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chuck 'n' duck
10-09-2000, 11:05 AM
Went to the Sandy on Sunday. The river is low, but still running brown. Why is this? Well, I talked to one of the hatchery workers, and it turns out that the river diverted to a new channel up high after the last heavy rain. Now the river is carving away soil banks up there. So, I would say that the silver fishing up there is going to be a bust for the remainder of the year. This is unfortunate too, be cause there are already 4000 fish returned to the hatchery. This is the most fish that have returned this early in the recorded history of the Cedar Creek Hatchery. This would put the run on pace to possibly be greater than the largest past run of 20,000.

On another note, I went by Eagle Creek. What a goddam joke! I saw about thirty people crowded around a hole that could not have been more than 10 ft. across by 20 ft. long. No body was fair hooking fish. I saw people foul hooking them, letting them flop around on the bank, unhooking them, and then kicking them back into the water. I saw one guy keep a fish that had been hooked in the nose. To somebody far away, it may have appeared to be hooked fair, but I was standing right next to him and know otherwise. "Need to get quarts of eggs" he says as he punches the fish in the head. Is this fun or even ethical?? Maybe for some, but not for me.

On the subject of illegal fishing, while at the Sandy, my dad and I came across someone fishing on Cedar Creek. We walked up on him just as he scrambled to unhook a snagged silver. As we get up to him, he states, "******** won't take anything" and blazes off. Well, for starters, fish usually won't "take" weighted treble hooks.

Sorry for rambling,

Chuck 'n' Duck

ZaQ
10-09-2000, 04:13 PM
You and I think alike on these issues. We need MORE law enforcement agents out there!

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ZaQ
The Z Page! (http://zaq.4mg.com)

STRIKE ZONE
10-09-2000, 04:50 PM
We need them every where.Snagging is a joke.
Good luck,STRIKE ZONE

fishon
10-09-2000, 11:05 PM
I know the sandy has been a bad color for a long time. Is it ever going to get back into shape this year? I just dont get how it could get that bad after one day of rain. Why is it taking it so long? I heard that the river diverted to a new channel but how can that make it be so muddy for so long? Sorry if these questions are dumb but I just dont understand will it ever go back to flowing through the old channel can some body explain to me what happened I would really appreciate it. Thanks. I sure hope it clears up cause its got some good silver fishing.

Deleted User
10-10-2000, 02:03 AM
fishon,

It takes Mother Nature a good while to repair significant changes like a new river channel. In this case on the Sandy that likely would mean having the river flows carve down thru softer soil long enough to arrive at firmer rockier river bottom. Then it won't be pouring mud out as much. The time frame can really vary for such things. The big Feb.'96 floods took down some hillsides on the upper Wilson R. toward Tillamook. The resulting landslides choked the river with mud and silt for a long time. It even destroyed some of the '95 fall run 'nook's spawning redds, which will reduce the amount of fish returning to the river this year and next. Then the runs will recover. The hillsides are slowly recovering with new growth on them. However, the Wilson still takes longer to come back into shape after being blown out than it did before those slides occured. Last fall season, with a lot of rain fronts, the Wilson was out of shape much of the season. Hey, that made for more spawing escapement and bigger runs to come back later. Mother Nature has a way of both repairing and evening things out over the long run. - RT

Luvtofish
10-10-2000, 05:17 AM
I too fished the Sandy with my boys Sunday. We tried various things due to the Chalky color of the water. We did see a couple fish, and youngest son had a hit but no hook. Monday Youngest Son and I went to Eagle Creek, saw very few fish except up higher on the creek by hatchery. One guy had a nice one hooked and didn't even know it, ended up jerking hook out of fishes mouth. We were watching from about 40 feet above on cliff. Also saw a Sturgeon someone had gutted and left laying by parking area???? Its hard to find a place to bank fish in Eagle creek area that isnt over crowded, If you do someone just comes along and fishes right next to you and it is a little creek.

Navigator
10-10-2000, 10:37 PM
Thanks for the post on the Sandy Chuck 'n' Duck! Not sure what I am going to do this weekend but guess I can rule out Eagle Creek - rain or no rain.