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Outdoor Notes Salmon fishing derby slated May 17-19 By Mark Freeman GOLD BEACH � The Curry Guides Association is hosting its ninth annual Spring Salmon fishing derby May 17-19 on the lower Rogue River at Gold Beach. The three-day derby will be centered around Jot�s Resort at the Rogue�s mouth and feature fund-raising dinners, raffles and auctions. The association uses money raised during the derby to fund habitat-improvement projects and a sport-fishing lobbyist in Salem. Reservations and entry forms for the derby are being accepted through April 15. The spring salmon derby starts with a check-in May 17 at Jot�s Resort, followed by dinner and raffle. Participants also will meet with their guides that night to prepare for the weekend�s fishing. The first day of fishing is May 18, with weigh-ins taking place up to 3:30 p.m. Another dinner, which includes a fund-raising auction and raffle, follows that night. The second and last day of fishing is May 19, with weigh-ins taken up to 3 p.m. The finale dinner and awards conclude the event. Some non-fishing activities are also planned for the weekend. The cost is $675 per person, which includes both days� fishing and all the dinners. Anglers will fish in teams of one to four people per boat. For more information and registration, telephone 541-247-2733, or 541-247-2608, or send inquiries by e-mail to: [email protected] . Oregonians in search of Pacific halibut will get at least four May days of deep-water fishing and a long near-shore season under new sport-fishing regulations adopted last week for West Coast halibut fishing. More of the so-called "all-depth" fishing days � during which sport-fishermen can venture far offshore to the deep-water halibut havens at depths of more than 30 fathoms � could be in store for this summer if liberal poundage quotas are not reached. The most popular area to halibut fish is off the central and northern Oregon coast, where the seasons are set for waters between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mountain. In that section, fishing inside the 30-fathom curve opens May 1 and runs through Sept. 30, or until a quota of 17,150 pounds of halibut are caught. Fishing is allowed seven days a week. The all-depth fishery will run May 11, 12 18 and 19. If additional pounds remain on the quotas, the season may open one or more of the following days: June 8, 9, 15 or 16. The August all-depth season opens Aug. 3 and may include Aug. 4, depending upon the success of sport-anglers in the May season. If the quota is not met, additional fishing days would include one or more of the following: Aug. 17 and 18 and Sept. 21 and 22. South of Humbug Mountain, where halibut angling is less popular because the fish tend to be farther offshore, has a May 1 through Sept. 30 season during which anglers can fish at any depth and any day they wish. The statewide limit remains the same: Anglers must keep the first halibut they catch that is 32 inches or more, and then stop fishing. For updates on quotas and any in-season closures, telephone the National Marine Fisheries Service hotline at 1-800-662-9825. For more information, visit the following Web site: www.hmsc.orst.edu/odfw/regs/halibut.html . (Staff writer Mark Freeman covers the outdoors for the Mail Tribune. Call him at 776-4470 or e-mail him at [email protected] ) Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.