I starturge. What keeps me
ing looking into run
from completely falltimings and found out
ing into this dark rut, is
I was WAY too early
fishing believe it or not.
for winter steelhead on
Fishing is my number
this particular river. I
one hobby, and being
also started floating bait
as excited as I am about
through the run rather
it, I am always striving
than drifting it through.
to be a better angler. To
These two small changbecome a better angler
es saw me bring home
I needed to learn new
Photo by Russell Bassett
a limit of fish regularly
things. Learning new
The Prez and Bill Anderson represented well for the John Deere
instead of hoping to get
things could be learning boat with several smallmouth at the chapter’s first Bazzapolooza
one in 5-6 trips. Had I
on the lower Molalla June 8.
a new technique, getnot took it upon myting the run timing of a
self to learn I probably
fish in a particular river, maybe it’s more detailed like
would have gotten frustrated enough until I moved on
learning how one fishing hole is different at different
to a new river or a new hobby altogether.
water flows, maybe it’s how to build your own tackle.
There is so much information out there available to
Whatever the reason, I found myself always trying
us anglers for free. On-line discussion boards, pubto absorb as much info as I possibly could. One day
lished books, magazines, social media, etc.
I was reading through some of the early pages of my
See President’s Message, Page 3
By Sam Wurdinger
In this issue
Page 2 Bazzapooloza
Page 3 Events, activities and meetings
Page 4 Rapid Bio Assessment
Page 6 Family Fishing event
Page 7 Kokanee candy
Page 8 Deschutes flyfishing primer
Page 9 Chapter supporters
Molalla River
BASSAPALOOZA
Smallmouth Bass Fishing Tournament
What: Molalla Steelheaders Bassapalooza fishing tournament
When: Beginning 10 am Saturday, June 8, 2013
Where: Meet at Canby City Park, 1348 Berg Parkway in Canby, OR
All Northwest Steelheaders members, family and friends are invited to participate in the
Molalla River Chapter’s first smallmouth bass fishing tournament. Participants will float
and fish from the Canby City Park to Molalla River State Park at the confluence with the
Willamette River. Bring your own boat or join another member’s boat.
BBQ dinner and awards ceremony at Molalla River State Park starting around 4 pm.
Prizes given to the top three anglers who catch the most bass and a prize for the largest
bass. Please follow all ODFW rules. The Molalla has no limits on bass size or catch, so
keep all bass caught on the Molalla. The Willamette River has a limit of five bass per day
with three allowed over 15 inches. Bring your own rods, fishing equipment, water and
Steelheaders hosted the fun bass fishing tourney
lunch. We will fillet up those bass and throwMolalla
‘em
on the bbq at the award’s ceremony.
Bassapalooza June 8 on the lowest section of the river
from Canby Park to Molalla River State Park. Six boats
roughly 25 smallies
and twoor
cutties.
First and sec- Jay
Enter by signing up at a monthly Molalla got
Steelheaders
meeting
by contacting
ond place were the wife and husband team of Tracy and
Spassov at 503-477-2978, [email protected]. Entrees must be received by June
Jeremy Fleck, with Russell Bassett and Sam Wurdinger
5. Bring the whole family for this kid-friendlytied
event.
Participation
limited
to Silence.
15 boats,
for third.
Big fish winneriswas
Brandon
The so
attendees enjoyed beautiful weather, the kids got lots of swimming
please register TODAY!
in, prizes were awarded, and everyone was served burgers and fries
at the state park. This is an event the chapter plans to do again,
along with a winter steelhead fishalong for sure and possibly a spring
chinook fishalong. These events receive very positive feedback from
those that participate, so as long as chapter members keep attending, we’ll keep having them.
Photos by Russell Bassett
The Molalla Steelheader Summer/Fall 2013 Page 2
Save the dates!
Events and Activities
Chapter Meetings
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. This year there are no meetings in the months
of July and August. Next year the chapter is planning
Spring Chinook spawning survey: Dates TBD late to do a summer barbecue and potluck during this time.
Setember-early October. Involves walking several miles
along the mainstem of the upper Molalla and document- Sept. 19: Carmon McDonald, sportfishing advocate
ing all forms of spawning activity. Volunteers needed. and Ifish blogger, will present his research on hatchery
and wild interactions. If you want to be informed on
Fall River Cleanup: 9am-1pm Oct. 12 starting at Feyrer this issue and learn how you can be involved to protect
Park. Help pick up trash and other recreation enhance- fishing opportunity provided by hatchery fish, you’ll
ment in the upper Molalla River with a bbq lunch at want to be at this meeting.
