Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Shane Ullrich is taking this week off, so we’re seizing this opportunity to talk about what we want to do with our Outdoors section.
Hunting season is closing fast, with bowhunting season beginning in just a couple of weeks in many parts of the state. This year we want to help you show off your game by running photos of some of the local hunters’ kills.
If you’re a regular reader of this paper, you’re already familiar with the “New Era on the Road” that runs on page 2. We’re not going to make you take a paper out in the woods with you, but we would like you to take a picture of any particularly nice game you or your friends kill (legally), or game that is particularly significant, such as your kid’s first deer. Bring it in so we can scan it or send it to us as in jpg format (the way it comes out of your digital camera) by e-mail to [email protected]. Include pertinent details such as your name, where you were hunting and anything else you’d like to share about the details of your hunt. Also, please include your phone number, in case we need to contact you. One rule: Please don’t send us recycled photos. We want photos of this year’s hunt!
If you have any questions, call me at 367-2135.
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This hot weather hasn’t been great for fishing, which is probably good since I personally have been too swamped to be able to get out there. However, the river is near its summer low and passage of the spring chinook and summer steelhead are tapering off, which is typical for this time of year.
Word is fishing at Foster and Green Peter has been hit-and-miss. Kokanee are biting off and on at Green Pete, with some nice 13-14 inchers being taken at about 35-50 feet.
State and federal fishery managers decided last week to allow recreational salmon fishing seven days a week in the Pacific Ocean from Cape Falcon, Ore., to Leadbetter Point, Wash., and relax the daily chinook bag limit starting Aug. 11. This area, also commonly referred to as the Columbia River ocean area, was scheduled to be open five days per week on Sundays through Thursdays through September with a two-salmon daily bag limit only one of which may be a chinook.
Low angler effort has resulted in slow progress toward the 36,600 coho and 8,300 chinook quotas and provides flexibility for additional fishing opportunity. Beginning Aug. 11, the daily bag limit is two salmon. The minimum size for chinook is 24 inches and the minimum size for coho is 16 inches. All retained coho must have a healed adipose fin-clip.
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If you’re planning to enter Weyerhaeuser forestlands in Oregon and Washington, the company is encouraging folks to call Weyerhaeuser Company’s statewide, toll-free telephone numbers before heading out to their woods. Important public access information is available during this high fire danger season.
The 24-hour numbers are the primary information source for people hunting, fishing or hiking on Weyerhaeuser’s 2.3 million acres of tree farms in Oregon and Washington.
The recorded message alerts callers about closures that may be necessary due to logging activity or fire danger. It also gives information about safety, motorized vehicle use, and hunting and visitor rules. The hotline is a helpful planning tool when considering a trip to Weyerhaeuser forests.
The Weyerhaeuser Hunter and Recreational Use Hotline for Oregon is 1-888-741-5403. For Washington, it’s 1-866-636-6531.
Be considerate when you’re on property belonging to Weyerhaeuser, CTC or any of the other private tree farms around here. Vandalism, garbage dumping and unsafe activities are going to get those gates shut.
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Drowning seems to be at the top of the bell curve in recent weeks due to the heat wave and lack of understanding by water recreationists. Since the first week of June, 26 people have drowned on Oregon waterways, primarily in rivers. Some of the drownings involved non-motorized watercraft, such as rafts, kayaks, and other types of inflatables. This year, 11 people have died in boating accidents, seven
from non-motorized boats, and all but two were not wearing life jackets.
“The water can be so inviting,” says Ashley Massey, Public Affairs Specialist for the Oregon State Marine Board. “Especially on hot days, but caution needs to be exercised.”
The Oregon State Marine Board maintains statistics on boating fatalities and in the last 10 years, over one-third of the fatalities involve non-motorized watercraft. “Many of these watercraft easily capsize and you could find yourself in cold water and in trouble, quickly,” Massey adds.
Massey offers the following tips for anyone recreating on rivers:
■ Wear a properly fitting life jacket. Make sure you understand how the life jacket will perform in the type of water you are in and make sure it’s in good, serviceable condition.
■ Know the waterway. Rivers are dynamic in nature and change often, so scope out the river before you enter it. Know where there are snags, rocks, deep pools and how the current flows. A little research
about the river can go a long way in preventing an accident from happening.
■ Keep a proper lookout. Because rivers are dynamic, the banks are continually changing and so is the depth. Floating down a river can be very relaxing but it’s important to stay alert. For many, they
don’t realize they’re in trouble until they’re literally, “going through the rapids.”
For more information about boating and water safety, check out the Marine Board Web site at http://www.boatoregon.com
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On the subject of water sports, kite tubing has been prohibited by all U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-managed reservoirs in the Columbia, Willamette and Rogue river basins.
The agency announced that move last week. Banned are any “airborne towables,” which are defined as inflatable recreational devices designed to go airborne with a rider while being towed by a boat, whether or not they are specifically marketed as kite tubes.
A relatively new form of extreme water sport, kite tubing involves a large inflatable tube with a solid fabric floor on which the individual rides while being towed behind a boat. As speed increases, the entire tube lifts into the air like a kite. The rider’s lack of stability and control of the device often results in its overturning or throwing the rider, sometimes from heights of 30 feet or more, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Reports and news accounts from multiple states cite injuries and at least two deaths resulting from kite tubing, including a recent serious injury to a young man riding a kite tube at Detroit Lake.
Both Foster and Green Peter are included in the ban, along with Detroit, Big Cliff, and many of the reservoirs and lakes in Lane County.
Portland District Commander Col. Thomas O’Donovan imposed the ban because of the “high potential for serious injuries caused by the uncontrolled flight of these devices, posing risks to the rider as well as to others who may be in the area.
“Our greatest responsibility is to do everything we can to prevent injuries and fatalities on our reservoirs,” said O’Donovan. “We want visitors to our reservoirs to have fun, but more importantly, we want them to be safe.