Shane Ullrich
My fiance Jeana and I took a quick vacation trip to the coast last weekend. I had my motorcycles on an ATV trailer, which had a worn axle. I figured it was good for one more trip, so we loaded up and took off to meet some friends there.
When we neared Florence, we hit a pothole at the entrance to the dunes and, Pow! My axle bearing broke. The hub of the wheel was riding on the spindle and it got so hot, they started to weld together.
It was Sunday afternoon and Florence is like an island at night. There’s nothing there. Fred Meyer didn’t have a grinder I needed. I finally had to get the axle apart with a Dremel tool, which was all that that Fred Meyer had. On Monday I was finally able to get some parts from Knecht’s, but they were the wrong ones. Jeana had to go back into town for more.
I was working on this thing in the parking lot at the entrance to the dunes. A ranger told me we couldn’t camp there, but I pointed out that I wasn’t camping – I was broken down.
“You’re right,” he said. “I guess there is a difference.”
Sand was blowing everywhere. I would have grease on my hand, hold my hand up, and it would look like a sugar cookie. I put a Diet Pepsi can in front of the trailer and after an hour you couldn’t read the label any more.
I finally got the trailer fixed on Monday afternoon. It ended up being quite the relationship builder between Jeana and I. It wsn’t fun, but we made it. I learned how to get creative with a Dremel. And I learned the difference between how men and women think. I wanted to fix the thing so we wouldn’t have to call a tow truck. Jeana wanted to call a tow truck and get home.
I’m reminded of a lesson I thought I learned long ago: When you take off for your outdoor adventure you never expect the unexpected.
The little details can make your trip a lasting memorable experience. Allow me to introduce the six P’s of traveling: Prior Planning Prevents Particular Poor Performance. Or as I always say, “It’s better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it.”
As you plan your trips and vacations, also plan some preventative maintenance time prior to take-off. The last thing you want is to be a roadside mechanic, in usually not-so-great conditions. Nothing’s worse than being stranded without tools or spare parts, out in the cold wind and rain, all the while trying to keep your cool and save your relationship with your spouse in the passenger seat!
Keep your trip safe by double checking your gear and equipment for proper function and working order. If it fails it will inevitably happen at the most inopportune time. Success of outdoor adventures is simply getting to be outdoors and enjoying whatever is your passion. It becomes a burden though with improper equipment and can quickly turn into a nightmare.
Hope your outdoor adventure this week is a positive one and remember to keep it clean out there.
State Wildlife officials are reminding big game hunters to apply for this fall’s controlled big game hunts as soon as possible to avoid the lines expected to occur as we near the May 15 deadline. Hunters can submit their applications at local license agents. ODFW limits the number of hunters for particular hunts to improve game management and enhance the hunting experience. The cost is $4.50 per hunt series.
– The regular meeting of the Albany Chapter, Association of Northwst Steelheaders, will be held tonight, Wednesday, May 3 at the Albany Senior Center at 7 p.m. The public is cordially invited to attend.
The May program will be a presentation by Phil Pirone, founder of Pro-Cure. Phil and Pro-Cure have been on the leading edge of technology in the fields of egg cure, fish scents and all products related to salmon, steelhead and other fisheries. Phil will hightlight his newest products and offer a discount to Chapter members.
If you fish for salmon and steelhead this is a must meeting to find out what’s new and catching fish. Pro-Cure products work equally well for both bank angling and boat fishing for whatever species you fish for.
– Fishing at Diamond Lake will be a hot spot once the ice is melted off and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is increasing trout daily limits for future fish enhancement program so gear up and get out there and catch a big one. Beginning May 13, anglers may harvest 20 trout per day. Fishing at Diamond Lake will be closed Sept. 5 through Oct. 31.
“We really want anglers to help with this special fishing mission by catching as many trout as possible,” said Dave Loomis, Incident Commander for the Diamond Lake Restoration Project. “This will be a bonus angling opportunity with several large trout available to be harvested.”
ODFW is releasing 20,000 catchable-sized trout once the lake is ice-free in mid-May and another 4,000 prior to Free Fishing Weekend on June 10-11. With this limited stocking and holdover trout from last year, Loomis expects about 40,000 catchable fish will be available to anglers this year.
