LCWC November 2009.indd

Lower Columbia
Walleye Club, Inc.
November ‘09
Volume 15.11
“A Fishing Machine
Named Dave “
Part 2
Why are more and more experienced salmon fishermen
hanging a Mack’s Lure Sledge
Hammer® on the end of their
lines?
Few anglers anywhere can
provide you with better answers to that question than the
expert I’ve written about in my
previous column. That man is
Dave Pitts, a Mack’s Lure pro
from California who is one fishcatching son of a gun.
If you read my past column,
and if you haven’t you can find
it here in my column archives,
you’re already familiar with
Dave’s record He’s a tournament winning pro in both striper
and salmon fishing competition.
This time around let’s take
1
His salmon fishing friends say Dave Pitts is a “fishing machine.” Here he gets his net under another beauty. Brian
Sutton Photo.
a look at some of the things
he does with the Mack’s Lure
Sledge Hammers® he uses so
successfully for salmon.
but I continue to mark fish on
my electronics. That’s when I
employ what I call “The Sledge
Hammer® Express.”
“When I’m tournament fishing
for salmon,” Dave says, “I often
encounter a tough bite or one
that has shut down completely,
What Dave says this consists
of is attaching a stainless steel
Continued on Page 2
(Continued from Page 1)
spreader bar approximately
3-feet in length to his down
rigger ball. Attached to this
bar are four Mack’s Lure Flash
Lite® trolls. Three bladed trolls
are attached to the two tips of
the spreader bar and two four
bladed trolls are attached an
equal distance apart toward the
center of the bar.
“As I troll,” Dave says, “the
Flash Lite® troll blades imitate
a school of baitfish. In the center and between the two four
blade Flash Lite® trolls I have
a down rigger release that trails
approximately 1-foot farther
back. This is where I attach my
Sledge Hammer® lure.”
Dave says that to achieve the
best success with this lash
up you need to be sure your
Sledge Hammer® is located
about 3-feet behind the Flash
Lite trolls. The flashing blades
of the trolls get their attention, but salmon key in on the
Sledge Hammer® lure trailing
along behind.
“Both coho and kings seem to
regard the Sledge Hammer®
as an easy meal,” Dave says.
“When a fish hammers the lure
it is released from the spreader
bar. From then on it’s just you
and the fish.”
Once this much respected
California angler has a fish in
the boat, the set up he uses
permits him to get back to fishing with a minimum of delay.
All he has to do is lower the
spreader bar holding the trolls
back into the water, reclip his
Sledge Hammer® to the down
rigger release, and he’s back in
business.
Dave has another tip that anglers after trout or kokanee will
do well to heed. This applies
2
Ask Dave Pitts to name his favorite salmon fishing lures and he’ll
tell you they are Mack’s Lure Sledge Hammers®.
especially if your electronics
are marking fish but they just
aren’t hitting. If you find yourself in that situation, he says
to try raising or lowering your
down rigger by as much as 10feet in either direction.
Sometimes this simple maneuver is sufficient to get the trout
or kokanee to start biting.
“The Sledge Hammer® is a
fish catching machine just the
way it comes out of the package,” he says, “but I sometimes
make slight changes depending on conditions. Now and
then I position a flash skirt
under the skirt that comes on
the lure. Sometimes I also add
another hook to nail the short
biters that come along.”
As I’ve mentioned many times
in my past columns, sometimes
it pays off to experiment with
your lures. Dave says this applies to the Sledge Hammer®
he favors just as it does elsewhere.
Dave Pitts will also tell you that
it’s the consistent fish-attracting
flash of the Sledge Hammer®
that plays a major role in the
number of fish he takes with
it. An ever increasing number
(Continued on Page 3)
(Continued from Page 2)
of other salmon anglers will tell
you the same thing.
As I’ve noted, Dave Pitts says
the Sledge Hammer® is a
fish catching machine. Those
who’ve been fortunate to share
a boat with him say that’s an
apt description of the California
pro’s own angling skills.
-end-
It’s A Boy!
Unfortunately I learned of
the birth one day after the
October newsletter was
sent out.
Chris Wilen and his wife
Annie had a son, Wyatt
Louis Wilen, on September 23rd at 4:55 pm. He
weighed in at 7 pounds 9
ounces.