Feyrer. Bring the whole family for this fun, rewarding
Oct. 17: Lance Kruzic, fisheries biologist with Nationvolunteer event!
al Marine Fisheries Service will be the guest speaker
For more information, contact Russell Bassett at 503- to discuss management of Upper Willamette and Molalla River steelhead and chinook.
735-5088, [email protected]
Nutrient Enrichment: Dates TBD in late August,
September and/or October. We get hatchery chinook
and coho carcasses from ODFW and toss them in the
upper river to provide food and nutrients for macroinvertebrates, fish fry and smolts, and other animals in the
watershed.
President’s Message,
From page 1
Search functions on on-line
discussion boards can bring more
information that you would ever
need. You just have to be willing
to sift through the belly-aching and
whining to find the info. It’s always
there. I also own a library of ‘fishy’
books that I reference often. One is
a map book of the popular rivers,
one is a kayaker’s guide to floating
many different stretches of water,
and another explains the different
fishing opportunities in nearly all
bodies of water in the state. Google
Earth also helps me explore new
sections of water well before I ever
go there. Fish and wildlife harvest
tag information is also available
and helps one to see how effec-
tive people are at catching fish in a
certain system or how many people
may or may not be angling in that
system. Social media helps many
people stay caught up on the latest
gear, tricks and in some instances,
locations.
One of the more fun ways to
learn is to come to a chapter meeting. We try to find speakers that
will improve your knowledge of
when, where and how to catch fish.
I’ve learned a lot from Molalla
Steelheaders meetings and events.
It’s the most fun class I’ve taken at
fishing school outside of actually
fishing.
The biggest thing is your mind
set. You need to be open to learning and willing to go search for the
information. Yes, many times you
can just go to a new river and start
casting and you will eventually
learn through trial and error. Knowing ideal river levels, accessible locations and population abundance
will help shorten your learning
curve a lot. In order to open your
mind to learn just think of yourself
as a student of the fishing world
and go seek out information. We
don’t have teachers talking at us
anymore. We need to go find the
information you want.
Don’t lose that thirst for knowledge. If you can keep your mind
open to learn new fishing tips and
tricks, you’ll also be able to stay
open to learning other things in
your daily life. It will make you a
better person and more importantly,
a better angler.
The Molalla Steelheader Summer/Fall 2013 Page 3
By Russell Bassett
Guest speaker for the June meeting was Steve
Trask of Bio Surveys. Steve and his team conducted a
Rapid Bio Assessment (advanced snorkel survey) of
the entire Molalla River, including all tributaries with
known andaromous distribution in late summer 2011
and 2012. Only the Pudding was not snorkeled. Much
of the information for this article was taken directly
from the RBA final report.
The 2011 RBA inventory of the Upper Molalla
River basin and its tributaries covered 93.1 miles
of stream habitats. The 2012 RBA inventory of the
entire Molalla River basin, its tributaries and secondary channel habitats covered 140.7 miles of stream
corridor. The intent of this two year inventory was to
quantify the relative abundance and map the distribution of juvenile salmonids during pinch period low
summer flow regimes. The inventory consisted of
snorkel surveys that began at the mouth of each tributary and continued to at least the end of anadromous
steelhead distribution. These surveys are intended to
establish base-line distribution and abundance metrics
and identify long term trends within the Molalla River
basin for juvenile coho, steelhead, cutthroat, chinook
and resident rainbow.
The report covered lots of valuable information
like the effects of lethally-hot summer water temperatures on fish migration throughout the system, where
thermal refugia exists, gravel densities, beaver activity,
and areas most valuable to fish for restoration. For the
purposes of this article, I have focused on information
useful to the river’s anglers, focusing on population
sizes.
During both 2011 and 2012 RBA, the combined
age classes of juvenile steelhead were the most abundant salmonid species rearing throughout the Molalla
River basin. In addition, steelhead distribution is wide
spread with a strong presence even in lower mainstem
The Molalla Steelheader habitats extending as low as the confluence with the
Willamette River in cooler water summers such as
2012. The total estimated pool abundance of 1+ and
older steelhead (not including large resident rainbow)
was 13,031 in 2011. The abundance of 1+ and older
steelhead increased significantly in 2012 to an expanded estimate of 17,421. The cooler water temps in 2012
bode well for this return class of adult steelhead.
Resident rainbow adults are present in low abundance. An expansion of 455 older age class adults
was the estimated population size for 2011 within the
surveyed portion of the basin, the 2012 population estimate was 295. The highest abundance of this species
in 2011 was observed in the Table Rock mainstem, the
mainstem Molalla, and in the lower 5 miles of the NF
Molalla mainstem.
