9365206836

Thursday. July 2.1992

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Outdoocjynj

L TheTimcs-N«v8

RiEteta area ftshing • report, cali:

734-6326

andfoUcKO tłic simptc frisrnjrrtons

EchoHawk, conseryationists rap salmon plan

Crowds look -for fishing

watersfull of promise

The Hagcrman ba** aiul wucgiirpondc

-opcned-WcdncŁday— —— —. —, -

Thi*iuiihic*.«tn opening has bccomc a slatcwidc cvcni avanglcrs *cck out spiny ray*. Maybc a* an a (temat i vc co vcry long spring of crout and Mcclhcad fishing.

The potni.* alV tntimatc. They arc-a sizc chat crcutcs confidcncc. Canc pole* with bobbers vic for che incrcdihlc cdiblcs with S350 fly rodv

Barefoot urchins whittlc chrough reed

____beds wich„av much aplomb as a

profe^ional m u lloal lube.

The. waicrerafe arc incrcdihlc. Float eubes. inflatablc rafts.- canoe* and smali nluimnum craft arc common.

You also will scy miniaturę pcrsonalizcd bas* boats with two clcciric motor* and on che west sidc bas* pond. an occasionul ski boai is launcłicd.

Ycar* ago. Dcm: McCarly.’ then of Kimberiy. taught a good many pcuplc co fish Che bas* pond with a single livc nighccrawlcr riggcd Tcxas style - chat is with two hooks cmhcddcd in a long loosc trailing worm.

As I rccall. a smali beli sinker was placed abovc an cycn smal kr split %hot. Tłic splic shoi kepi che heli sinker away front the trawler.

When a fish picked up the prawkr. the ** lroc would‘fecd thrmigh-thc-cye-of-ihc-bcll sinker with yery littlc rcsfstantc.

This vyas ncccssary as tlić fish. normally a big buss.had to gci a good hotel "oir iharf^omrtcr swalłow'ti-hcforc * che hook could be set.

iThc-hardcst trick was waiting for ehe bas\ to run with che wonn. Doc was uncanny in his timing. My dud was pcctiy fair. I was lueky co get the rig in

Doc likcd the dccpcr water around che fluc chat crosscs the lakc. Back chen. it was abovc water. You walkcd along iis .silvcry sliek surfacc by pale moonlighc across what.sccmcd likc cndless rushes and cuttails.

Thcrc was ąt least one kid whu hclicvcd thcrc might be an ulligalor in tłtat swiunp. He was me.

Thcrc wcrc no alligntor*. Thcrc were mosquitoc*. chough. large prehistorie throwbiicks a-minisccnt of ptcrodactyfs -only with a meaner bite.

Modern mosejuitoes at the ponds arc not so large but what they lock in sizc they make up for in cjuantity, ingeruiity and organi/ntion.

Today*s niosquitoc* arc disgusting the way they slurp at the hug dope nmning in rivulcts along a swcaty brow.

Rucl Stayner spent morc chan a fcw good weekend* tcaclung mc sccrcts about blucgill and b.w in the ponds. The .best thing lic taught was to usc a fly smali enough for big blucgiU and large . enough to interes! fas*.

He also taught how a slow. steady retrięvc works best on blucgill when workmg subsorfaec Iccche*. nymphs and woolly buggers.

Convcr%cly. throwing the same fly in the same typc water ai differcnt limes of day and using morc erratie movcmcnt will draw big bas*......

The single best day on popping bug fishing for blucgill camc at the Hagerman ponds. Ncvcr m^nd which

one. Jusi remember that. popping bug*. arc best when ii is vciy hot. vcry .still and surfacc activity is vcry qulct.

Boss and blucgill like*over. They like pretection. |t is the single best clue I can offer an anglcr. The kcy is that thcjype of protcction rcquircd changcs with the pcrccived danger.

Both blucgill and bas$ can be pugnocious and nggressive. cspecially if they arc nesting.

