Chum Salmon

[fishon]

I went fishing at Big Creek the other day and caught a chum salmon and thought that was pretty weird cause arent they pretty rare around here?

[SandySteel]

Where exactly is Big Creek? Are you talking about the Columbia tributary with the hatchery? There are several streams with Chum. The Tillamook streams are well known for them. There are also some Columbia strains. The thing with chum is that they are low estuary spawners that can't pass even the lowest type of barrier. So in the case of the Oregon coast it is understandable why they are rarer than say in the Hood Canal area or in Alaska.

------------------
Eric Neiwert
Sandy River Chapter Northwest Steelheaders
Portland OR

[Trick]

If your talking about Big Creek in Clatsop County then it isn't that rare. The hatchery stocked the creek for years with chums when I was growing up near the stream. I never caught one but I had freinds that picked up a few each fall. I don't know if ODFW still plants them or not anymore. I would see them occasionally when I would fish near the hatchery but never could seem to get them to bite. The few I seen caught were most often snagged in the ass, but it seems like that's the case most often in that river. Anyone ever been down to the mouth to watch the snaggers with their buzz bombs, you'll never see any more law breakers in one spot together then here. Anyways starting to get off the subject. The chums I seen caught looked as bad as the tules in there, really dark and not good for anyone other than cat.

[fishon]

Yup thats the creek. The chum was pretty old I never knew they used to stock it with chum do you have any idea when they stopped? Yes I have been down to the mouth its crazy all they do is snag them down there why doesnt the ODFW do something about it they its going on.

[Slider]

Enforcing the law is the Oregon State Polices job. As for the mouth of Big Creek, no self respecting fisher would participate in that debacle. Big Creek releases very few chum. Mainly depends upon what returns to the hatchery. Hope you didn't keep that fish, since chum fishing is closed on most tribuaries on the Columbia River, including Big Creek.


Slider

[garyk]

Fish-on,

You brought up one of my favorite topics - our friend the dog salmon.

Just a quick comment in response to SandySteel who may inadvertantly given the impression that the chums' low population here in Oregon is caused naturally. The contrary is true and the chum may in fact be our most depressed North Coast / Lower Columbia stock.

Post WWII harvests of chum at Astoria were in the range of 400,000/annual. (I just tried to find the report citing that stat but can't put my hands on it) A commercial
fisherman explained the Tillamook Bay harvest, chiefly around the Kilchis river was in the tens of thousands.

The remnant populations we see today are entirely due to habitat destruction. As SandySteel correctly pointed out, the chum spawn low in the watershed; in the first couple miles of river - where all the damage in the whole watershed eventually accumulates.

Here in ORegon the principal damage is sedimentation caused by industrial logging and estuary damage caused by filling in the tidelands and wetlands.

[fisheromen]

My grandpa remembered them pulling chum, and other salmon, in large quantities out of Sand Lake, which only has a couple of little creeks going into it.

[garyk]

Fisheromen- Thanks for that post, I'd never heard of Sand Lk. chums. Might be a good restoration project; especially now that the property is going into public ownership. Any idea what era your grandfather was referencing?

GaryK

This was the first year in awhile when I didn't go with my dad to Big Creek at least once. And this year was the year where they absolutely had a blast. He figures that he and his buddy did catch and release on about 50 fish during the last two days of the season. They came home with limits of big hens, along with a $75 dollar ticket each for not tagging their fish right after they caught them. Tags were in his jeans pockets and he was in his hip waders...or at least that is the excuse that he is sticking too.

I may just have to check out the October fishery down there for silvers. Anyone have any information about this fishery? I've never done it myself but I have a feeling that it'll be another good one.