Chinook juveniles were observed in very low
densities within the Molalla basin during both inventoried years. A total of 2,059 were estimated rearing
in the basin during September of 2011 (not including
Milk Cr or the lower 15 miles of the mainstem). 83 %
of these chinook were rearing in the mainstem of the
Molalla and its side channel habitats below the confluence of the NF Molalla in 2011. By September of
2012, only 1,428 chinook remained rearing above RM
15. Of interest, the vast majority of chinook are rearing in lower river side channels from river mile 14 to
the N. Fork Confluence on the mainstem.
Summer/Fall 2013 Page 4
In 2011, a basin scale population estimate of
18,549 coho was developed for all the stream habitats
above the Hwy 213 bridge crossing on the mainstem
Molalla that included all of its tributaries accept Milk
Cr. 61% of all coho observed were rearing in the side
channel habitats of the mainstem Molalla below the
confluence of the NF Molalla. In 2012, the combined
The Molalla Steelheader basin scale abundance of coho was just 1,886 (56%
observed in Milk Cr). The difference is explained by
the vast drop in numbers of coho crossing Willamette
Falls in 2012 compared 2011. Coho were spotted clear
up to Henry Creek falls, the end of the river’s anadromous distribution.
Cutthroat were also abundant in the Molalla system with a total of 5,464 observed in 2011. There was
a total of 5,854 cutthroat observed in 2012. Only 10%
of all cutthroat observed were rearing in the mainstem
habitats of the Molalla in 2011 and 13% in 2012 when
normalized to the 2011 abbreviated survey distance.
Also of interest was the amount of warm water fish
present in the system. These species include small and
large mount bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and carp. No
warm water fish were found about the 213 bridge, but
they are very prolific in the lower river.
A total of six adult summer steelhead were spotted
by the snorkelers in the upper river. Steve estimates
this amounts to 30 total summer steelhead, most probably strayed from other systems rather than a remnant
wild population from the stocking discontinued in
1998.
If any Molalla Steelheader would like the full report, please e-mail me at [email protected].
Summer/Fall 2013 Page 5
ODFW held its first ever family fishing event in the Molalla city limits April 4 at
Shorty’s Pond in Ivor Davies Park Nature
Park.
Roughly 100 people showed up to fish
the pond, and most came away with fish.
Along with stocked trout, small blue gill and
catfish were caught.
Molalla Steelheaders helped organize
and promote the event. Shorty’s Pond still
needs to a lot of work to make it a quality fishing experience, and volunteers are also needed to teach kids to fish at next year’s “Shorties
at Shorty’s” event.
Photos by Russell Bassett
The Molalla Steelheader Summer/Fall 2013 Page 6
Kokanee candy with a kick
By Russell Bassett
This is a delicious recipe for
smoking kokanee or red-fleshed
trout that eats well as a standalone
snack or in traditional smoked
salmon recipes like smoked salmon
chowder, dip, and omelets. I enjoy
it on fettuccine alfredo made with
asiago cheese. The spicy sweet
of the kokanee compliments the
musty pungent taste of the asiago.
Many thanks to guide Thom Kaffun who turned me onto the recipe
after catching 88 fish in two days
on Green Peter. This recipe can
be used to smoke whole kokanee.
When smoked this way, consider
serving one whole kokanee as a
plated appetizer with an assortment
of cheese, crackers, and sauces on
either side of the smoked fish for
an appetizer everyone will remember. Stuff the body cavity with a
mixture of sausage, rice, cream
and feta cheeses, for a dinner meal
main course.
Some people prefer to fillet
kokanee with the rib bones remaining on the meat. If you don’t smoke
it for very long, the meat will pull
right off the bone, but if you smoke
the kokanee longer, the meat can
be difficult to get from the bone. I
prefer to fillet the kokanee along
the rib cage. Takes longer to clean
The Molalla Steelheader the fish, but creates a practically
boneless fillet. In smaller kokanee
(14 inches or less), the pin bones
that remain can be eaten without
notice. I prefer to smoke the fish a
little longer to give it a not-quitejerky consistency, but enough for
it to be quite firm. This recipe can
also be used to make kokanee
jerky, just be sure to dry it for
longer after brining, and smoke it
longer.
Ingredients
• 1 quart pineapple juice
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 tbls garlic powder
• 2 tbls onion powder
• 3 tbls salt
• Hot chilli sauce to taste
• 1 quart bowling water (for additional flavor use another quart
of pineapple juice, limeade, or
lemonade)
• 5 pounds kokanee fillets
• Old Bay seasoning
• Freshly ground pepper
Bring one quart of water to
a boil. Mix first six ingredients in
8 quart cooking pot. Add boiling
water and mix until all dry ingredients are dissolved. Add kokanee.
