NED HICKSON , SPORTS EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3523 ❘
SPORTS @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ MARCH 18, 2017 ❘
SECTION B
Siuslaw News
Sports & Recreation
A
WEEKLY
Chinook run to be
smaller, predicts NOAA
FISHING REPORT FOR
THE LOCAL REGION
ANNOUNCES
NEW BOARD
MEMBERS
During its latest open
board meeting, the Siuslaw
Baseball Association elected
board members for the com-
ing season, which begins the
week of April 3.
The newly-elected board
includes Mike Blankenship
as president, with Jeff Stinger
elected vice president and
Natalie Blankenship serving
as secretary.
Kim Stinger will be the
board treasurer.
Additional board members
include John Meier, Mike
Sissel, Suzy Barstow, Dirk
Anderson, Vanessa Buss,
Dustin
Circle,
Crystal
Osburn, Sean Selig and Tim
Garneau.
The annual Saturday at
Miller Park will be held April
29, with the 100-inning
game, team photos and the
Pitch, Hit and Run contest.
www.dfw.state.or.us/RR
NORTH COAST
LAKES:
Nehalem Hatchery
released 200 surplus winter
steelhead into Vernonia
pond, 57 into Lost Lake
See
SBA
FISHING 3B
S PORTS
Calendar
• MARCH 21
SHS SOFTBALL
AT SUTHERLIN
4 P . M .
• MARCH 23
SHS TRACK
S IUSLAW
OFS accepting
eclypse event
reservations
I CEBREAKER
AT SHS
4 P . M .
MHS TRACK
S AILOR R ELAYS
AT MHS
4 P . M .
• MARCH 24
SHS BASEBALL
VS SWEET HOME
5 P . M .
SHS SOFTBALL
AT SWEET HOME
4:30 P . M .
T IDE T ABLE
Entrance Siuslaw River
High Tide
Low Tide
March 18
4:11am / 6.7
5:16pm/ 5.5
11:00am / 1.2
10:47pm/ 3.0
March 19
4:52am / 6.5
6:20pm / 5.2
11:55am / 1.3
11:38pm / 3.4
March 20
5:44am / 6.2
7:36pm/ 5.1
12:59pm / 1.4
March 21
6:47am / 6.1
8:49pm/ 5.2
12:48am / 3.6
2:06pm/ 1.3
March 22
7:57am / 6.1
9:47pm/ 5.5
2:08am / 3.6
3:09pm/ 1.2
March 23
9:02am / 6.3
10:32pm/ 5.9
3:16am / 3.3
4:01pm/ 0.8
March 24
9:59am / 6.7
11:10pm/ 6.3
4:12am / 2.8
4:47pm/ 0.5
S IUSLAW
N EWS
148 Maple St.
Florence
541-997-3441
PHOTOS BY NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
Warmer waters and smaller juvenile Chinnok in 2015 will likely mean anglers in search of spring catches will
have a tougher time this season.
F
isheries managers have been
predicting a slightly below-
average run of spring
Chinook salmon on the Columbia
River this year but a newly pub-
lished suggests that it may be
worse.
According to researchers from
Oregon State University and the
National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration
(NOAA), ocean conditions were
historically bad in the spring of
2015, when migrating yearling fish
that will comprise the bulk of this
spring’s adult Chinook salmon run
first went out to sea.
In fact, Pacific Decadal Oscillation
values — which reflect warm and cold
sea surface temperatures — suggest it
was one of the warmest nearshore
oceans encountered by migrating
Chinook salmon dating back to at least
1900.
The lack of food for the salmon in
2015 may have resulted in significant
mortality that will show in this year’s
run of Columbia River springers. One
way or another, it will provide new
information on fish survival and
whether juvenile salmon prey data can
help resource managers predict future
returns.
Results of the research, which was
funded by the Bonneville Power
Administration and NOAA, have just
been published in the journal Marine
Ecology Progress Series.
About 80 percent of a typical spring
Chinook run on the Columbia River
come from fish that went out to sea as
yearlings two years earlier, according
to lead author Elizabeth Daly, a senior
faculty research assistant with the
Cooperative Institute for Marine
Resource Studies, jointly operated by
OSU and NOAA out of the Hatfield
Marine Science Center in Newport.
“When juvenile salmon first enter
the ocean, it is a critical time for
them,” Daly said. “They are adjusting
to a salt-water environment, they have
to eat to survive, and they have to
avoid becoming prey themselves.