ODFW recommends people stay off the lake until it thaws because the ice is unstable. Once the ice melts, bank and boat fishing will be available. However boat access will be limited because some of the boat launches will be dry. The U.S. Forest Service may lengthen one or two of the docks to provide public boat access.
With the lake level lowered in preparation for treatment, the canal and weir at the north end of the lake are visible, and anglers are reminded that fishing is prohibited within 200 feet of the weir. ODFW also reminds anglers that they still need an angling license to fish during this season.
The large-scale fish netting operation is scheduled to begin in mid-July to remove as many fish as possible before the September treatment. The operation will be conducted only during weekdays on different sections of the lake, so impacts to anglers should be minimal.
– Detroit, Foster and Green Peter where all stocked with trout last week. Foster is scheduled for another this week. Sunnyside is the only boat launch available right now at Foster with water levels so low to help with juvenile Steelhead migration up Green Peter, where it is about to spill over the top it is so full. Thistle and Whitcomb boat launches are also usable.
– North and South Santiam river levels are holding fairly steady. Flows in the South Fork are somewhat higher than in the North Fork as water from Green Peter/Foster is being released to maintain water quality in the Willamette River. Water temperatures dropped off again last week, slowing passage of steelhead and salmon over Willamette Falls. Counts remain at low levels, but a few fish continue to trickle past the falls.
Angling pressure has been moderate in the lower Santiams, with a fair number of unmarked winter steelhead being caught and released and an increasing number of bright summer fish being caught. As water temperatures increase, chinook should begin showing up in numbers.
– Ocean sport anglers are gearing up for one of the best Pacific halibut opportunities off the Oregon coast in the last decade.
Halibut season opened Monday, May 1, in near-shore waters (waters less than 40 fathoms). The all-depth halibut fishery for Oregon’s central coast, between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mountain, opens May 11.
“This year’s sport halibut quota is more than 276,400 pounds for Oregon,” said Don Bodenmiller, sport halibut project leader for ODFW. “That’s up about 4 percent from last year and is more than twice as much halibut as 10 years ago.”
The fishery north of Cape Falcon (north coast) to Leadbetter Point, Wash., also opened May 1 in all-depth waters, seven days a week until July 16 or until the quota of 14,819 pounds is met. The area reopens on Aug. 4 and continues on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until Sept. 30, or until the combined quota for the spring and summer season of 21,170 lbs. is reached.
The area south of Humbug Mountain runs through Oct. 31, seven days a week.
The central coast, from Cape Falcon (30 miles south of the Columbia River) south to Humbug Mountain (south of Port Orford) spring all-depth season dates are May 11-13, 18-20, 25-27 and June 1-3 and 8-10. If quota remains, the fishery may continue on June 22-24, July 6-8 and 20-22 until the 175,474-pound quota is taken. Open dates will be announced on the National Marine Fisheries Service hotline (1-800-662-9825) and posted on the ODFW Marine Resources Program Web site at: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/.
The high-relief area of Stonewall Bank is closed to halibut fishing to reduce incidental catch of yelloweye rockfish and canary rockfish. Both species are considered over-fished and must be released immediately. The closed area is defined by latitude and longitude waypoints, which are available on the Marine Resources Program Web site.
There is no minimum length for Pacific halibut. Sport anglers do not have to keep the first fish they catch.
The central coast all-depth fishery also will be open on the following dates until the combined quota for the spring and summer season of 233,965 is taken: Aug. 4-6, 18-20, 25-27 and Sept. 1-3, 15-17, 29-30 and Oct. 1, 13-15 and 27-29. More days and possibly a second fish to the bag limit will be added if the catch is low, Bodenmiller said.
Sport anglers are reminded possession of groundfish is not allowed north of Humbug Mountain when a Pacific halibut is in possession on the vessel during all-depth Pacific halibut dates. The exception is sablefish (black cod), which may be retained with halibut between Humbug Mountain and Cape Falcon.
Both sablefish and Pacific cod may be retained north of Cape Falcon. Other non-groundfish species, such as tuna and salmon during authorized seasons, may be possessed with halibut on open all-depth Pacific halibut days.
Shane Ullrich writes this column every other week. Contact him at the American Barbershop, 1121 Main St., Sweet Home, or call (541) 367-8086.