Recreational bottomfish closed after excellent summer season

[Irishrover]

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/2017/09_sep/091217b.asp

Looks like the only available fishing in the ocean will be for crab, flat fish and perch. Monday marks the end to a good rock fish season.

With the salmon showing up late and the tuna staying off shore, lots of folks turned to bottom fishing. That is just what I did and enjoyed a good near shore halibut season along with rock fish and lings. Once the coho showed up in July the fishing for them was good, but the season closed on the 31st of that month with only 25% of the quota being landed. That left approximately 14,000 hatchery harvested. Around 1,700 of those coho were added to the non select central coast season.

 

[Gulfstream]

I spoke with someone from O D F W on the phone yesterday about this.The quota for black rockfish is 386 metric tons per year for recreational fishermen,minus 10% for pier and jetty fishermen. As of August ,the harvest is 380 metric tons,thus the shutdown.It makes sense to me to prevent over fishing,but I feel they could have reduced the limit by half and extended the season.Also,the person mentioned that there is a POSSIBILITY of opening a deepwater[40 fathoms and deeper]fishery in October that will include some take of yelloweye.This would get you out of the black rockfish habitat and still allow some recreational fishing.

 

[Irishrover]

I wish they would allow bottom fishing out beyond the 30 fathom line and past the 40 fathom line all summer. That should take pressure off those near shore fishing areas. I would love to run out to Nehalem Banks aka the shale pile and fish for suspended yellow tail. The problem with doing that now is Nehalem Banks is 20 some mile due west of Tillamook Head, so you have to run up from Garibaldi or down from Astoria. That is a long run to make in bad weather months. July, August or September would be a much safer time to make that run.

Opening the 40 fathom line earlier out of Newport Depoe Bay area would also have taken the pressure off those near shore black rock fish areas. During the summer those black rock fish get hammered by charters and sports boats alike. I'm guilty of doing that because I'm blocked from fish beyond 30 fathoms for rock fish. Last year the went all the way into the 20 fathom line. I know these are not ODF&W decisions, they come from NOAA Marine fisheries. ODF&W does a good job within the confines of the rules dropped on them by NOAA. Now might be a good time to pull the fly rod off the wall and hit some streams for trout. Gulfstream thank you for the information, it's appreciated.

 

[Gulfstream]

:thumb:

 

[rogerdodger]

I wish they would allow bottom fishing out beyond the 30 fathom line and past the 40 fathom line all summer. That should take pressure off those near shore fishing areas. I would love to run out to Nehalem Banks aka the shale pile and fish for suspended yellow tail. The problem with doing that now is Nehalem Banks is 20 some mile due west of Tillamook Head, so you have to run up from Garibaldi or down from Astoria. That is a long run to make in bad weather months. July, August or September would be a much safer time to make that run.

Opening the 40 fathom line earlier out of Newport Depoe Bay area would also have taken the pressure off those near shore black rock fish areas. During the summer those black rock fish get hammered by charters and sports boats alike. I'm guilty of doing that because I'm blocked from fish beyond 30 fathoms for rock fish. Last year the went all the way into the 20 fathom line. I know these are not ODF&W decisions, they come from NOAA Marine fisheries. ODF&W does a good job within the confines of the rules dropped on them by NOAA. Now might be a good time to pull the fly rod off the wall and hit some streams for trout. Gulfstream thank you for the information, it's appreciated.

that totally leaves people like me out of the fishery management equation. I've never been out past 20 fathoms and I bottom fish all year at 2 locations in CoosBay plus a few days each year nearshore to Sunset Bay (Simpson Reef), I sit at water level and pedal. Being out in nature fishing isn't just about retaining limits, a great day for me on CoosBay is retaining one lingcod under 30 inches. In Oct-Nov, I had planned to fish CoosBay several times for lings, perhaps I would have retained a total of 2 from say 4 days out and never even hooked a rockfish. Maybe I would have hooked another CaliButt or even jigged up a chinook...but because of the charters and powerboats loaded with the max # of people taking limits of Blacks all year, I now would be required to release a tasty teal 26" lingcod, perhaps the only fish I hook in 5 hours hunting them, despite the fact that my fishing presents zero risk to rockfish. F-that.

