Document text
3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Grant will build life jacket loaner stations ... Union Park assailant will spend no more time in jail ... Jordan Cove EIS due out Wednesday ... Grant will build life jacket loaner stations ... Union Park assailant will spend no more time in jail ... Jordan Cove EIS due out Wednesday ... SINCE YOU ASKED Since You Asked: Look for chinook in Bear Creek after a rain MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 27, 2015 @ 12:01 am Posted Sep. 27, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> My husband and I spent an hour at Hawthorne Park without seeing a salmon in Bear Creek. Your story on Saturday said Jim Hutchins saw 404 salmon last year, but the amount of time he watched was absent. Did it take him a week, a month, or more to inventory that many? Is there a better time of day than another to see them? —Daphne, Medford Well, Daphne, spotting fall chinook salmon moving up Bear Creek can be tricky business in downtown Medford, particularly now as it is early in the run. The chinook were present and visible as late as last Saturday from the bike path through Hawthorne Park, but they've been unseen there since then, says Jim Hutchins, the Oregon Stewardship naturalist who also has been the unofficial salmon-counter in Bear Creek the past 21 falls. "They were up past the 10th Street bridge Friday and Saturday (last week), but there's been nothing since then," Hutchins says. "I checked Monday and didn't see anything." Those chinook likely have moved into deeper water and are doing their best now to remain invisible until spawning time, he says. The best time to see chinook in Bear Creek is when they're on the move, and that normally comes after a rain or some other event that sees flows increase in the creek, Hutchins says. They're best seen at places like the Rogue River Valley Irrigation District diversion, where they can be viewed finning over the diversion's concrete base that remains after the diversion boards are pulled. Go in the morning and wear polarized glasses that reduce glare. Hutchins walks parts of Bear Creek at least once a week from late September through October to count chinook. While his counts aren't scientific and can't lead to an estimate in the numbers of chinook in the creek annually, they provide an index to gauge relative abundance and timing of the creek's chinook run year to year. —Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. To see a collection of columns, go to mailtribune.com/youasked . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 27, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501