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|  The Steamboater Whistle Fall 2016 Volume 55, Issue 4 www.steamboaters.org North Umpqua River, Oregon |
| Announcements and Club Events |
Save the Date: Saturday, March 4, 2017
51st Annual Steamboaters' Banquet at the Steamboat Inn
Details to follow; contact the Inn for information regarding
reduced
room rates
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President's Message by Tim Goforth
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Hello Steamboaters! As we get this late fall edition of the Whistle out I hope your fall fishing went well; much better than mine, I'm sure.
First off I' d like to ask any of you that may be interested in becoming board members to please send me an e-mail or let one of the other current board members know. We have a couple of board members that will be completing their terms this summer.
The Board of Directors meetings occur the first Wednesday of each month at 5:00 pm in Roseburg at the Salud Restaurant. We are scheduled to meet there until June 2017 if you are interested coming to a meeting. Each board members attendance is crucial.
As many of you are aware we have been working with ODFW, Roseburg to get an accurate and timely fish count. Their system is antiquated and intensely time consuming. They have agreed to install the "Fish Tick" software and hardware from Salmon Soft out of Portland Oregon. This software is used at Soda Springs Dam, in the Columbia River Dams, and many other places in the US. The cost of all new hardware and the software, including updates, installation, and training is $6,800. We are seeking donations from other organizations and individuals to offset some of the cost of the purchase.
The Coastal Management Plan (CMP) states, "
The CMP identifies necessary current and new monitoring to ensure successful plan implementation. It recognizes that a robust monitoring approach is needed to inform on-going management decisions, provide adequate data for future status assessments, adaptively manage to assure actions are achieving their desired outcome, determine whether fish performance (e.g., abundance, productivity) and management goals (i.e., hatchery stray rates onto spawning grounds and harvest limits) are being met, and achieve Desired Status". Winchester Dam is one of two sites that are to account for the fish population numbers. The last published fish count numbers were for January 2016.
One wonders what the benefit of Winchester Dam is if accurate fish counts are not being made? So, we the Steamboaters, as stakeholders, are attempting to give ODFW a tool to make their job easier and timelier.
We have also been working with Pacific Rivers and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, to produce films in support of the Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Sanctuary. Both of these films are very well done; I would recommend you go online and view them.
To view each go to:
It is easy to be complacent as we enter the winter months and some of us are not actively fishing or visiting our beloved North Umpqua. However, there are ongoing concerns regarding the number of hatchery fish using the Soda Springs Dam to access the river above. Are they spawning up there? What is the percent of hatchery fish on the spawning beds? Here are some numbers of fish over the Soda Springs Dam for 2015 and 2016.
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Winter Steelhead
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Summer Steelhead
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Non clipped
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AD clipped
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Non clipped
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AD clipped
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Up
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Down
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Up
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Down
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Up
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Down
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Up
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Down
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January
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0
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0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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February
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|
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|
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March
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111
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1
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4
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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April
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115
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0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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May
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33
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0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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June
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0
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0
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0
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0
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15
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0
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0
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0
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July
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0
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0
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0
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0
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24
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0
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1
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0
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August
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0
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0
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0
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0
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9
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0
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1
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0
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September
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0
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0
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0
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0
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18
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0
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0
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0
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October
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0
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0
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0
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0
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6
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0
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1
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0
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November
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0
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0
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0
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0
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9
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0
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0
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0
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December
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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Total
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259
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1
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7
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0
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81
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0
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3
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0
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2016
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January
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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February
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3
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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March
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68
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0
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2
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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April
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221
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0
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10
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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May
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28
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0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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June
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0
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0
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0
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0
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6
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0
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27
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0
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July
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0
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0
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0
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0
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12
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0
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54
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0
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August
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0
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0
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0
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0
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4
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0
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12
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0
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September
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0
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0
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0
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0
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4
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0
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7
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0
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October
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0
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0
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0
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0
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10
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0
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10
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0
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November
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0
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0
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0
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0
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December
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0
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0
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0
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0
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Total
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321
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0
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13
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0
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36
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0
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111
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0
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Tight Lines and I hope to see you all at the annual banquet on March 4, 2017 at the Steamboat Inn.
Tim Goforth,
Steamboaters' President
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Letter to the News-Review Editor by Zane Grey
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Reprinted from the summer 1994 edition of the Steamboat Whistle
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The Silver Orange by Joe Howell
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The Silver Orange
As fly patterns go, the Silver Orange is not much to look at, and is often overlooked by steelhead fishermen used to something more complex. Yet it remains a very effective pattern throughout the year, but especially in the fall and winter months when fished in larger sizes.
