North Coast Chapter
Chapter Contact: President Len Clarke, (503) 245-0011
Subject:
North Coast Chapter Free Steelhead Clinic
On Thursday, January 14th, from 7-9PM,
we will provide a free steelhead fishing clinic
at the ODFW Headquarters located at 4907 3rd
Street in Tillamook next to the fair
grounds.
Chris Vertopoulos and Bob
Rees, both members and top professional guides,
will present the clinic with demonstrations and
strategies.
Those in attendance
will receive a free ticket for a drawing at the
end of the session. While this is a
membership drive activity, everyone is welcome
to attend.
(seen below with his grandson, Eric)
Report by Chapter President Len Clarke on the October 20-23 Trask River Hatchery Volunteer Project:
"At the October North Coast
Chapter meeting, Trask hatchery manager Jim
Skarr told the group that with record returns
of coho this year they were in fear of being
overrun at the hatchery after the first heavy
rain. It would take 2-3 days for the fish
to make their way upstream to the hatchery
after they tasted their home river water.
Thousands of surplus coho would need to be
processed in preparation for distribution to
the hungry through foods banks around the
state.
The rain came
on the following weekend with the email sent
out Monday morning. Jim Skarr was overrun
with phone calls at the Trask hatchery.
"We took over 40 calls from Steelheaders
wanting to help. We sent some folks to
the North Fork but over a dozen showed up at
the Trask - we could not have processed the
fish with out them. Many "Thanks" go to
the Steelheaders."
Some
could not attend during the required timeframe
but during the 3 day period over 2 dozen
Steelheaders participated at the
hatchery. Most fish were sent to the food
bank after the required eggs for the hatchery
were processed. Carcasses were then
distributed back in to upper stretches of the
North Coast rivers by members of the Tillamook
Anglers. Several other groups also sent
volunteers.
There is no way
that the hatchery employees can handle huge
volumes of fish - the volunteer effort is most
satisfying for those who can participate and
hopefully this can be an annual event for
Steelheaders."
