Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 22, 2005 ODFW biologist Shannon Osbon, left, gets help tagging and releasing a winter steelhead on the Coquille River last January. Osbon hopes to affix radio collars to 50 Coquille steelhead as part of a study this year. Fish becomes star of the airwaves Outdoors By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Shannon Osbon first met Jim when the two crossed paths in the Coquille River tidewater last Thursday. Osbon knew she had a keeper. Jim fit the bill for what Osbon sought — not too old but definitely mature and a near-perfect body. "He was silver bright, long and lean, and not a mark on him," Osbon says. "We nicknamed him, ‘Jim The Bullet.’" And when Jim The Bullet sets out to share his DNA with as many Coquille females as he can this winter, Osbon will be there in a form of anadromous voyeurism that will help wild steelhead and the anglers who stalk them. Jim The Bullet is the first wild steelhead captured this winter and fitted with a special radio-transmitter that will allow Osbon, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, to track his movement throughout this year’s run. Advertisement The $175 radio transmitter, sponsored by the Port of Bandon that named him Jim after a former port commissioner, is one of 50 Osbon hopes to affix to an equal number of hatchery and wild winter steelhead to create a road map of when, where and how these fish use the Coquille’s system of forks and tributary creeks. The data will help reveal what spawning habitat wild Coquille steelhead prefer and how many hatchery-bred fish are in the mix. It can also show if hatchery and wild fish segregate themselves in the Coquille, the river’s steelhead-rich South Fork as well as other forks and tributaries. The tracking also will show where steelhead hold, when they migrate and how far they swim. It will help determine how vastly the steelhead can distribute and whether there are any unforeseen barriers to their migration. And ultimately, it will also show how many Coquille wild and hatchery steelhead survive a spawning run and return to sea. This cornucopia of information is for a river system that historically is a top 10 steelhead angling stream buoyed by hatchery fish raised elsewhere and released into the South Fork. "It’s a pretty comprehensive approach to getting an idea of what’s happening with the steelhead there," says Rhine Messmer, the ODFW’s recreational fisheries program manager. "We need to know what happens when these fish go through a fishery. Our main objective is to maintain a good, productive wild steelhead populations throughout the system." Osbon tried radio-tagging fish last year, but persistent mid-winter drought conditions allowed her to capture and tag two only steelhead. The 50-fish target is planned for this year and next year, with both years funded in part by a $65,000 grant from the ODFW’s Restoration and Enhancement Program. Another $40,000 will come from steelhead sponsorships. Based on last year’s abbreviated study and similar studies done on winter steelhead in the Umpqua River, Osbon can expect to find a wealth of information on the heretofore secret life of Jim The Bullet. Jim likely will wait for a freshet to fin out of tidewater and use a series of deep river holes for cover. If he’s like other radio-collared fish, Jim may very well swim past a spawning tributary, hold for days, then drop back downstream to head up the passed-over tributary to spawn. And Jim very likely will play the field. "Umpqua males tend to jump around a bit, spawning more than once and jumping from trib to trib," Osbon says. "They get up, do their business, then go out." Unlike radio-collared deer and elk, hatchery steelhead with radio tags must be released unharmed under Oregon angling regulations. All wild steelhead in the Coquille already must be released unharmed. If Jim gets caught and released, he likely will "sulk" for a few days, hovering in a hole to recoup before migrating again, based on Umpqua studies. When migrating, Jim may average 5 miles a day, but he could match some tagged Umpqua fish that moved an astounding 18 miles in one day’s swimming, Osbon says. And a set receiver that will be placed at the head of tidewater will count the tagged steelhead that move out to sea after spawning. "I love the fact that I’ll be able to count the number of out-migrants," she says. But before the counting commences, Osbon and a cadre of volunteer anglers need to catch the necessary 25 wild and 25 hatchery winter steelhead in tidewater — a tough place to net or catch these fish. "We’re hoping to catch early, middle and late-run fish," Osbon says. So far, Osbon only has Jim The Bullet tuned in to her receiver. But even he’s not had Osbon’s receiver beeping. Right after Jim’s capture, a freshet raised the Coquille and sent Jim packing to points unknown, Osbon says. "We’re thinking he dropped to a lower tributary or he’s in a deep pocket in tidewater somewhere," Osbon says. "That’s all right. He’ll be back." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail Fish becomes star of the airwaves ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Online Casino Fundraisers Advertisement s