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Oregon Dept Of Fish & Wildlife To Host Angling Event At Commonwealth Pond

Commonwealth Lake Park

BEAVERTON, Ore. -(FishNLand.com)- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is hosting a free youth angling event Saturday, May 9 at Commonwealth Pond in Cedar Hills, Oregon near Beaverton.

ODFW will stock the pond with 2,000 legal size rainbow trout and 300 larger trout, ranging from one to three pounds. The department is also supplying rods and reels for the day in addition to bait, tackle and fish bags for use by young anglers who do not have their own fishing equipment. ODFW staff and volunteers will be on hand from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to answer questions and offer assistance to less experienced youth anglers. Packets of information, including Easy Angling Oregon booklets, will be available to participants. The event is free to the public.

“This is an excellent opportunity for families to come out and discover the benefits of fishing,” said Jeff Fulop, Salmon-Trout Enhancement Program biologist for ODFW’s North Willamette Watershed District. “Giving kids a chance to catch a rainbow trout at this event is a good way to get them started on a lifetime of enjoying the many outdoor opportunities that Oregon has to offer.”

Recruiting young anglers through events like the upcoming free fishing day at Commonwealth Pond has been identified as a top priority in ODFW’s new 25-Year Angling Enhancement Plan. The plan lays out strategies, actions and pilot projects that ODFW will take to enhance recreational fishing opportunities in Oregon over the next 25 years.

Under the 2009 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations, anglers aged 13 and under do not require a license, while those 14-17 must possess a Juvenile Angling License, which can be purchased from any ODFW vendor for $6.75. All fishing regulations continue to apply for this event.
To get to Commonwealth Pond from Sunset Highway (Highway 26) take Cedar Hills Blvd. Exit south 1/2 mile and turn right on Foothills Drive. Follow Foothills Drive to Commonwealth Park.

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Last Razor-Clam Dig Of The Season Starts Saturday At Four Ocean Beaches

Twin Harbors Beach, Wa

OLYMPIA , WA-(FishNLand.com)- Clam diggers have received the go-ahead to proceed with the last razor-clam dig of the season, starting Saturday, May 9 at four ocean beaches.

Beaches open for razor-clam digging Saturday morning include Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks. Two beaches – Long Beach and Twin Harbors – will also be open for digging Sunday, May 10. Digging on all beaches must be completed by noon both days.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) authorized the digs after a series of marine toxin tests conducted by the Washington Department of Health confirmed the clams are safe to eat.

The department is able to offer one more dig this season, because there are sufficient clams remaining in the total allowable harvest for the four ocean beaches, said Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager. Low tides this weekend are as follows:

Saturday, May 9 (7:23 a.m. -1.2 ft.) – Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks
Sunday, May 10 (8:02 a.m. -1.2 ft.) – Long Beach, Twin Harbors

Ayres reminds diggers they will need an applicable 2009-10 fishing license to join in this weekend’s dig, noting that April 1 marked the beginning of a new license year. A license is required for anyone age 15 or older. Descriptions of the various licensing options are available on the WDFW website at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov. A list of state license vendors is available at wdfw.wa.gov/lic/vendors/vendors.htm.

“We strongly advise diggers to make their purchases before heading to the beach,” Ayres said. “Morning digs are very popular, and no one wants to be standing in line to buy a license at low tide.”

Under WDFW rules, harvesters may take no more than 15 razor clams and must keep the first 15 taken, regardless of size or condition. Each digger’s limit must be kept in a separate container.

Ayres noted that clam diggers are allowed to drive on beaches open to razor-clam digging – even those marked “closed to vehicles” – provided they remove their vehicles from those areas by noon each day.

However, portions of the beaches at Long Beach and Twin Harbors are closed to all public access to protect nesting western snowy plovers, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

At Long Beach, the closed area is located north of the Oysterville Road from the state park boundary north to Leadbetter Point. At Twin Harbors, the closed area is located from just south of Midway Beach Road to the first beach-access trail at Grayland Beach State Park. The closed portion at each beach includes the area beyond the mean high tide line.

“Signs clearly mark the area and instruct people to stay on the hard-packed sand,” Ayres said.

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Columbia River Tribes Protest Volume Of Fishing
Representatives of Columbia River tribes say Oregon and Washington have allowed too much nontribal fishing of upper Columbia spring chinook at the probable expense of tribes depending on what may be an unexpectedly low run.

-(FishNLand.com)- Representatives of Columbia River tribes say Oregon and Washington have allowed too much nontribal fishing of upper Columbia spring chinook at the probable expense of tribes depending on what may be an unexpectedly low run.

The Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, representing the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakama tribes, sent a letter to the states last week.

So far, tribal fishermen above Bonneville Dam have caught about 1,000 spring chinook, while nontribal fisheries have caught about 19,000, according to the letter from N. Kathryn Brigham, the group’s chairwoman. The numbers are supposed to be about equal, The Oregonian reported.

Spring chinook, the river’s most valuable fish pound for pound, are important to the tribes’ diet and commercial harvest as well as to sport fishermen and nontribal commercial fishermen.

And the wild runs of spring chinook that originate in the upper Columbia and Snake rivers are among the more endangered.

If the states and the tribes can’t agree on changes under the federal court case that covers fishing allocations, Brigham said, the tribes will go to court.

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