Congratulations
Chris and Annie!
WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North,
Olympia, WA 98501-1091
Kennewick men charged in
salmon, steelhead theft from
state fish hatchery collection
site PASCO
Three Kennewick men have
been charged in Franklin County District Court on several
counts involving theft of salmon
and steelhead from a Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife (WDFW) fish hatchery
collection site on the Snake
River in southeast Washington.
Peter P. Robison, 50, Robert
D. Bowen, 31, and William S.
Lueck, 40, all of Kennewick,
were charged with unlawful
fishing, fishing closed waters
and closed season, and several other violations in an Oct.
2 incident.
The men are accused of illegally taking 22 fish, including
three wild steelhead and two
wild Chinook salmon. Federal
charges are pending on possession of the wild steelhead
and salmon, which are listed as
threatened in the Snake River
under the U.S. Endangered
Species Act (ESA). The alleged ESA violations are being
referred to the federal NOAA
Fisheries Service for review
and possible civil prosecution.
Fines for the multiple state
charges range up to $5,000 per
count and up to year in jail. An
18-foot boat, trailer, five fishing
rods, and miscellaneous fishing
and boating equipment were
seized for forfeiture proceedings.
Rob McQuary of Walla Walla
observed the three men fishing from a boat at night within
the 400-foot area around the
broodstock collection area on
the Snake River adjacent to the
Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery - an
area closed to all fishing, as
stated in the state fishing rules
pamphlet.
Fulton and McQuary reported
the boat had no navigation
lights. The boat made several passes inside the closed
area, and the men caught and
landed several fish, which were
placed in a large cooler. The
officers confronted the men
just before 3 a.m. after they
removed the boat from the river
at the Lyons Ferry Marina and
were attempting to leave the
parking lot.
WDFW Enforcement Sergeants
Mike Jewell of Pasco and Jim
Nelson of Walla Walla commended their officers’ diligence
in making the case, and noted
that the anonymous tip instigated their nighttime watch.
“We appreciate this kind of
information from citizens,”
Nelson said. “We need everyone’s eyes and ears out there
to protect our fish and wildlife
resources.”
To report poaching, call toll-free
to (800) 477-6224, or contact
the Washington State Patrol to
reach WDFW officers.
Working on an anonymous tip,
WDFW Enforcement Officers
Brian Fulton of Pasco and
3
Please Join in on a Food Drive
Items needed for the food boxes
to be given out by the church for
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Please bring these items to the meeting
in November and December
boxes of powered milk
gravy mix in packets
crackers
bags or boxes of stuffing mix
Jello or pudding, any flavor
Vegetable oil
Peanut Butter
Pepper
mayonaise
Salt
mustard
canned yams
catsup
canned tuna
Chilli
cans of cranberry sauce
spagetti sauce
canned pumpkin
breakfast cereal, hot or cold
canned milk
bisquick-pancake mix
sugar- brown or white
noodles
canned vegetables
rice
Canned Fruit
top raman
canned soups
hamberger helper
canned broth
rice a roni
instant mashed potatoes
coffee
margerine or butter
juice
foil
bar soap
paper towels or napkins
toothpaste
For the December meeting we
toilet paper
also need oranges, potatoes
plactic wrap
and onions for the Christmas
boxes.
Anything you can bring is greatly appreciated
cash contributions are also welcome
Matt Bryan with
a nice walleye
caught on
crankbaits.
Congratulations
Mastt!
Top Ten Big Fish
The Top Ten Big Fish contest
for 2010 has begun. The contest for 2009 ended on October 31, 2009. Please send us
your photos and stories of your
catches so they can be put in
the newslketter.
Matt Bryan is a club member
and he went fishing with a
friend on about the 3rd of October (full moon) in Umatilla. The
weather was blustery to say the
least, but they went fishing anyway at 8:00 PM until 4:00 AM
for, I believe, was two nights.
There catch is listed below
and pictures of their catches
are above. Matt mentioned
that they went out earlier in the
day and set their route on the
fish finder and used that for
navigating in the bright moon
light, the rain, the cold and the
winds. I can testify that it was
also cold. I believe they were
pulling plugs. It seems the
walleye were feeding on shad
and their plugs.
