OUTDOORS & REC
2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2021
SHEEP
Continued from Page 1B
They were aware of us,
stopping to watch for a mo-
ment, then dropping their
heads to resume feeding.
They moved toward us as
they fed, then the biggest one,
an almost full-curl ram in the
prime of his life, scraped out a
bed in the sun and lay down.
While the smaller, a half-curl
ram, continued to feed.
It is a precarious existence.
We camped on a rocky out-
crop, our beds laid on an in-
cline and ended the three-day
spring hunt without a bear.
By the time this column
sees print, the state will have
awarded spring bear hunts
for the year. For many of us,
a spring bear hunt in the
Snake River Unit is as close
as we will get to ever draw-
ing a sheep tag. Enjoy those
moments in the sun. Chances
for a sheep tag run about 1
in 200.
A person can draw only one
controlled bighorn ram tag
in Oregon in a lifetime, but
Jenni Thornton/Contributed Photo
On the fl oor of the Baker City ODFW offi ce, biologists
help Jenni Thornton pound the plug into the back of her
ram’s horn.
RECREATION REPORT
SPRING BEAR TAG DRAW
RESULTS AVAILABLE
Login at the MyODFW.
com licensing page and look
under Recreational Portfolio/
Controlled Hunts to view your
results.
WALLOWA RIVER
Catch rates for steelhead in
the Wallowa River are picking
up, which will continue as
fi sh make their way toward
hatchery facilities. Late Febru-
ary and March are usually the
best times to fi sh the Wallowa.
The bag for steelhead is two
hatchery fi sh per day through
the end of the season to ensure
enough fi sh arrive at hatchery
facilities to meet production
goals.
THIEF VALLEY RESERVOIR
Reservoir is near full pool
there is a new opportunity,
at least in the John Day and
Deschutes canyons, for a ewe
hunt, which will not count
against a hunter’s once-in-a-
lifetime chance.
In Oregon, bighorn sheep
and mountain goat hunts are
awarded in June of each year
to a few lucky hunters. It’s
the luck of the draw, but it’s
not always good luck.
Sometimes that coveted tag
comes at the least opportune
time, like when a hunter has
put on 75 pounds. The tag
is awarded on June 16 and
the hunt starts Aug. 15. The
“lucky” dude has to drop 75
pounds in two months to get
in “sheep shape!”
The deadline to apply is
May 15. Apply early. Get to
the gym. Oh, right. Well, go
hiking then, with a full back-
pack. A sheep hunt will be
with very little ice across the
reservoir and currently pro-
vides good bank fi shing oppor-
tunities. Anglers are reporting
good fi shing for rainbow trout,
many of which are healthy,
sizeable fi sh that survived
through the summer/fall and
into the winter. The spring trout
fi shery for Thief Valley Reservoir
is looking promising.
UNITY RESERVOIR
Reservoir is completely iced
over and provides ice fi shing
anglers with good and safe
ice-fi shing conditions. Ice
thickness was 8 to 12 inches in
most places, and anglers were
reporting fair to good fi shing
for rainbow trout.
Jenni Thornton/Contributed Photo
With a length of almost 40 inches, 16 inches at the bases, and 9-3/4 inches at the fourth
measurement, the 8-1/2-year-old ram is the largest ever taken by a woman in Oregon.
physically demanding. Maybe
there will be a trophy at the
end of it, maybe not. But the
memories you bring back
from the high country will be
worth it.
Approximately 81 bighorn
tags will be awarded in this
year’s drawing. One of us is
going to draw a sheep tag
this year. You or me, or that
12-year-old from Portland.
MALHEUR RESERVOIR
Ice fi shing has been good.
There have been some higher
catch rates for rainbow in the
10- to 12-inch range, but some
larger trout are also being
caught. Ice was 8 inches thick
as of Feb. 9.
IMNAHA RIVER
The Imnaha will see a push
of steelhead out of the Snake
soon, and will likely occur
with a bump in fl ows. Expect
catch rates for steelhead to
increase through the middle
of April when snowmelt
will likely put the river out
Gary Lewis is the author of
“John Nosler Going Ballistic”
and “Oregon Lake Maps and
Fishing Guide” and other titles.
To contact Gary, visit www.
garylewisoutdoors.com
of shape. The bag limit has
been reduced to two hatchery
steelhead per day through the
end of April to ensure enough
broodstock can be collected
at hatchery facilities. Catch
rates will be slow through the
winter but there’s always a
few fi sh around.
FAMILY
OWNED
GRANDE RONDE RIVER
The Grande Ronde has been
maintaining good fl ows for
fi shing and people are catching
steelhead. It’s not every year
that the river is in shape in
February but, when it is, it can
be good fi shing with relatively
few people around.
The bag limit for steelhead
has been reduced to two fi sh
per day through the end of
April to ensure enough fi sh
return to the hatchery facilities
to meet program goals.
215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440
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