B-Run blues affect steelhead fishing derby - The Spokesman Review

The Clearwater Snake Steelhead Derby will be held Nov. 23-30 despite the closure of a large section of the Clearwater River to harvest of steelhead more than 28 inches long.
Officials with the steelhead derby committee at the Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce are working with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to ensure the annual fishing contest doesn’t unduly target fish that an emergency rule change is designed to protect.
When the catch-and-keep steelhead season opened Tuesday, the Clearwater River below Orofino and its North Fork were closed to harvest of hatchery steelhead longer than 28 …

Idaho fish managers are asking anglers to go beyond the restrictive emergency regulations set to protect the dismal run of salmon to the Clearwater River.
Release the protected fish longer than 28 inches as quickly as possible to increase their odds of survival, says Joe DuPont, Idaho Fish and Game Department regional fisheries manager.
Some anglers place marks on their boats so they can measure fish without taking them out of the water.
“This helps prevent people from dropping a struggling fish in the bottom of their boat, which increases the likelihood of handling mortality,” he said.
The Clearwater Snake Steelhead Derby will be held Nov. 23-30 despite the closure of a large section of the Clearwater River to harvest of steelhead more than 28 inches long.
Officials with the steelhead derby committee at the Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce are working with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to ensure the annual fishing contest doesn’t unduly target fish that an emergency rule change is designed to protect.
When the catch-and-keep steelhead season opened Tuesday, the Clearwater River below Orofino and its North Fork were closed to harvest of hatchery steelhead longer than 28 inches. The rule is designed to protect the 2,000 large B-run steelhead predicted to return to Dworshak National Fish Hatchery.
Virtually every one of the fish will be needed to meet spawning goals.
The Clearwater is a destination for derby anglers and other fishermen trying to catch B-run fish renowned for their size and strength. But while this year’s run of fall chinook is setting records, B-run steelhead numbers are dismally low.
Joe DuPont, Idaho Fish and Game regional fisheries manager in Lewiston, said derby officials have agreed to make surederby participants know of the rule change and aren’t tempted to cheat.
“When you have a derby with a fairly large award for the largest fish, there is going to be a tendency for somebody to want to keep a big fish somebody would catch on the Clearwater even though it is illegal,” he said.
Derby officials will cover the rule change at the opening ceremony and also have it printed in registration packets.
As always, they plan to announce the biggest fish caught each day. This year, they will include where the fish was caught to help derby participants police each other.
Fisheries monitors and conservation officers from the department will have a presence on the Clearwater during the derby.
“I was fairly confident with all of those things in place that illegal harvest should be minimal,” DuPont said.
“I feel I was able to assure (DuPont) there will be a lot of self policing and we will be reminding (anglers) of the rules and be very clear with the restrictions,” said Chamber President Kristin Kemak.
According to the latest forecast, a total of 9,440 hatchery steelhead from Clearwater River hatcheries will return past Lower Granite Dam this fall. But only 7,888 will be adipose fin-clipped fish that have spent two or three years in the ocean and just about 2,000 of them will be bound for Dworshak, where nearly all hatchery fish are collected for spawning.
The hatchery has a goal of collecting 2,000 fish each year, leaving none available for harvest this year.
“The only way we feel confident that we can get the necessary fish to Dworshak Hatchery is to restrict all harvest of these two- and three-ocean fish,” DuPont said.
The regulations are likely to reduce the number of anglers fishing the Clearwater this fall and will hit steelhead outfitters in the pocket book. Toby Wyatt, owner of Reel Time Fishing, said the restrictions will be painful but he understands the reason they were adopted.
“It’s going to hurt a lot of us, that is for sure, but you have to do what you have to do. You have to make sure you have enough fish to make the next crop.”
Despite the poor run, both he and DuPont predicted there will still be quality fishing on the river, even if anglers have to release most of their catch. Steve Pettit, a retired Idaho Fish and Game fisheries biologist who lives at Cherrylane, is worried about the B-run, particularly the federally protected wild fish. He said years of hatchery practices combined with the increasing popularity of the fishery in the Clearwater River has taken its toll on the fish.
Runs over the past 13 years have been mostly robust due largely to positive ocean conditions in the North Pacific Ocean. However, conditions in the ocean typically run in decade-long streaks between good and bad known as the Pacific decadal oscillation. He fears the fishery has entered a period of poor ocean productivity and both the wild and hatchery runs are on a dangerous slide.
“We are probably going to have another decade where the North Pacific productivity ebbs and goes downhill,” Pettit said.
“If there is any issue at all with juvenile migration and you have a poor ocean on top of it, you are going to see much poorer returns back to the Snake River.”

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Bagwell's Bass Tactics: The Bachelor's Affect on Bass Fishing

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Bagwell's Bass Tactics: The Bachelor's Affect on Bass Fishing
by Jeremiah T. Bagwell

The weekly drama known as "The Bachelor" has ended and Bass Pro Byron Velvick has selected his soul mate. Tens of Millions of television viewers got their first glimpse of Professional Bass fishing throughout the season. This series has generated a lot of talk amongst members of the fishing community about how much Velvick's performance is going to help the industry. There is no doubt that it will have some affect on the future of our great sport, but will the attention be as great as what is predicted?