Let stand in fridge for 24 hours,
mixing slowly every six hours or
so. Remove fillets from brine and
let air dry on racks for two hours.
Sprinkle Old Bay seasoning so
that each fillet is lightly covered.
Repeat with fresh ground black
pepper to desired taste.
Before placing fillets in smoker, ensure that smoker is not hot
enough to cook and brush grill with
olive oil to ensure skin comes off
without sticking to grill. In my
Treager, 2.5 hours of smoking gets
the consistency I prefer, but smoking time will vary based on smoker
used and desired consistency.
Eat and enjoy.
Summer/Fall 2013 Page 7
Deschutes steelhead flyfishing primer
By Jay Spassov
The Deschute’s River run of
summer steelhead offers an angler
a great opportunity to land one of
these great fish on a fly. I will never
forget the first steelhead I caught
on a fly in this world famous river
over 30 years ago. These fish will
aggressive rise and grab a swung
wet fly when presented properly
and provide a thrilling angling
experience.
The run begins in the lower
river in mid to late July, peaks in
September and continues on into
the beginning of winter. Historically, many steelhead bound for
the upper Columbia strayed into
the Deschutes seeking refuge in
its cooler waters. Unfortunately,
the number of strays has dropped
because of warmer water releases
mandated from Pelton Dam. However, the main run is still strong
enough to offer a viable fishery.
The standard gear for Steelhead flyfishing is a 9 to 10 ft., 8 wt.
single hand rod or and 11 to 13 ft.,
7 wt. switch or Spey rod. The reel
should balance with the rod and be
loaded with a floating line or a sink
tip line. At least a hundred yards
of backing line should be mounted
behind the fly line to handle a hot
fish that goes on a long run.
Monofilament leaders are
commonly 10 to 15 lb. in strength.
The fish will grab just about any
fly from a traditional wet fly like a
Green Butt Skunk to the currently
popular intruder patterns. The
smaller wet flies are usually fished
on a floating line near the surface
and the larger intruders are normally fished deeper on a sink tip.
A wet fly swing is the traditional method utilized on the Deschutes. Typical Steelhead runs are
50 to 100 yards long, 3 to 5 ft. deep
with about a walking speed flow.
The angler will usual begin casting
at the head of the run. Begin with
a short cast as fish will often hold
in shall water near the bank. Then
lengthen each cast about 3 ft. until
the longest cast you can comfortably make is reached. At this point
take a step or two down stream
and continue casting consistently,
stepping down after each cast to the
end of the run.
When a Steelhead takes a
swung fly it can be a soft tug or a
violent pull. Often, a boil will be
seen created by the fish’s tail as it
turns with the fly, then the ensuing pull is felt. Sometimes, the fish
will miss the fly and only the boil
will be seen. In this case, hold your
ground and cast again as these fish
will often come back and try to eat
the fly again. When a grab is felt,
it is extremely important not to set
the hook until line is pulling off
the reel. This is a signal the fish
has firmly taken the fly and turned
back towards its lie with it. At this
point, I personally just lift the rod
into fighting position. Then the fish
usually hooks itself firmly in the
corner of its jaw, and is off on a
reel burning run.
I am looking forward to this
season with hopes of a strong
healthy run. Deschutes steelhead
are great sport fish and the river is
well suited for capturing them with
a fly. Good luck in however you
choose to pursue them!
The Molalla Steelheader Summer/Fall 2013 Page 8
Support the businesses that
supported the chapter this spring!
Chapter Officers
President
Sam Wurdinger
(503) 932-8386
[email protected]
Vice President
Jay Spassov
(503) 477-2978
[email protected]
Secretary
Mike Harris
(503) 266-5213
[email protected]
Treasurer
Brandon Silence
(503) 421-8101
[email protected]
Education Director
Chad Wray
(267) 546-7301
[email protected]
Volunteer Coordinator
Russell Bassett
503-735-5088
[email protected]
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/molalla.steelheader
Many thanks to the guest speakers who
presented at the chapter last season
April: Nate Hunemiller on brining and fishing prawns. http://natesbaitfishingproducts.com/
May: Adam Milnor of the BLM updated us on progress of the Molalla Recreation Corridor management plan.
June: Steve Trask of Bio-Surveys on two years of Molalla snorkel monitoring.
The Molalla Steelheader Summer/Fall 2013 Page 9