A large małe boss will swallow a tennis fali if it lands near a guardcd orea. An ogitaicd nesting blucgill goes looking Pleaso see SCHOTH/D2

—
Insidc
Hunting	D2
Reereation report	D2 •

1

The Aasodated Press

BOISE - Attorncy General Larry EchoHawk and conscrvationi«ts urged Idaho’s Northwest Power Planning Council mcmhcrs to fight for tougher mcasures to ensurc the rccovery of the region'* dwindling salmon rum

At thelasfirT^Acncs of threcjdaho public hcorijtjJTEchoHiWk said Tucsday that "the third pha.se of a proposcd amendment proccss to the council'* Columbia Rivcr llasin Fish and Wildlife Program fali* shori of the Northwest Power Act's goM»of restoring produciiśc fisheries.

•"I fear that if the council givcs up hbpc for a fuli recovery, th^ fcgioA will nevcr do all that il should to help the fi di." hc told Idaho council members Robert. Sasvik and James Gollcr. The program^-’* goals should be a stronger cali to ociio/i for salmon rccoscry.** Idaho Steclhead &. Salmon Unlimited ogrted in a prepared sjatement that the plan is "wocfully inadequatc fo protect and enfance the ^anadromous. fish or to mitigatc hydropower-rclaicd anadromous fisi* losscs of the stale of Idaho.^-'

And Charles Ray. Wild Salmon Project

mterest and will do littlc to restore hcalthy. wild salmon stock>. The runs havc bccn self-sustaining. fishahk popubiinns of wild drivcn io.thc brink uf extinction by Tac tors .

fish to Idaho.'

Evcn Sherl Chapman, cjjccutisc dircslur cif the Idaho Water U<r\ Aśsociation - uhieh sometimes finds itsclf at odds with conscrsatioo groups - s^|d in a ktter to the power council that tu* giuup v%as conccmed by the proposcd amendmera'\ "mul ahscncc of any refcrcncc to cconumic impacls produccd fromTłlC usc of salmon flow augmcfitation water frum Idaho "

The powcrcoUneil hns-.becn revikiog-4ti

includiitg oscr-harsesiing. habitat lm\ and -most importantly - a gailntlct of dams on their^Snake and Culumhu rivcr migration routes.

The National Marinę Fisheries Scrvicc dccUrctf the Snake Rivcr sockcyc salmon ;ui endangered species 1?M fali. and lliis spring tłic ugency listed the region^-* spnng-suniiikrn and fali chinook salmon runs ns threaumed.

. Initial elunges in the power council'* fidi and wildlife plan fncttscd on cmcrgency habitat and produćtion nccds. h.»rvcst Pleaso see SALMON/D2

^lL*

dircctor.of Idaho Risers United, sard*the'*flsli and wildlife program sm;c last sumtncr proposcd amendment "is not in Idaho*s best m resptinse to a sicady dcclinc in the region**

STU MUAACIUUKW

Toochors from surroundlng 3ta!oa and Idaho floot down lho Salmon Rivor os part of a wildllfo ocology groduato courso from Albortson*s Collego of Idaho.

Teachers learn about wildlife along Salmon River cląssroom

Roaring rapid*. sheep and moosc. Lcwix.woodpccker> snatching salmon fłics out of the air. cutthroat trout cruising the dcpths and spcctaculor thundcrstorms all contributed“tm-uniquc*teoching moment for cducators on a float trip down the main Salmon River |a*l weck.

__I LłUghi wildlife ccofoyy as part of a

threc-unit graduate coorse Tro*m Albertion** College of Idaho that also ifldudcd geology and English credit*.

m.	Stu
	Murrell
w	Outdoors

Teachers from surrounding stale* and Idaho took the coursc to leam morc about our ccsourccs and ihcir inter-* relationships.

For cxantple. tt wxs casv to teach about our Idaho batholith (highly crodablc granitc soiU throughout central Idaho) when they saw a crcck that had run elear the prcvious day lurn into a muddy tonem after an evcning*s cloudburst the ncxt.

