Wierd fish on the Elk River

[tailchaser]

Well I was walking down the bank yesterday and saw two fish rotting on the rocks. One of which was a chum salmon, and the other a hatchery coho. Both of which are definitely not native to the elk river. The head snout was cut off of the coho from a ODFW checker, but the chum was just an oddity. I don't think they've ever been native to a stream south of the columbia or tillamook ever to my knowledge. Pretty strange to have them this far south. To be honest this is the first time I've seen or heard of either fish being taken in the river. Makes you wonder how many fish make it up there we don't really know about.

tc

[Mojo]

"Chum salmon have been documented to spawn from Korea and the Japanese island of Honshu, east, around the rim of the North Pacific Ocean, to Monterey Bay in southern California." From ...http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/pubs/tm/tm...eques.html#spq

Their native reach is the widest of all Pacific Salmonids.

[ 11-26-2002, 11:34 AM: Message edited by: Mojo ]

[SteelieSteve]

There was a large run in the Nestucca bay system wiped out. (1960's?) Commercially netted.

[tailchaser]

Wow, that's interesting. And I thought I knew everything!! Just joshn' but it's funny to hear about this stuff going on. Maybe I never paid attention until now I guess. Well, the more salmon the better! I'm not bias to what bites my hook. :grin:

tc

[Lockjaw]

Three years ago we caught afew chums in the siletz, it was mid november in tide water. Let all of them go.

L J

Chum salmon are good for river drainages. They leave their bodies when they die and their smolts don't stick around to eat the bounty from their death. Cono, chinook and all of the rest of the life in the river benefit.

They should be reintroduced into every stream that they once were in.

[Lepper]

hey Tc I was up at the hatchery talking to some guys and they had actually had like 10 cohos come up there this year, they some how managed to trace them all from the columbia river hatchery... very messed up..
dave

[TH]

I too have caught chum in the Elk river..
my uncle built most of the newer houses on the river, and actually lived there for many years.. he used to catch chum every year up until about 10 years ago.

I have also caught them in the Coquille on a plug cut herring.. this particular chum was in full spawing colors.. big buck about 13-15 pounds and tore us up!

This was about 6 years ago I think. ? Maybe 7?

[GutshotApe]

Chums were once fairly common in the lower Umpqua tidal tributaries - and I think a small number still return there. And, Coos Bay as well. Never heard of 'em in the Elk but it doesn't surprise me.

[lightline]

Chum were introduced or reintroduced in the siuslaw system about twenty years ago. There was a trap site on sweetcreek that operated for four or five years. The introduction was from a private party. I haven't fished down there in several years and have no ideal what kind of run is left

[Sublime]

I had a friend catch a chum in front of me just above 3rivers about a week ago or so. ..and another one dead downriver from there. So i know there are a few..or quite a few that run up the nestucca.

sub

[Chum King]

There continue to be relatively substantial runs of chum salmon down to at least the Alsea River. Admittedly, they are not on the same level as the runs into the Kilchis and Miami, but they are consistent spawning populations of chum salmon. ODFW conducts chum spawning ground counts as far south at the Yaquina River, and you can check out some of the survey data here: http://osu.orst.edu/Dept/ODFW/spawn/data.htm

[Bill Monroe]

I took a photo Sunday of a checker in Simpson Creek, alongside Highway 20, 16 miles east of Newport...he was counting chums...hundreds of them and chinook and, up higher, coho...It might run in the paper this week...

[SKP]

About 10 years ago, I caught a chum in November bobber fishing at the Mouth of Three Rivers on the Nestucca. I released it - Ugly, dark, and ready to spawn.

I wanted it to make more "puppies".

SKP