Dry winter is steelhead angler's woe
Friday, December 3, 2004 8:15 AM PST
By Chuck Downer
Printable version
E-mail this articleIt appears that November will go down in the books as one of the driest Novembers ever locally. A weatherman on the Portland news the other night indicated that it wasn't all that surprising because we are just beginning yet another El Nino winter.
For most of November, a strong ridge of high pressure just off the coast, pushed arriving weather systems to the south into California, and to the north, over Canada into the mid-western United States.
With that ridge of high pressure in place, we're likely to experience a drier, arid possibly warmer-than-normal winter. And this usually translates to a winter of low, clear water on local tributaries, certainly not good news if you are a steelhead fisherman.
Steelhead fishing has been hit-and-miss so far in the local area. All of the tributaries have a few fish, but there's nothing you can point to and say "Go there!"
If I had to pick one river to spend some time on right now, with at least a fair chance of success, it would be the Kalama. Anglers coming into the store have been reporting steelhead since mid-November.
On the Cowlitz, a few steelhead are being taken above the mouth of the Toutle by plunkers. Your favorite Spin n' Glo will get the job done. Rig with a bait teaser, such as a piece of sand shrimp, prawn, or small bait of steelhead or salmon roe.
Last week, I weighed a Cowlitz River chinook salmon for Chris Brown of Hillsboro, Ore. The fish weighed 34 1/2 pounds on a hand-held spring scale. This big, late-season fish hit a light-purple Luhr Jensen Hot Shot. Considering how late it is in the season, the fish was in pretty good shape.
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A number of retired people spend the winter plunking for steelhead below the boat ramp at Olequa. It's not uncommon to see a half-dozen lines in the water on any given day.
Recently, boat anglers have been launching their boats off the shore below the ramp, then parking their vehicle and trailer on the bank, leaving the bank fishermen no place to fish. Please, if you launch a boat at Olequa, return your truck and trailer to the parking lot. There are a limited number of places where bank fishermen can access the river.
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I'm told that the parking lot at the public fishing area at Beaver Creek, on the Elochoman, was packed with cars in the early morning this past Saturday. Reportedly only a couple of fish were caught before noon, and by afternoon the parking lot had pretty much cleared out.
The Elochoman, and Germany and Abernathy creeks, west of Longview, are usually later starters, however, with the best fishing taking place in late-December and January.
Crappie by the bucketload
Water temperatures have dropped into the mid to low-40s at Silver Lake. A few diehard fishermen are still poking around up there, and a few perch are still being taken. Crappie are scarce, compared to a few weeks ago.
While I am the last person to advocate further regulation of fishing in most cases, I'm beginning to believe that size and bag limits may ultimately be necessary where Silver Lake crappie are concerned.
I've heard complaints that two or three boats, with Oregon registration, have been on the lake every day for the last five or six weeks, from daylight in the morning until dark.
These so-called fishermen are taking several five-gallon bucket-loads of crappie away with them each and every day, according to lake residents. And many of these fish are so small, three or four inches in length, that they really have no value as a food commodity. And, these small fish are the future of crappie fishing at Silver Lake.
According to current regulations, these people are doing nothing wrong, but, in truth, they are depleting a valuable resource. You have to wonder what they are doing with all these fish.
A once-thriving crappie fishery on Coal Creek Slough, just west of Longview, has all but disappeared, primarily because of over-harvest. I, for one, would hate to see this happen at Silver Lake.
Clam digging next week
Provided marine toxins remain at acceptable levels, another three-day razor clam dig is scheduled for the end of next week, Dec. 10-12, at Long Beach, Twin Harbors beaches, Copalis, and Mocrocks. If you hurry, at least for the first couple of days anyway, you might get a limit before dark.
At Long Beach, a -1.0 low tide will occur at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10. On Saturday, a -1.4 low tide is scheduled for approximately 6:15 p.m., and on Sunday, Dec. 12, a -1.6 low tide is scheduled for approximately 7 p.m. For the best digging, start a couple of hours before the scheduled low tide.
The November dig produced lots of clams for diggers, but you had to be in the right place at the right time. Areas up the peninsula, Ocean Park north, were better than beaches on the south end. Many diggers reported having to pound the sand to get the clams to show, but when they did, there were usually several at a time.
Remember, the limit is the first fifteen clams you dig, regardless of size or condition. And be careful! Diggers reported several sneaker-waves last time, so don't turn your back on the surf. Reportedly, one digger broke her ankle last time, when she was bowled over by the surf.
Chuck Downer works in the fishing department at Bob's Merchandise in Longview. He can be reached there at 425-3870.
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