The origins of this pattern are a little sketchy, but it probably was a simpler tie of Al Knudson's giant White Marabou streamer. His pattern was tied on large 5/0 to 7/0 Partridge M hooks, although these hooks have not been available for several years.
The original White Marabou had a red tail, silver body, long orange hackle, and 3-5 long white marabou plumes.
The Silver Orange is generally tied on heavy, wet fly hooks. A good hook for today's use would be the TMC 7999 1/0 - 2/0.
This pattern was developed before the advent of all the plastic materials with their flash and glitter that are prevalent on some fly patterns today. Sometimes simple may be better.
Quite a number of years ago, Dale Greenley, Dave Carlson, and I waded across the river at Susan Creek Day Use to fish a nice slot at the head of a riffle. It was September or October, and Dave tied on a 1/0 Silver Orange, and fished it through the fast water of the riffle. He quickly hooked and landed two steelhead, back-to-back, once again proving how effective even these simple flies can be.
Pattern:
Tail - none (sometimes red hackle fibers)
Body - double layer of oval silver tinsel or silver diamond braid
Hackle - dyed orange schlapen or wide neck hackle
Wing - long white bucktail
Tying thread - florescent fire orange or black
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U.S. Forest Service Proposed Calf-Copland Project by Chuck Schnautz
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Recently the Steamboaters board of directors was visited by representatives of the Umpqua Forestry Coalition (UFC) which is working with the US Forest Service in planning its Calf-Copeland Integrated Restoration Project. The project planning area covers about fifty thousand acres in the watersheds of those two creeks. Representatives of our board joined a mixed group of about 15 stakeholders to tour some of the planning area with representatives of UFC and the Forest Service.
UFC is a group individuals from diverse backgrounds whose mission is to promote greater fire resiliency on the Umpqua National Forest through advocacy during the planning process of Forest Service projects. UFC has been meeting regularly for the past six years developing its mission and establishing a collaborative relationship with the Forest Service.
The Calf-Copeland Project stated goals at this early stage of planning are:
Restore ecosystem resilience to fire, drought, pests and pathogens
Restore habitat conditions for legacy sugar pine, ponderosa pine, and white oak
Improve watershed condition
Develop shaded fuel breaks
The above goals are being used in developing an official Purpose and Need statement which should be released by early next year.
UFC has been reaching out to the stakeholders for this project on the Umpqua Nation Forest to bring them into the conversation early regarding how this project is developed to meet their needs and expectations. The hope is that early involvement will facilitate the design of projects that will meet the ecological needs of the forest, and also the interests of affected interest groups.
During the project tour Forest Service representative recognized the importance of these two watersheds in the preservation of habitat for wild fish in the North Umpqua River and the two creeks in the planning area. The early planning process is focusing on areas well away from the creeks and the North Umpqua River.
UFC is continuing its outreach to groups and the public, and plans to hold at least three public forums in the coming year to seek input to the proposed project, along with at least two more field trips open to interest parties. The Steamboaters are part of this discussion, and your board will continue to be involved in monitoring and providing comments as this project moves forward.
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First Person by Michael Baughman
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The following wonderful personal essay is a reprint from the summer 1993 Steamboat Whistle.
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2016 Annual River Clean Up and Picnic
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Youngest member of the clean-up crew getting ready to go!
Two handed clean up!
Averi Wratney and Karl Alleger
Barbara Burrus, Bob Burruss, Chuck Schnautz, Averi Wratney, Jeannie Moore, Frank Moore, Lee Lashway, Steve Evan and Bill Ladner
Bill Ladner and Eric Figuera
Bill Ladner, Bonnie Howell, Joe Howell, and Tim Goforth
Josh Voynick, Chuck Schnautz, Averi Wratney, and Susan Rudisill
Karl Konecny, Barbara Burruss, John Kurtz, Lee Lashway, and Joe Ferguson
Mark Strangeland and Joe Ferguson
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About Us |
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Steamboaters
PO Box 41266
Eugene, Oregon 97404
The mission of the Steamboaters is to preserve, promote, and restore the unique aesthetic values, the natural production of wild fish populations, and the habitat that sustains these fish on the North Umpqua River.
PO Box 41266
Eugene, Oregon 97404
Steamboaters
To join The Steamboaters go to:
www.steamboaters.org
and download the application
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