When we sampled juvenile salmon in
May and June of 2015, the fish
were much smaller and thinner
than usual, and many of them had
empty stomachs. There just wasn’t
anything for them to eat.”
Two key statistics stand out
from 2015, the researchers noted.
The California Current system off
the West Coast was more than 2.5
degrees Celsius (or 4.5 degrees
Fahrenheit) warmer than normal,
and the juvenile Chinook were
smaller and skinnier than during a
cold-water year, weighing an average
of 17.6 percent less.
When the oceanic waters off Oregon
and Washington are cold, young
salmon primarily feed on readily avail-
able fish prey such as Pacific sand
lance and smelts, which triggers their
growth spurt. When waters are
warmer, there is less food available,
and they primarily eat juvenile
anchovies and rockfish, which are
less-desirable prey than cold-water
species.
Daly said 2015 began on a some-
what positive note. Although cold-
water larval fish species were absent,
the researchers found abundant
amounts of other larval fish in January,
February and March, the fourth
See
CHINOOK 3B
ODFW offers free fishing events, tips
The Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife (ODFW) invites Oregon fami-
lies to come fishing at one of 28 free
Family Fishing events scheduled
throughout the state this spring and
summer.
The season will kick off April 1, at
Canby Pond and events will continue
almost weekly into the summer.
At each event, ODFW provides
loaner rods, reels, tackle and bait, along
with helpful tips from experienced
angling instructors.
The agency typically stocks loca-
tions with plenty of trout so partici-
pants can practice hooking, fighting
and landing a fish.
The events are designed to show
families how easy and fun fishing can
be, according to Chris Willard, ODFW
education manager.
“Fishing is a great family activity,
but it can be a little intimidating when
you’re just starting out,” he said. “Our
goal is to make it as easy as possible to
learn how to fish by offering these sup-
ported events.
“We hope everyone has a good time
at these events and discovers just how
fun fishing can be.”
Times, dates and locations of all the
Family Fishing events are posted on
the ODFW website at www.dfw.state
.or.us/education/angling/family_fish
ing.asp.
Check back periodically, as dates
and times can change.
Children ages 11 years old and
younger can fish for free, while those
12 to 17 and adults will need an Oregon
fishing license.
The Youth License for 12 to 17 year
olds includes fishing, hunting and
shellfishing for only $10.
Licenses can be purchased at
ODFW’s Online License Sales page or
from any ODFW field office or retail
license outlet.
Licenses will not be sold at the
events.
For families that can’t attend one of
the scheduled events, ODFW offers
several resources to help go fishing on
your own.
Visit the Trout 365 page at www.
dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/trout.
asp.
CORVALLIS — In antici-
pation of large numbers of
visitors to the forest to view
the total solar eclipse this
summer, on March 30 the
Siuslaw National Forest will
begin accepting reservations
for private vehicle access to
key viewing areas on Marys
Peak and Mt. Hebo.
The high meadows of
Marys Peak and Mt. Hebo,
both of which fall within the
“path of totality” — the
swath of land where viewers
will witness a total eclipse —
are expected to be of great
interest to community mem-
bers and visitors looking for
prime viewing locations for
the Aug. 21 event.
Access to both locations
will be managed via a reser-
vation system to provide a
unique viewing experience,
while ensuring public safety,
clear access for emergency
vehicles and protection of
sensitive meadows.
Those interested in visiting
the forest to view the eclipse
are strongly encouraged to
plan their visit well in
advance. The following
information will help with
early planning:
For Marys Peak, private
vehicle access the day of the
eclipse will be by reservation
only. Parking permits will be
available for three parking
areas around Marys Peak.
Access to the small Marys
Peak Campground will be
limited to Forest Service and
emergency services staff and
volunteers assisting with the
event. The road up Marys
Peak will remain open to
bicycles, though cyclists
should anticipate significant
congestion on area roads.
More information on vehi-
cle reservations will be avail-
able at www.recreation.gov
/tourParkDetail.do?contractC
ode=NRSO&parkId=151940
on March 27, with permit
reservations available from
that site beginning at 7 a.m.
on March 30.
Forest officials are also
preparing to issue a special
use permit to an outdoor
event organizer to operate a
shuttle to Marys Peak on the
day of the eclipse, as well as
See
ECLYPSE 3B
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
On the
Bite