[ODFW-News] Ocean sport chinook season to open Saturday

[ODFW News]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife =09
Contact: 	Anne Pressentin Young (503) 872-5264 x5356=09
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us  Fax: (503) 872-5700
=09
For Immediate Release	Monday, March 11, 2003

Ocean sport chinook season to open Saturday, March 15
Earliest opener for ocean salmon since 1955


PORTLAND - The early recreational ocean salmon season between Cape Falcon =
and Humbug Mountain opens this weekend for anglers willing to brave the =
unpredictable spring weather to target chinook benefiting from good ocean =
conditions.

"We're expecting a fair number of fish out there. It may not be as good as =
last year's great year, but it will be very good," said Eric Schindler, an =
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist who leads the ocean =
salmon monitoring project in Newport.=20

Schindler said with good ocean conditions, anglers can expect to see the =
large chinook of last fall show up again. Many of the adult fish off the =
Oregon coast have spent the majority of their ocean life phase with good =
ocean productivity and feed availability.=20

But, he cautioned, pay attention to the weather.

"Things can turn very quickly in the spring and in the fall. It's hit or =
miss. Last year, we had great weather in March," Schindler said. "We're =
going to have an ocean season that lasts well into October, so anglers can =
pick their days to go fishing."

The early salmon season was set earlier this year to last from March 15 to =
April 30, 2003. Additional sport seasons for chinook and coho salmon will =
be set in mid-April by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and the =
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Current proposals call for ocean =
sport salmon seasons to be open through Oct. 31, 2003. If adopted, the =
2003 season will be the longest ocean salmon season since 1955. In 2002, =
the season was open April 1 - Oct 31.

Schindler said many of the chinook swimming off Oregon's coast come from =
California rivers, the Klamath Basin and southern Oregon basins. California=
 fish managers predict the California rivers will produce high fish =
numbers similar to last year, with the exception of the Klamath Basin =
which is slightly down. Oregon biologists expect Oregon's rivers to =
produce an above-average number of fish.

The early ocean salmon season opens Saturday, March 15, for all salmon =
except coho between Cape Falcon, near Manzanita, and Humbug Mountain near =
Port Orford. The daily bag limit is two salmon and requires retained =
chinook and the occasional steelhead to be at least 20 inches long. No =
more than two single point, single shank, barbless hooks may be used. =
Anglers are advised that chinook harvested in the Tillamook Triangular =
Control Zone March 15 - July 31 must have a healed fin clip. This =
regulation is to protect the wild Tillamook spring chinook population that =
is depressed.=20

Anglers are reminded that sport fishing rules may change from those =
printed in the 2003 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations. Changes to the =
printed pamphlet may be found are posted to the ODFW Web site at: =
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/Regulations/2003_reg_changes.htm .


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Information and Education Division
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
(503) 872-5264 ext 5528