They should have cut the black limit to 3 back in June or July, when they first detected that fishing pressure and catches were running high. Then, if we were still getting close to the quota for blacks, they could have closed just them with enough quota left to account for some losses from people still allowed to fish for lings and cabs (that are well below quota according to my discussions yesterday with ODFW.) I understand fisheries management is difficult and requires compromise and balancing demands, I am still on "Team ODFW" and wish they had more resources but they blew this one for me. cheers, roger

 

[Irishrover]

When I say open bottom fish out past the 40 fathom line I should say it as all depth open for bottom fish. What has happened by using a 30 and 20 fathom line curve is a concentration of folks fishing in a much smaller area. Case in point being Newport where Stonewall Banks provided fantastic bottom fishing at an average of 15 to 17 miles out. With boats out fishing the banks it left more room and less pressure on the north and south reefs which are very close in. For folks whose nature trip is to go out beyond the horizon where there is nothing but the beautiful ocean, a trip to Nelson Island would be legal again. The idea is to expand the available fishing area and be more inclusive of fishing styles. it is not to shut folks with smaller water craft out. I doubt NOAA will entertain my idea.

 

[LingFace]

Are different species of sebastes found at different depths? I think what they are trying to do is have areas where the fish have zero fishing pressure so that we all catch the spillover from marine reserves. Supposedly that is what has contributed to the high catch rate of black rockfish and lings this year. However if it also means that blackrockfish are the only sebastes being caught, I would want to know why we don't have a more balanced approach?

 

[rogerdodger]

When I say open bottom fish out past the 40 fathom line I should say it as all depth open for bottom fish. What has happened by using a 30 and 20 fathom line curve is a concentration of folks fishing in a much smaller area. Case in point being Newport where Stonewall Banks provided fantastic bottom fishing at an average of 15 to 17 miles out. With boats out fishing the banks it left more room and less pressure on the north and south reefs which are very close in. For folks whose nature trip is to go out beyond the horizon where there is nothing but the beautiful ocean, a trip to Nelson Island would be legal again. The idea is to expand the available fishing area and be more inclusive of fishing styles. it is not to shut folks with smaller water craft out. I doubt NOAA will entertain my idea.

I get it, you didn't mean close it inside those depths, quite the opposite, keeping more water open earlier in the year makes sense, especially if it takes pressure OFF the Black rockfish schools in the nearshore area...oh well, life is good here in Oregon, time to get back to fishing.

 

[4labs]

Just my 2 cents from when I lived in Gold Beach . The fathom line didn't affect anyone except the commercial boats . Marine reserves have there place but putting one in at Port Orford is a joke. Few people want to sling their boat but better there than some place that has a port with ramps .That leaves Gold Beach , Bookings and Bandon . A group came to Gold Beach about 8 years ago and tried to force a reserve just outside of the jaws but were defeated by public outcry .The best reserve is simply the weather . I was in Brookings Tuesday to get some crab bait and the bins were full to the top with black carcasses .There is a group of old farts that fish every possible day and give away anything to there friends and family to the point that nobody wants anymore . Yet they keep fishing . Anytime the fish checker ask you how many fish you released ,that goes against the quota as a dead fish. If you must bottom fish Go to California ,thought I would never say that but fishing out of Crescent City is excellent but a long haul for most and the bag limit is higher,go figure . Quotas are a must but this late in the season a reduced bag of 1 ling and 2 blacks would have worked plus 20 ft. seas are just around the corner.

 

[Irishrover]

Up north and off the central coast the sports fathom line restrictions do play a role in where we can fish. 40 fathoms is only 240 feet, that is close in fishing and last year they rolled it back to the 20 fathom line 180 feet. There are area out side those line that are accessible to the sports fleet and if opened would take the pressure off those inshore fisheries. We run out some 35 miles for halibut and if you catch rock fish they must be released. The commercial fleet has it's own set of restrictions regarding ocean take. I'm for spreading the pressure out and giving those rock fish a little break. At least the limit is down from 15 where it was a few years ago.

 

[4labs]

Boy 15 fish . Those were the days. Remember when your limit was by the weight of the bag. The fathom line statement was only meant for the fishing we did down south and my own limited experience of inshore fishing since we seldom fished deeper than 30 fathoms As far as commercial fleet at Gold Beach that was mainly long liners that sometime fished next to us in less than 100 ft. plus live liners that sometimes were salmon guides making a income during poor fishing years . I know of a few private boaters that would go in with there buddies and buy a inshore live fish permit to write of the expenses of their boat .I don't know all the regs for commercial fishing but when you see a float 1/2 a mile long between reefs in less than 150ft. deep with maybe 200 blacks,lings and yelloweye hanging off it makes you wonder.

 

[Irishrover]

"when you see a float 1/2 a mile long between reefs in less than 150ft. deep with maybe 200 blacks,lings and yelloweye hanging off it makes you wonder"

Yikes that's a lot of fish!