Southern Oregon

As of January 1, 2017, anglers fishing for bottomfish will be required to have on board their vessel, a functional descending device. So for the last two issues of On The Water, I featured several rockfish recompression devices which included the BlackTip recompression device ($49.99; presently on sale for $9.55), the Shelton Fish Descender ($6.00) and the SeaQualizer ($55.00). There are three other...
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Ever brought up a rockfish that looks like it has drank way too many cups of coffee?  It's eyes are bulging out of its sockets and an everted stomach can be seen sticking out of its mouth like a distorted party balloon. That fish has suffered from barotrauma and if you want to save the life of that fish as...
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There has never been a more critical time than the present to read about next year's (2017) rockfish regulations, because there will be certain rule changes and specific requirements that will be affecting all groundfish fishermen, especially rock fishermen. You will not find these rule changes in the 2017 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations pamphlet. Starting January 1, 2017, everyone who is fishing for...
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I just love the month of December.  It's the time of the year when the thought of catching a silver-bright metalhead is not just a fanciful pipe dream, but a sensible rationality that can start dominating your reality. Take last week for instance.  I had just pulled up to a spot where a group of plunkers were gathering at Social Security...
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December 1 usually marks the first day that recreational crabbers can start harvesting Dungeness crab.  But impending storms are not the only reason why that opener will not be occurring this year. High levels of a deadly toxin called domoic acid has caused the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Department of Agriculture to issue statements closing all...
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It's now approaching the end of November, so I would anticipate that more Chetco River Chinook are still going to be caught this week. Usually, November is a month when you can expect to catch 25- to 35-pound kings on the Chetco for most of the month. As the month starts to wind down, the salmon run starts to abate...
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