1346 over Boni yesterday! Yeah they're here!!!

[Time Off]

[EULACHON]

A day to late.....

[Mojo]

Like all runs this year (Smelt and Winter Run Steelies) they are late. Please wait 20 days before you signal the end of salmon in the Columbia.

They'll re-open the season if enough fish come back.

[SCR Steelheader]

doesnt that just "petunia" you off, really wish some of those people had SOME common sence.....someone could have thought.....maybe its running a little late..oh well..life goes on

[fishboys]

They had to shut it down.Take a good look at the totals over the dam.they just cant HOPE they show. I think they did what they had to. I bet you there was more fish caught than went over the dam. We all know they are probly just late, but we need a fish or 2 to make little ones.If it was me i might of shut it down a bit before they did.

[pearl]

I can not fault the states for shutting it down. They had to error on the side of caution.

Lets hope they come in big numbers and it reopens.

[B-RUN STEELIE]

I don't agree with ya one that one.. I think the Oregon and Washington fish and game showed a huge amount of common sence... They have no more idea of the run size than you do. If it shows a dramatic improvement they will open it back up for you.. If it does not.. they did the right thing. Everyone is hoping for the best, and if not.. the right move was made. Nice to see a decision made with something they know instead of something they "think"...

[Musicman]

Anyone know what the minimum goal for going over Bonne that will get the season back open? Been a weird weather pattern year, i'm hopeful and sure that they will show in bigger numbers, just late and hopefully not so late that we don't get to have another shot. Keep you fingers crossed, i've never landed a springer and was hopeing this was going to be the year.....i'm still hopeful.

[jokester]

I can not fault the states for shutting it down. They had to error on the side of caution.

Lets hope they come in big numbers and it reopens.

Ditto that!!!!

-jokester

[tysdad]

:lurk:

[yankemnbankem]

I beleive the quota was reduced to 80,000 and therefore the river was closed. if it exceeds this number by a far greater amount than it will probably reopen. Also remember, the injuns need their catch also!

[Time Off]

Ditto that!!!!

-jokester

I agree that with the numbers they had to work with they had to do something. Limiting to 3 days a week (step 2 in their 3 step process) would have been nice.

[Hogmaster]

Hmmmm....

Say there is 45 days of migration ahead of us, and this count indicates a point near average for the bell-shaped curve....

1346 X 45 days = 60,570

Just supposition of course, and we all hope this indicates a beginning, not an overall average, but there is always a bell-shaped curve. One would hope there will be many more one day totals far higher, but toward the end they will taper off again.

It would seem they are hardly here, especially compared to initial projections...

[skrimmy]

Well stated Hogmaster.

[El-Kabong]

Glad to see the numbers pick up.

One thing that bothers me with the way they handle the run is the front loading. By that I mean, as soon as a few fish hit the river, the gill nets go in, the fisherpeople are out in force. This is based on estimates (which have been abysmal for the last 2 years).

So here we sit in April not fishing. Netters have taken 5k fish, fishers another 8k and surprise there are no fish going over the dam. Now the river is shut, money is NOT being spent or earned, and the run is just beginning.

Seems to me, phasing in netting and recreational fishing would make a lot more sense and a lot more MONEY for everyone involved

EK

[ET]

Ditto that.

Why not keep the season closed until the river is full of fish and they can more accurately determine the run size?

As it is now, we all go out early and try to catch fish from a run that later may turn out to be very small. This sure doesn't seem like a very good conservation practice.

[ChSp]

The idea is to get in early when Willamette fish are more abundant, rather than wait until later when upriver fish make up a bigger percentage of the catch, and so fewer fish overall can be caught. Plus, if the gillnets go in when abundance is high, it would be too easy for them to go over their allocation. Also, starting early means more fishing trips when the catch isn't as good, so more money is generated.

BTW, Bonneville counts for the last five years for comparison were 6,208 5,414 7,753 7,143 and 7,434

[OK Deal Let\'s Fish]

I think it was smart to error to the side of caution. If the run does appear in force they can always open it back up. We all have to think of the big picture and not just what we can put in the box.

[fishinlady97140]

I'd bet they'll re-open it when there's 100 or less going over the dam again....I'd put money on them not re-opening it while the fish are 'in'

[husker]

I think they had to close it. Having a later season would insure nothing, unless they had a magic number. After which it would be open season. It doesnt work that way. The fisheries managers as far as I can tell have done a good job this year. I still dont believe we'll get the 250,000 expected, more like 100,000. Still to get that far we will need some big number days in the near future. As of yesterday the total count for bonny was 4363. Not very good.

The next question should be is it just the columbia fish that are behind or is the willy run going to be lower also. If the willy run is below expections then we have a problem which is not understood yet and many fish are missing from this entire year.

Many of you know the Alsea stock steelies were a complete bust. The coast brats never really did show. The smelt are now on a 2 years behind schedule. This is reality.

[pearl]

The reality is we have been spoiled the last few years from a fish perspective. In my early years of springer fishing and not all that long ago the Columbia closed March 31st year in year out to allow the upper Columbia fish to pass.