Deb and I were at Boardman
that same weekend and the
night vision was really good.
But, we only fished during
the day and the walleye were
scarce only three caught for
two weeks of fishing. The
perch were however incredible. 14 1/8” was the largest
and numerous over 12”. We
were able to fill the freezer with
these tender filets’.
Anyway congratulations Matt
and Chad for braving the
weather and showing how it is
done!
Ron DeShais
4
President
Lyle Amundson
(503) 625-6296
twondcomets@yahoo.com
Activities Chairman
Lonnie Ireland
(503) 629-0324
Vice President
Frank Byran
(503) 728-4533
Activities Co-Chairmen
Sam Caliva
1 (503) 370-8439
avilac@q.com
Secretary
Tom Schindlbeck
(360) 687-5898
schindlbec@aol.com
Ron DeShais
(503) 531-0981
rddeshais@verizon.net
Treasurer
Jim Gurtisen
(503) 492-2338
tvc@easystreet.net
Editor
Larry McClintock
(503) 257-0553
E-Mail: lwmcclintock@comcast.
net
Membership Chairman
Louise Moudy
(503) 658-2097
roudy1@msn.com
Website
Bruce Dixon
(503) 648-5108
carvingfish@yahoo.com
Club Meeting Place
Eastside Free Methodist Church,
650 SE 139th Ave,
Portland’ Oregon
300 feet South of Stark on 139th
Club Dues are due January 1st and
expire December 31st of each
year.
And The Winners Are
Ron DeShais
16.44 Pounds
Brett Sorenson
13.49 Pounds
Roger Rauch
10.38 Pounds
Chad Willianson
9.92 Pounds
Sam Caliva
9.30 Pounds
William Schumacher 9.10 pounds
Brian Henton
7.82 Pounds
Matt Bryan
7.50 Pounds
Don Merrill
7.00 Pounds
Josh Greene
6.50 Pounds
Larry McClintock
6.50 Pounds
New Member Dues
Individual
$30.00 per year
Family
$50.00 per year
Renewable Dues
Individual
$25.00 per year
Family
$40.00 per year
Lifetime Member
$250.00
Lifetime Family
$300.00
Make all checks payable to:
Lower Columbia Walleye Club, Inc.,
PO Box 30454, Portland, OR 97294
http://www.lowercolumbiawalleyeclub.com
5
Sledge Hammer Setup
By
Dave Pitts
Mack’s Lure Pro Staff
1: Photo of the colors I have caught and released
of taken 400 Kings with.
2: Please note one adjustment I made to the
stock Sledge Hammer®, I added a bead chain
swivel which serves two purposes. One allows
you to add bait without interference of the wings,
and places your bait just beyond the skirt.
3: A finished tournament ready Sledge
Hammer®
4: Please note the fillet of Herring and how it is
folded, this is crucial. If you fold it in half you put
an even drag on your bait, if you off set it slightly
as pictured you will get a rotating movement and
is why I incorporated the bead chain swivel.
Hooking the bait through the shoulder part of the
fillet and leaving the tail end or tag end to flutter
in the water is a performer.
5: Please note the comparison of the stock bait
to the tournament ready bait
6: I use this same set up for Coho on the Coos
River and ocean in pink.
Use either anchovies or thinner strips for Coho.
I thought the members would like to see how to catch
more salmon. Those interested can call me at 503257-0553 for more info about the Sledge Hammers®.
Memebrs will get a club discount.
Larry McClintock
6
Regularly $6.00
Club Special
4 for $20.00
http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/river/station/flowplot/flowplot.cgi?VAPW1
Sledge Hammer Special
For
Club Members Only
during the
Month of November
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/or/nwis/uv/?site_no=14144700&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060
December 1 Board Meeting
December 4 General Meeting and
Christmas Party
December 21 Winter begins
December 25 Christmas
The following web sites will give you the information on the river levels and flow for the Columbia
River in the Vancouver/ Camas areas.
December
River Forecasts for flow and levels at the Vancouver Gage
November
November1 Daylight Savings
Time Ends
November 3 Board Meeting
November 5 General Meeting
November 7 & 8 Fishout Umatilla
November 3 Election Day
November 11 Veterans’ Day
November 26 Thanksgiving
7
Do I Smell
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs and the
chicken broth. Add the chilled onions, marjoram, cayenne, paprika,
salt, pepper, garlic powder, vinegar, and ground pork. Mix well.