We wcrc in the wildcrnes.% arca *o man** activities had o minimum impact on the watershed of the stream. li wa* just naturę at work. It providcd an opponuniiy to stress the need for proper watershed management in thi* fragilc region.

I discussed the history of bighom sheep populations in Idaho and explaincd the best herds wcrc in the Lcmhi. Big Lost and Salmon Rivcr drainages which contain the richcst soils.

This i* a basie fact in wildlife management that the best soilf .raise the most wildlife sińce they olso provide *omc of the most produdivc plant lifc.

Settlers quiekly climinated thosc herds by 1880 with their guns ond diseases piswdT)rrbYilornr!tirlivestoclr:*---

Old rccordS indicotc sheep wcrc much morę of an opcn-country animals historically and were pushed back into somc of the most inhospimble country

Courso partlclponls leamod tho history of Idoho bighom sheep populotlons.

along the Salmon Rivcr wtiich hax.Idaho-Aaq)oc_would_hppc _wnh a wildnemess

batholith soil*.

• Lamb produćtion is still Iow in thcsc arcas. pa/tly as a result of ibc poor soils. Number* were rcduccd to a fcw hundred Rocky Mountain biglioms by the carly 1900*.

The Califomia bighom. whkh livcd in the dcseri country along the Jarbidge. Owyhcc. Bruneau and Snake rivcrs. was complctcly climinaicd.

Bighom number* havc incrcased to over 5.000 animals in Idaho, thonk* to an activc trappmg and transplanting program back onto historical rangę*

Catifornia blghorns from Dritish Columbia wcrc imponcd for the dc*crt* of Southern Idaho.

We saw Rocky Mountain bighom* within-20 yard* of our rafts as uc floated past.

We had the teachers runmng water qu&lity test* on the main Salmon and its tributones throughout tłic trip. ^

rivcr. thcrc was vcry littk tlegr.tdation““F water quality from pollutiint spurccs*.

• It w.i* cvident the wałcf cratained Iow lcvcl\ of minerał* as mipln be cspectcd from the granitc soils. Thcrc was a grcal varicty of bottom insect* which also show* a hcalthy water cmirunmcnt.

Fishing was caccllent with cutthroat*. rainbows and all manner of non-gamc fish ihrougliout the system. Salmon were in the proces* of migrating under our rafts to their upstream tpawning arcas. They ptOvided somc cacitemcnt..

The educator* will cany the knowlcdgc of our nutura! systetm back to their classroom.s and impart a greuler understanding of óur world lo their seudents.

Stu Muncll is Refioa 4 conserrjtioti cducator fot the Idaho Department of Fish and Gftme.

;eney-QKs chinook

for Sho-Bans

The Associated Press

FORT HALI. - The NaliociaK Marinę Fisheries Servicc hu* cmtor>c«l a 16-day chiisnok salmon speartishing sraAt lor lite Sbosbucic-Baranek Trihcv The season. which hegan Sunday and ends July 12. jllows trihal mcnibcrMu fi*h for spring-sunimer chmiMik salmon in.. ... restrictcd arcas of the Salmon Riter ł»nd ftur Souiti.Fork ul the Salmon Rivcr in central and western Idaho

William R>.\ Jr.. fisheries senricc ussistant administrator, nocifred the Fort Hall Burcau of Indian A(fairs nffice of the fcdcral ,

apprm al 4>n Mooday.

"NFMS concludcd ilial the proposcd fisheries arc not likely to jcopardizc the contmued cxistcncc of the Snake Rivcf sockcyc. spring-summer. oc fali chinook Milnton." Fox said in a letter to local BI A Superintendent Duanc Thompson.

**Thc trihes coopcratcd fully and we apprcciaie their efforts and the fact Ifat they had lo forego fisheries of considerahlc cuhural signilkancc this >car.'’

The season includes arcas of the upper Salmon Rivcr near the Suwtooth Hatchcry and the South Fork of lite Salmon Rivcr near the McCall Hatchcry.

