News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Mother Nature served up her traditional test of fishermen's fortitude with biting winds and cold temperatures on opening day of fishing season April 27, but most of those who weren't blown off the lakes could call their season opener a success.
Suttle Lake was jammed with 73 boats as the season kicked off.
"You could darn near walk across the lake on the boats," said Jim Whitney of Whitney's Sporting Goods in Sisters.
Whitney had expected some big fish to come out of Suttle Lake this year, but on Saturday the lunkers seemed to be laying low. Kokanee on a jig was the catch of the day.
Ted Fies, District Fish Biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that fishermen jigging with buzz bombs were catching lots of small kokanee at Suttle Lake.
"The people who knew how to do it were successful," Fies said. "Those that didn't, weren't."
Wind blew many fishermen off Suttle Lake, and made the morning's fishing a little rough on other lakes and reservoirs in the region. Conditions improved over the weekend.
"I think we had a pretty good opener, all things considered," Fies said. "The weather was pretty cooperative for an opener."
One fisherman, over from Portland, had high praise for the fishing at Crane Prairie.
"It was great down there," he said. "Everybody was catching fish."
He said there were, "more boats than I've ever seen in my life," but the crowd wasn't bad compared to what he's seen closer to Portland where "you have to bring your own rock" to sit on while fishing.
The action on the region's rivers was slow, Fies reported. Rivers are still running high and cold and there is still a lot of sediment from erosion associated with irrigation releases from the reservoirs.
Fies said the rivers should stabilize by early June and fishing should pick up.
In fact, this year's high water levels bode well for the entire season, especially for late-season fishing which has suffered from drought conditions the past 10 years.
According to Fies, water conditions began recovering last year and improved significantly this year. Better water conditions mean better fish growth and survival rates, all of which translate into better fishing even late into the season.
And just wait till next year.
"It really bodes well for '97," Fies said. "I think '97 could be an outstanding year."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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