Cover and refrigerate until ready
to use.
To make the mushrooms: Use a
spoon to scrape the black gills out
of each mushroom. Season the
mushrooms with the salt and pepper. Lightly brush the outside of
the mushrooms with olive oil.
Food?
Portobella Mushrooms
Stuffed with Cajun Pork
Divide the pork mixture into
12 equal portions and press one
portion into each mushroom.
Place mushrooms stuffing side up
directly over low heat and grill for
15-17 minutes. Serve with fresh
tomato sauce or corn relish.
Makes 6 servings
A charming appetizer with kick.
This recipe can be doubled to feed
a bigger crowd.
For the stuffing:
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
8 ounces ground pork
12 portobella mushroom caps
(about 2” diameter each),
stemmed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
Olive oil for brushing mushrooms
To make the stuffing: In a medium
sauté pan over medium heat, cook
the onion in the olive oil for 3 to
4 minutes or until the onions are
tender. Remove from stove and
chill completely.
8
the butter. Add the garlic and
cook, stirring occasionally, until
soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from
the heat and add the remaining
marinade ingredients. Stir and allow to cool at room temperature.
Using a sharp knife split open the
back of each shrimp and devein it.
Place the shrimp in a large, resealable plastic bag and pour in the
marinade. Press the air out of the
bag and seal tightly. Turn the bag
to distribute the marinade, place in
a bowl, and refrigerate for 20 to 30
minutes.
Remove the shrimp from the bag
and discard the marinade. Grill
over Direct High heat until the
shrimp are just opaque in the
center and firm to the touch, 2 to
4 minutes, turning once halfway
through grilling time. Remove
from the grill and serve warm or
at room temperature with rice, if
desired.
Makes 4 servings.
N’Awlins
Barbecue Shrimp
The herbs and spices of this peeland-eat shrimp taste great on a bed
of rice pilaf. And you can forget
about being dainty—this one’s a
finger-lickin’ feast!
For the marinade:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh
thyme
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
32 large shrimp (about 1-1/2
pounds), in their shells
To make the marinade: In a small
sauté pan over medium heat, melt
Take a kid fishing
Today Before
Tomorrow Becomes
Yesterday
a lot of people who are hurting
right now.”
The Oregon Food Bank Network is seeing a substantial
increase in the number of
people needing help, according
to Jean Kempe-Ware, Oregon
Food Bank public relations
manager.
Huge coho run
will help feed
Oregon’s hungry
October 23, 2009
CLACKAMAS, Ore. – Oregon’s
hungry will fare a little better
this year, thanks to an extraordinary run of coho salmon.
Thousands of surplus coho are
being processed at Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife
fish hatcheries along the North
Coast and Columbia River in
preparation for distribution to
the hungry through food banks
around the state.
“These huge runs of coho
couldn’t have come at a better time, with a down economy
and Oregon facing historically
high unemployment rates,” said
Bill Otto, manager of ODFW’s
North Fish Hatchery Group.
For the past two weeks, ODFW
staff, American Canadian
Fisheries employees and volunteers at six hatcheries have
been putting up to 2,000 fish
a day on ice in plastic containers known as totes and turning
them over to the Oregon Food
Bank.
“This is a lot of fish, and there
are a lot more on the way,”
said Ken Bourne, manager of
ODFW’s Sandy fish hatchery.
“What would we do with these
surplus fish if we didn’t have
the Oregon Food Bank?”
The totes are taken from the
hatcheries by semi-truck to
American Canadian Fisheries’
processing plant in Bellingham,
Wash., where the fish are filleted and flash frozen for free
in preparation for distribution to
20 regional food banks around
the state next March.
A coho salmon makes its way
up Cedar Creek on the way to
ODFW’s Sandy fish hatchery.
Photo by Rick Swart - ODFW
“The number of people seeking
emergency food through the
OFB Network is unprecedented,” she said.
“It’s not often that we have the
opportunity to get this kind of
premium protein for the families
we serve,” said Dan Crunican,
food resource developer for the
Oregon Food Bank.
