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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2017)
A16 Sports/Outdoors wallowa.com March 22, 2017 Wallowa County Chieftain Getting to steelhead poses a challenge By Tim Trainor Wallowa County Chieftain A snowy winter combined with more than a week of rain and warm weather have blown out local rivers just when steel- head fi shing should be at its peak. Before area waters rose sharply, the Wallowa River had been hitting full swing for steelhead, according to the Or- egon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Beadhead nymphs tied below a jig or bait were doing a number on steelhead, trout and whitefi sh. But the steady rise in tem- perature and precipitation kept most anglers away and kept Wallowa River fi sh pinned down trying to stay out of the main current. That’s also the case for the Grande Ronde River, which is best for fi shing when fl ows dip below 5,000 cubic feet per sec- ond. But on Monday, the river gauge at Troy measured water passing at more than 20,000 cubic feet per second, and that was on the way down from the weekend high near 30,000 cfs. Mid-March is usually the time steelhead reach the Im- naha River in signifi cant num- bers, but good fi shing will have to wait there as well until high water comes back down. Much of that high water is covering what is a below-ex- pectations run, according to ODFW. Warm water last summer, when most fi sh were traveling back to the ocean, re- duced the numbers of one-salt fi sh. But the two-salts have done fairly well, so while num- bers are below expectations for quantity, what fi sh are there are of larger than average size. Harvest on each of these rivers is limited to three hatch- ery steelhead per day and must be recorded on the combined angling tag. A Columbia Riv- er Basin endorsement is also required. Wild fi sh must be released. But the high rivers don’t mean that Wallowa County an- glers are out of luck. And although it is less sporting, a good option for har- vesting a meal is at Marr Pond in downtown Enterprise. Workers at the Wallowa Fish Hatchery placed 100 steelhead caught in their weirs into Marr. Those fi sh can be caught from the bank and no salmon or steelhead endorse- ment is required, nor must it be recorded on the combined angling tag. The limit, how- ever, is one fi sh larger than 20 inches per day. Chance for youth to win guided turkey hunt on private ranch Photo courtesy Oregon Department of Fish and Widlife ODFW has set the 2017 free fishing weekends. ODFW announces free fi shing days for 2017 Anglers and would-be an- glers can enjoy a weekend of free fi shing April 22-23. On these two days, Ore- gonians and visitors can fi sh, crab and clam for free any- where in Oregon without a license, tag or endorsement. This free fi shing week- end, as well as to two other free fi shing holidays Nov. 25-26 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1, 2018 — is in addition to the traditional free fi shing SPRING Continued from Page A10 Coach Johnson is originally from southern Oregon, but has called Wallowa County home for the last 37 years. Baseball is more than a hobby for him. weekend on June 3-4. “April 22 is also Earth Day, and what better way for Oregonians to get outside and celebrate the natural world than by taking family and friends out for a day of fi shing,” said Mike Gauvin, ODFW recreational fi shing manager. While licenses are waived during free fi shing days, all other regulations still apply. His grandfather played profes- sionally while a grandmother played “League of Their Own” ball in the 1940s. “I was pitching instructor at Joseph for fi ve years, and I coached Babe Ruth in Wal- lowa for 17 years and helped out in little league whenever Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is offer- ing 10 hunters younger than 17 the chance to win a guid- ed turkey hunt on a private ranch in Jackson County during the spring 2017 tur- key season. Ten hunts will be raffl ed off on March 31. Winners will receive one day of tur- key hunting on the C2 Ranch in Jackson County, accompa- nied by a guide who will help locate wild turkeys. A parent or other family member may also accompany the youth on the hunt. “The ranch has a lot of oak savannah and brushy ar- eas, which makes for good wild turkey habitat,” says ODFW wildlife biologist Vince Oredson. Spring turkey season runs April 15-May 31 statewide, and youth hunters also get their own two-day season April 8-9. Hunt applications are available online at http:// www.dfw.state.or.us/lands/ AH/hunting/index.asp Applications must be re- ceived at the Central Point ODFW offi ce by 5 p.m., March 31, and may be sub- mitted by mail, in person, or by emailing Vince.J.Ored- son@state.or.us There is no cost to enter the raffl e, though winners are still responsible for pur- chasing a hunting license and turkey tag before hunting. Winners will be notifi ed on April 3. Youth without hunter ed- ucation certifi cation may apply and hunt under the Mentored Youth Hunter pro- gram by visiting http://www. dfw.state.or.us/education/ mentored_youth/index.asp, but only during the regular spring turkey season (April 15-May 31), not the two-day youth season. I could,” the baseball veteran said. Despite the lack of spring- like weather, Johnson is op- timistic about the upcoming season. “We’ve got a pretty good group of core ballplayers,” he said. “We haven’t been out- side enough to get our pitch- ers working or our defense going or our hitting. We’ve been cramped up inside dif- ferent gyms. We’d get started and they’d tell us we couldn’t practice there, and we had to go someplace else. It was a constant hassle to get anything done.” Johnson longs for the days, years ago, when baseball was king in the county.. “I had over 30 kids out,” he said. “We had a varsity team, an A team and a B team and a junior varsity, and they all had schedules. We had good teams and good ballplayers. A lot of kids went on to play college ball.” For the moment, the coach is focusing on drilling funda- mentals into his team. “Over the years, we’re lacking in fundamentals. That’s the key to good base- ball. Any team without fun- damentals won’t do good,” he said. The Eagles strong points are speed and good arms. Not just on the fi eld, but the mound as well. Johnson said that hit- ting was questionable because gym hitting pales in compari- son to hitting “out in the show, where you’ve got more light and have perspective on the whole thing.” The following day saw the Eagles outhit the Pilot Rock Rockets 17 hits to 10 in an afternoon twinbill. Coach Johnson believes that aggression in all aspects of the game will be key to the team’s success this year. John- son expects all his players to carry that trait if they expect to spend time on the fi eld. Photo courtesy Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Oregon youth hunters can apply to win a guided turkey hunt in Southern Oregon. ek Jennifer Kassahn We Student of the 360-601-4302 Joseph, Oregon ANTLERRANCHBP@GMAIL.COM Mom has always been so patient, but now when I ask her questions she gets angry. IT’S NOT LIKE HER. Malichi Roberts JOSEPH CHARTER SCHOOL Malichi Roberts is the son of Corri and Willy Roberts and is a freshman at Joseph Charter School. He is actively involved in FCCLA, FFA, and the Class of 2020 Vice-President. He is also an integral part of our band program. Malichi plays basketball and baseball. Malichi is a student who makes our school a better place. The staff and administration would like to congratulate Malichi for being an outstanding student and citizen. Proudly sponsored by Joseph 432-9050 Enterprise 426-4511 Wallowa 886-9151 MEDICARE BIRTHDAY RULE If you have a Medicare Supplement Plan you have 30 days after your birthday to compare & apply for a new Supplement Plan. The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. Students are selected by the administrators of their respective schools. 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