•    Fox w role ilut the fcikral ugency.cxpecis____

ShnsfMine-Hannivk speurfishemten will takc

•    UOebinook front the upper Salmon and l(X) from lite South Forte, representing 5 to

•10 pcrcent of the fhh icfumlng to cach aroa.—

Idaho Dcparunciti of Fish and Gamo officials said the arcas dc*ign.1tetl and calch _hmits wcrc reasooabk

T*iir"*ure lr*<—acceptnble-tcr-the-

cosnmis*ton and deponment." said Fislt aixl Gamc—Commissionff Lou Racinc. a Pocatcllo attomcy.

The fcdcral ogeitcy was ćalkd in hecausc wild spring and summer chinook vilnton of Idaho arc listęd os ihrcatcncd under lhc_a fcdcral Endangered Species Act.

Tnbal fisltcrnten are limilcd tu five fatchcry-bred salmon eoch. the rcgulatrón* stipulatc.

Draft proposals available for study, comment

JEROME - Upland gamę and furbcarcr season draft proposals will available for study and comment dunng an open hsiusc July 6 and 7 at the Rceional Depuritncni of Fisli .nul Gamc Officem Jcromc.

Btologists will be availab!c to accept

public JommefU rrdnrJTaTnTlirHTmr:-

Monday and 8 a.m. lo 5 p.m. Tucsday. IntcrcMcd sponsmen also c;in cali in their suggestions during thoses times at 32*t-4350. reports Siu Murrcll. Region 4 conscryaiion cducator.

The proposals closely folio w iIm^ p,ast

•    Iwo ycars with the cxcep<ion_k oFa possiblc two-weck cxtcftsion in the sfarpiail scasoo.

SharpiaiU havc incrcased duc to cxlcnsivc arcas of conscrvation rc*crvc program land that providcs nccdcd • gr.issbnd habitat xharptai|\ prefer.

This i* particularly truć in southc.istcm Idolto. Muncll said.

Tltc sharptail season will rcmaiit closcd in the South Mills whcrc an introduction program i* in progresś. ’'

_Somc.location*.arc proposcd for hear____

t(apping closures to protect and providc additional riparian habitat. Thcsc arc fn cóoperation with' the Burcau of Land Mafwgcmcnt. U^: Forest Sernice and local soil consers-ation district*.

Canada geese roundup turns into wild chase in Colorado

The Associated Prtas

DENVER - It was billed o* an organized roundup of geese. but it grew into. wclL a wild goose chx*e.

^MA full-grown goose can be prttty imimidating," said Pat 0’Connor, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Division

of Wildlife.    _

The black-antl-whitFCifnrdA geese were not to be cookcd. but rclocatcd in on attempt co control the popu lat ion in the metro orea.

Morę thon 50 voluntcers and wildlife officen *curried

after a gogglc of 15-pound. kncc-hlgh. foul-tcmpcrcd fowls. trying to herd them into a 3^-foot high pen whcrc they could be picked up and carried to cagcs on a waiting mick.

^%*That was the point whcrc mo*r pcople were in fear of. getting pcckcd.'* said voluntccr Don Lenhan. "When one was dropped. then the Chase was on. And we had srnral chosea.*'------------ -

The geese arc molting and havc lost the fcaihcrs’thoi allow them lo fly. making tlicm cosicr to catch. but a lot crabbier. said Wildlife spokesmon Todd Malmsbury.

"You*ve got all kinds of hissing and honking and Vcry upset geese at that point." 0'Connor said.

The 15-year-old rckication effon ha* involved morc than 10.000 geese. The 272 geese captured Monday arc to be taken Co Kansas and Oklahoma. Goose herders hopc ta collect about 1.200 birds by the timc this roundup ends Wednesday. 0'Connor said.

Thcrc*s a tcchniąuc to faggingthc birds. she said. .

"Sometimes It ins*olsTi tackiing the goose. catching up with them and pouncing on them.** she said. "They*rc a lot quickcr than you cxpcci."