While I personally think that it was great that Byron went on television and put competitive Bass fishing in front of an outstanding number of viewers, I don't think the hype is going to affect very many anglers in the short term. There will likely be a select few that benefit from new and improved sponsorships. Velvick will obviously be one of the anglers that will see a huge influx of interest from potential sponsors, but overall I don't expect to see an obscene number of new sponsors in the upcoming season.

In a nutshell, Byron appearing on such a huge television series will have great long term implications for Bass fishing. I had a conversation with Bassmaster Classic Champion Mike Iaconnelli and we shared some similar viewpoints on the subject. During our chat, I asked Ike what affect he thought The Bachelor would have on Bass fishing. Mike said "Awesome, the more times the words Bass Fishing is brought up in main stream media, the better. It's all about awareness. There are still people out there who don't know about professional bass fishing. It's all good man." I also asked Mike if he thought the growth would be based solely on the fact that Velvick was on television so much, "No not just because of that, more like in addition to that," he said. "I've had opportunities to do stuff with Playboy, GQ, Esquire, ESPN the Magazine, etc. Other anglers are also breaking the traditional media barrier. All of this together along with the tournament organizations themselves bring better attention to the sport. FLW will be on FOX next year and ESPN is doing a great job with B.A.S.S."

What I expect to see is more individuals trying their luck at competitive bass fishing. Although the largest portion of the viewing audience was women, there were still a substantial number of male viewers. Some of these individuals may have been completely unaware that competitive fishing even existed. Now that they have been introduced to the sport, I am sure a lot of them will join our family.

In the long run the effects will be wide spread. The larger number of participants will make tournament circuits even more valuable to Corporate America. These higher numbers will attract more companies that are not endemic to the industry. If a company sees a new avenue to promote their products or services to a large portion of their Target Market, you can bet they will jump on it. I would expect to see a lot more companies start to use fishing as a promotional tool. "It's all going to take time. In the last years, there's been more main stream media attention in bass fishing than ever before. But it's like the domino effect; once non-endemic sponsors start entering the game, others will follow. Hopefully it will take the path of other sports like NASCAR and golf," Iaconnelli explained.

With the new anglers and sponsors entering the fishing community, I also expect to see an increase in tournament payouts. I would not be the least bit surprised if FLW and Genmar owner Irwin Jacobs has the first $1,000,000 Championship tournament payout in the next few years. Jacobs is one heck of a business man and he knows how to take advantage of every opportunity put in front of him. His aggressive approach with sponsors is allowing the tournament purses to increase significantly. When you add guys like Earl Bentz, Ray Scott and Irwin Jacobs to the mass marketing activities of anglers like Byron Velvick and Mike Iaconnelli, the end result will be huge. The affects of Velvick's appearance on "The Bachelor," will continue to be felt long after the "Reality Show" phenomenon has been forgotten. I just wouldn't expect to see any major changes right away.
Author: Jeremiah T. Bagwell
Email: jt_bagwell@hotmail.com
Web Site: http://www.qcbassfishing.8k.com/
Details: Nickname - JT
Birth Date - March 13, 1976
Hometown - Rock Island, IL
Family - Elisabeth (wife)
Fishing Influences - Arnold and Juanita King (Grandparents)
Years Fishing - 25+
Biggest Strength (on the water) - Pitching jigs
Biggest Weakness (on the water) - Finesse fishing

Fishing Accomplishments Winner of 2002 Exelon's Fishing for a Cure (Charity Event) 2003 ABA D46 Angler of the Year2004 ABA D46 Angler of the YearSeveral tournament winsSeveral big bass awardsBFL regional qualifierABA national championship qualifierOff the Water Accomplishments Pro Staff member for several great companiesArticles are regularly printed in American Bass Anglers and Inside Line Magazines.Bagwell's Bass Tactics (weekly column) runs on multiple very high-traffic websites.Articles are used on websites in the United States, Russia, Australia and the United KingdomFeatured in numerous newspaper articlesIn-studio guest for a regional talk radio showIn-store promotions for retail locationsOwner of BagwellsBassTactics.comActive in the Pro Bass Networks "Ask a Pro" program for kidsProudest Fishing Moment - After winning the Exelon Fishing for a Cure charity tournament, donated 20% of earnings back to the charity.
Favorite Food - Mexican and Italian
Favorite Book - Get what you deserve (How to guerilla market yourself)
Favorite Movie - Too many to list
Favorite Song - I'm gonna miss her (the fishing song)
Sponsors - Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Pflueger Reels, All Star Rods, Daiichi Hooks, Minn Kota, Mizmo Bait Co, Lake George Boat Rental, Slayden's Auto Repair, MegaStrike, Humminbird, PowerPro, Shakespeare Supreme Line, Do-It Mold Co.

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