Oregon DFW Invites Public Comment on Proposed Fishing Rules
OutdoorHub 05.01.12
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife invites anglers and others to comment on proposed changes to the 2013 sport fishing regulations at 11 public meeting to be held throughout the state in May.
The comments received at these meetings will be presented to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission when it considers changes to the angling regulations at its August meeting in Salem. The Commission will make its final decision on the 2013 sport fishing rules in September.
Meeting dates and locations are listed below.
ODFW initiates a comprehensive review of the sport fishing regulations every four years. The public was invited to submit their proposals throughout January and February, after which they were reviewed by agency staff and officers from the Oregon State Police. Proposals that passed the review will be presented for Commission consideration.
A total of 138 public proposals were submitted and 40 have passed ODFW /OSP review. They will be presented to the Commission, along with 61 proposals from ODFW staff. Some of the statewide proposals that will be considered by the Commission include:
- Change Free Fishing Weekend to the first full weekend in June. This will align FFW with other outdoor events such as State Parks Day and National Trails Day (S).
- Reduce annual sturgeon catch limit to two fish per year (S).
- Revise regulations to allow each angler aboard a vessel to continue fishing until the daily limit of fish for all legally-licensed and juvenile anglers aboard has been achieved (P).
- Modify bait definition to allow use of hook-less “bait” attracters in the ocean salmon fishery (S).
- Re-define “lure” to include soft plastic and rubber imitations such as worms, grubs and eggs (P).
- Re-define “snagging” to help enforce anti-snagging regulations (S).
(S)= staff proposal, (P) = public proposal
The dates, times and locations of the meetings are listed below. Also listed are some of the proposed regulations related to local water bodies. A complete list of all proposed regulations and information about the regulation development process is available on the ODFW website.
All public meetings will be held from 7 – 10 p.m.
LA GRANDE: Monday, May 7 at Blue Mountain Conference Center, 404 12th St.
- Delete the special regulations for brook trout in Morgan Lake (S).
- Expand coho and fall Chinook salmon angling daily bag limit on the lower Umatilla River (S).
- Enhance bass and panfish fishery in Unity Reservoir (S).
- Bass bag limit regulation change for McKay Reservoir (P).
Contact: Tim Bailey (541) 963-2138
BEND: Tuesday, May 8 at U.S. Forest Service offices, 63095 Deschutes Market Rd.
- Create a selective, quality trout fishery in Crane Prairie Reservoir (S).
- Prohibit the use of bait in the Crooked River main stem year round (P).
- Expand trout fishing opportunities on Deschutes River in Bend (S).
- Allow retention of trophy brown trout on East Lake (P).
- Restore ODFW management for largemouth bass at Wickiup Reservoir (P).
Contact: Brett Hodgson (541) 388-6009
KLAMATH FALLS: Wednesday, May 9 at OSU Extension Service, 3328 Vandenberg Rd.
- Allow harvest of brook and brown trout on Wood and Williamson rivers, Sevenmile and Crooked creeks, and other Agency and Klamath lake tributaries (P).
- Reduce daily limits of redband trout on several rivers and streams in the Malheur Basin (S).
- Enhance bass and panfish fisheries on Dog Lake, near Lakeview (S).
Contact: Roger Smith (541) 883-5732
WHITE CITY/CENTRAL POINT: Thursday, May 10 at Jackson County Auditorium, 400 Antelope Rd., White City.
- Open Rogue River above Lost Creek Dam to all-year trout angling (S).
- Change legal angling hours on the Rogue River near Cole Rivers Hatchery (S).
- Reduce wild chinook salmon harvest on the Elk and Sixes River (S).
- Open additional 9 miles of the Illinois River to wild steelhead harvest (P).
Contact: David Haight (541) 826-8774 ext. 224 or Todd Confer (541) 247-7605
ROSEBURG: Monday, May 14 at ODFW offices, 4192 N Umpqua Hwy.
- Allow one additional hatchery steelhead in select SW Zone waters (S).
- Allow year-round fishing on Diamond Lake (P).
Contact: Laura Jackson (541) 440-3353
COOS BAY/NORTH BEND: Tuesday, May 15 at North Bend Library, 1800 Sherman Ave.
- Allow one additional hatchery steelhead in select SW Zone waters (S).
- Eliminate protective regulations for largemouth and smallmouth bass in Coquille River Basin (S).
- Allow harvest of trout greater than 20 inches in Eel Lake (S).
- See other issues under ROSEBURG.
- See other marine issues under NEWPORT.
Contact: Mike Gray (541) 888-5515
NEWPORT: Wednesday, May 16 at Hallmark Resort, 744 SW Elizabeth St.
- Establish a new angling deadline on the Alsea River (P).
- New anti-snagging rules on Salmon River (S).
- Increase the daily limit on Purple Varnish clams to first 60 or 72 taken (P).
- Return Macoma clams to immediate digging area (P).
Contact: Robert Buckman (541) 265-8306
TILLAMOOK: Thursday, May 17 at Oregon Department of Forestry, 5005 Third St.
- New anti-snagging rules on Trask and Three Rivers section of the Nestucca (S).
- Year-long catch-and-release trout fishing on select Lower Columbia River tributaries (P).
- See other marine issues under NEWPORT.
Contact: Chris Knutsen (503) 842-2741
EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD: Monday, May 21 at Lane Community College, Forum Building (#17), Room 308, 4000 E. 30th Ave., Eugene.
- Eliminate use of bait to reduce hooking mortality on wild trout in a non-stocked wild trout rearing area on the McKenzie River (S).
- Establish a new trout, steelhead and salmon fishery on Springfield Mill Race (S).
- New anti-snagging- leader length regulations on McKenzie River below Leaburg Dam (S).
- Reduce trout daily bag limit on Middle Fork Willamette below Dexter (P).
Contact: Jeff Ziller (541) 726-3515
SALEM: Tuesday, May 22 at ODFW Headquarters, 3406 Cherry Ave. N.E.
- New bass limits in several local ponds (P).
- Establish crappie limits in Henry Hagg Lake (P).
- Expand trout fishing in Salmon River Basin above anadromous fish barrier (S).
Contact: Steve Mamoyac (541) 757-4186
PORTLAND METRO: Wednesday, May 23 at ODFW NW Regional Headquarters, Bldg. #16, 17330 SE Evelyn St., Clackamas.
- Restore deadline for adipose fin-clipped chinook fishing on the Molalla River to Horse Creek Bridge (P).
- Extend bait area on the lower Tualatin River to enhance angling for warmwater species (S).
- Establish crappie limits on Henry Hagg Lake (P).
Contact: Todd Alsbury (971) 673-6011