The food bank and its affiliates
across the state are currently
feeding about 240,000 people
a month, up from approximately 200,000 last year. More than
a third of the recipients are
children, according to KempeWare.
No one knows for sure how
much salmon will be processed
this year – that depends on the
coho, but everyone agrees it
will be considerably more than
the 22,000 pounds of fillets that
were donated and distributed
last year.
This year’s coho run is on
track to be one of the largest
salmon returns in the Columbia
basin over the past decade,
with 703,000 coho forecast to
enter the Columbia at Astoria.
That compares to an actual
run size of 472,000 coho last
year. This year’s run was large
enough that fishery managers
increased the bag limit to three
fish a day and extended the
season in many areas. Despite these measures, several
ODFW hatcheries have been
inundated with fish.
“We’ve expanded opportunities
for sport fishermen, achieved
our hatchery production goals
and met our tribal obligations,”
said Otto, who oversees 11
hatcheries in ODFW’s Northwest Region. “We are fortunate
that we are able to help feed
ODFW staff and volunteers
process surplus coho at the
Sandy fish hatchery before
turning the fish over to the
Oregon Food Bank to help feed
Oregon’s hungry. Photo by
Rick Swart - ODFW
ODFW
Gets a pat on the
back for this one!!!
9
Close out
Special
Subject to
inventory on hand
Blue Fox Vibax Spinners $2.00
each 50 or more $1.50 each
Kwickfish $3.50 10 for $25.00
Flatfish $3.00 each 10 for
$25.00
Hot Shots $3.50 10 for $25.00
Lure Jensen Bang Tails $1.75 each
10 for $15.00
Double Indiana Spinners $1.50 12
for $15.00
I’m a new member this year,
attached is my big fish of the
year, 9.92 lb Walleye caught
Oct. 2 - 4 night fishing. Wanted
to make the big fish list and
give a bit of a fishing report,
They were bighting pretty
good over the weekend in the
Umatilla pool. We caught over
25 fish between the night bite
and during the day. It had its
usual amount of wind including
two days of rain but when we
could fish things were great.
We released all the big one’s
and kept some nice eaters. At
night we used plugs and spinners during the day.
Thanks,
Chad Williamson
Rooster Tails $2.00 or 6 for
$10.00 (all sizes)
Rooster Tail Trophy packs $7.50
each
Jet Divers sizes 10 to 50 $5.00
each
Bolo Spinners $1.00 ea 6 for
$5.00
Bolo Troll $3.00 ea 5 for $10.00
Coho Bolo $3.00 ea 5 for
$10.00
Bolo Western River $3.00 ea 5
for $10.00
Jensen Minnows $4.00 3 For
$10.00
Hawg Boss $3.00 each or 10 for
$25.00
Steelies 12 for $5.00
Contact
Larry McClintock
(503) 257-0553
10
Did You Miss It ?
The weather man was wrong
again and the people that
braved the elements were
richly rewarded. Two boats
made up the fishout on Saturday, October 3, 2009.
Boat one was Dan Dougherty,
1 walleye, and Lyle Amundson
with 3 walleye.
Boat two was Tom Schindlbeck
with one walleye and Frank
Bryan lost a BIG one.
Dan becam a new member of
the club on October 1, 2009
and caught his first walleye, 3
pounds 9 ounces.
As far as I know Sunday was a
record breaking day for a club
fishout with a catch of 66 walleye for only three boats.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Boat one was Jim Gurtisen and
Don Merrill with 5 walleye.
Boat two was Frank Bryan with
4 walleye; Lon Mills with 8 walleye and Lyle Amundson with 9
walleye. Frank and Lyle shared
a double of a 4 pound and a 3
pound. Lon Mills is also a new
member to our club and we let
him know this was a catch of a
lifetime.
Boat three was Tom Schindlbeck, Greg Dempsey and Neil
Jenkins and they had a total
of 40 walleye. They all caught
about the same number of walleye, including some doubles
and one tripple. Neil found the
hot spot and they all shared the
bounty.
Thanks to Roger Rauch for
coming up with the silver dot
idea and Larry McClintock
(Critter Gitter) for his marketing
skills to produce the overlays.
They were Fantastic!
Lyle Amundson