tacorajim
2008-05-06 01:10:18
I will try, as an old Alaskan (and Oregon/Washington/California troller), being your Lower-48 secret spy for a while.
Tomorrow night ends the 1st 4 day-week of 2008 after closing (indefinitely?)salmon trolling below Cape Falcon.
Some anticipation led those here in Southern WAto fear Oregon's entire troll fleet might invade our grounds, wiping out our harvest from Cape Falcon to Cape Ledbetter ( the only open area). But catching our fish turned to fantasy the other day when some boats arrived in port (Ilwaco) broken hearted after checking out drags, bucking a 3-4-knot current on the way up from the rest of Oregon. And some boats down from Westport were skunked as well, then had to pay the port $20-30 dollars a day to tie up.
There was no fish! I know that's grammatically incorrect But there was . . . no fish.
Floater
2008-05-09 08:16:10
Oh, I seem to remember mid April and first of May openers as traditionally disappointing....but as the month of May wore on fish would show up somewhere between The Willapa and the river for some decent scratch fishing....
tacorajim
2008-05-09 18:11:19
Roger that. I'd been money ahead if the season never started before mid-May. Whether out of Bodega Bay or Pelican, it was little more than shakedown time. Lucky to break even.
Even worse than these emergency restrictions locally, there was a whole lot of crab gear washed in shallow last winter, creating virtual salmon sanctuaries. Invisible (submerged floats) pods of tangled pot strings, and strays are everywhere. There was a token effort to clean up the mess. We heard it was a one-boat gesture that picked up a few hundred pots of the 10,000 lost, but I'd love to be wrong on this.
Best not drag your stabies inside 50 fathoms -- let alone expensive troll gear.
Just sayin'.
Update: Tomorrow about 20 trollers head out for the 2nd 4-day opener. I'm hauling out, but will keep the pulse if possible.
doryman
2008-05-13 05:50:32
From all indications this second opener was also a bust. Our dory fleet tried it off Cannon Beach and Seaside-nothing. With the price of fuel I think I am going to bag it until I hear of a real solid report. Sounds like the crabpot situation north of the river will make this area unfishable, not like it has been real fishable north of Tilamook head for the past several years due to the un-godly amounts of stray pots and gear over its head. Praying for tuna to show early, this plug only summer fishery doesn't have me real excited.
tacorajim
2008-05-24 03:07:37
Some Kings showed up in the region this opening, but I was hauled out and unable to get fresh dock skinny except that old Jack on the Petra ended up with 34 fish. Skunked the 1st day, but then he found a few. Small. 11 pound average. Dock price is sort of secret for now but I'll relay it when I hear it's been paid. I saw some fresh Chinook for sale across the river in Astoria today for $10.99/lb, but I suspect it's gillnet fish. Nevertheless it means a drastic drop from last Fall's gillnet Chinook where buyers paid twenty bucks a pound round off the boat.
It seems like the unusually cold water offshore and inshore all winter, and corresponding lack of plankton have yielded to seasonal norms just within the past couple weeks of warmer skies. But It's been touch and go with clouded satellite views to monitor with any confidence.
tacorajim
2008-05-29 01:11:45
Yesterday ended the 3rd 4-day weekly troll opening from Ledbetter to Falcon.(Remember they can only fish Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday every week until sometime in July when all this is plugged in to various treaty quota for possible revision). Some of the guys got their 50-fish weekly limit, but they were small kings And if they started out in the upper region they went without fish. What they were happy with came aboard down on the 'line' at Cape Falcon. I'm talking mostly Oregon permit holders here. The Washington guys are so far able to fish the rest of the season 4 days a week until their quota's reached. And I don't have info from Westport up.
There was a Washington Trollers meeting last week where they maybe divvied up to enable the Oregonions half the quota in this shared area, instead of 85/15% proposed in favor of the Washingtonions.
The market was volatile, with specialty buyers paying ten bucks while some buyers with dock space paid only eight per pound. Yet it was refreshing to see some of my associates out there making a thousand a day in flat weather while the synopsis for the season was disastrous.
I'm going to fade out now. Just got back in the water today. Got lots to do getting ready for tuna.
Are we all busy? I hope I hope.
tacorajim
2008-06-04 02:26:01
Most guys got blown in to whatever harbor last night. So they missed the 4th day this week. Average report here in Ilwaco. 3 days fished was 30. Quality on the small side. Lucky to have 11/lb average. (Usually means the next 2 years could be fruitful barring excessive predator kill. Or some experimental incompetent political reflex.)
Drastic price reduction from last week's $10 high. The major buyers either quickly filled fresh orders and quit buying, or fishermen had to settle for five dollars here after the 3rd day. But on the 2nd day aggressive buyers on the Oregon side of the Columbia were splitting at 11 pounds , paying 7.25 to 7.75 spot cash before the market tanked.
So fishing's worse. Price is plummeting. And those who fueled up today paid $4.30 per gallon. So what good is fishable weather anymore?
Off topic salmon-wise, but maybe of slight interest to viewers who might put on the tuna jigs later . . .a couple of warm bubbles finally popped up off Northern Oregon not that far offshore, which is encouraging. But then a top producer here (200+ ton guy) got a negative hint on this year's starting price from his local buyer, my buyer, who buys way more than any other buyer, who's been known to look a fisherman in the face and say, "I . . . am .. the market". Same old shit. He says the albacore market's flooded. 3 more weeks will tell.
tacorajim
2008-06-21 00:44:13
Things change.
This last 4-dayer got cut 2 days by sloppy weather. But there was fish on the upper half this time, finally. Still small, and not that many, but you could do 300 lbs/day (11lb. avg). The market sucks, actually, considering dock time and fuel costs. 'So and so' buyer quit buying yesterday for five bucks. But 'so and so' buyer elsewhere will call back tomorrow. Another 'so and so' buyer blames market turmoil on those Alaskan salmon. Blah blah.
I often thought it would behoove the Sitka Co-op guys, who set premium standards for fresh-delivered salmon, to integrate south. Market leverage requires unified supply channels, including Copper River fish that are often the only decent fish on the shelf here. If quality meets Co-op standards, maybe it's time to quit being so regional? Reach out long term and monopolize! Like Haas over time did with his little avocado.