01-06-2006, 03:45 PM
Photographer Don Polovich scores one, GF&P nabs 100 in Lake Oahe salmon hunt By Kevin Woster, Journal Staff Writer
State Game, Fish & Parks Department fisheries crews and Journal photographer Don Polovich both went hunting for salmon on Lake Oahe this fall.
But they used much different equipment.
The GF&P crews relied on sturdy work boats, state-of-the-art electro-shocking gear and large dip nets.
And Polovich? Well, he used his fly rod.
They both found what they were looking for in the shallow waters near Whitlock Bay, where Lake Oahe salmon came each fall in search of spawning grounds.
The fish crews took more than 100 egg-ladened female salmon, along with enough male fish to fertilize them.
Polovich caught one salmon.
And it was hard to say who was happier.
“I finally caught a salmon on a fly,” a beaming Polovich said. “I’ve been trying to do that for about 15 years.”
In fact, Polovich is one of a hard-core group of salmon hunters attracted to Whitlock Bay each fall when the salmon run is on. Mature Chinooks come into shallow water to make their spawning run, then die.
Anglers — using everything from flies to the more common metal spoons with treble hooks — are there waiting for them.
“Pretty much every day, there’s some dedicated anglers out there,” GF&P fisheries biologist Robert Hanten of Pierre said. “They have some pretty good success.”
Salmon that move in to spawn have stopped eating as they enter the final stage of their lives. But they will occasionally strike at a lure out of reflex, Hanten said.
The flashier the lure the better.
“If you use a lure with a flash of some kind, it can trigger an instinct strike by the fish,” he said.
Metal lures flipped by spinning or casting gear are most effective. Flies are more of a challenge. But Polovich said it was worth it. He took his salmon on a home-tied fly on a beautiful calm autumn morning shortly after sunrise.
“I got that first fish right away and I thought, ‘Oh boy, here we go,’” he said. “But that was the only one I caught.”
Still, that one fish was exciting news to members of the GF&P fish team, who have come to expect a fall visit from Polovich and his fly rod.
“Don finally got one? That’s great!” Hanten said. “He’s a regular up there, working them with his fly rod.”
Although catching a pre-spawn salmon on a fly means lots of casts with few rewards, fishing with shocking gear is a sure thing. GF&P resorted to the electro-shocking gear during the last two autumns, when record-low water levels left the state’s salmon spawning station at Whitlock Bay high and dry.
In previous years, GF&P extended the fish ladder — an artificial stream running down a concrete chute — far enough to reach the water. But that wasn’t feasible in 2004 and 2005.
So crews went out and got the salmon in the specially equipped boat that sends an electric current through the water and stuns fish momentarily so they can be netted and spawned.
“Electro-fishing is a fair way to collect fish,” Hanten said. “It’s not nearly as effective as running the spawning station. But we’ve been able to get the fish we needed.”
The 100-plus female salmon taken at Whitlock Bay produced about 350,000 eggs. The state of North Dakota matched that total with salmon eggs taken by spawning crews up north. Together, those two sources will provide about 700,000 eggs, which should produce about 180,000 Chinook salmon to be stocked back in Lake Oahe next year.
GF&P is upgrading its salmon stocking again, after cutting stockings for a couple of years when baitfish populations fell in the lake.
So the salmon population is expected to build again.
So there’s no doubt Polovich will be back. Maybe next year, he’ll catch two.
[url "http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/01/06/news/outdoors/344outdoors.txt"]http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/...oors/344outdoors.txt[/url]
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State Game, Fish & Parks Department fisheries crews and Journal photographer Don Polovich both went hunting for salmon on Lake Oahe this fall.
But they used much different equipment.
The GF&P crews relied on sturdy work boats, state-of-the-art electro-shocking gear and large dip nets.
And Polovich? Well, he used his fly rod.
They both found what they were looking for in the shallow waters near Whitlock Bay, where Lake Oahe salmon came each fall in search of spawning grounds.
The fish crews took more than 100 egg-ladened female salmon, along with enough male fish to fertilize them.
Polovich caught one salmon.
And it was hard to say who was happier.
“I finally caught a salmon on a fly,” a beaming Polovich said. “I’ve been trying to do that for about 15 years.”
In fact, Polovich is one of a hard-core group of salmon hunters attracted to Whitlock Bay each fall when the salmon run is on. Mature Chinooks come into shallow water to make their spawning run, then die.
Anglers — using everything from flies to the more common metal spoons with treble hooks — are there waiting for them.
“Pretty much every day, there’s some dedicated anglers out there,” GF&P fisheries biologist Robert Hanten of Pierre said. “They have some pretty good success.”
Salmon that move in to spawn have stopped eating as they enter the final stage of their lives. But they will occasionally strike at a lure out of reflex, Hanten said.
The flashier the lure the better.
“If you use a lure with a flash of some kind, it can trigger an instinct strike by the fish,” he said.
Metal lures flipped by spinning or casting gear are most effective. Flies are more of a challenge. But Polovich said it was worth it. He took his salmon on a home-tied fly on a beautiful calm autumn morning shortly after sunrise.
“I got that first fish right away and I thought, ‘Oh boy, here we go,’” he said. “But that was the only one I caught.”
Still, that one fish was exciting news to members of the GF&P fish team, who have come to expect a fall visit from Polovich and his fly rod.
“Don finally got one? That’s great!” Hanten said. “He’s a regular up there, working them with his fly rod.”
Although catching a pre-spawn salmon on a fly means lots of casts with few rewards, fishing with shocking gear is a sure thing. GF&P resorted to the electro-shocking gear during the last two autumns, when record-low water levels left the state’s salmon spawning station at Whitlock Bay high and dry.
In previous years, GF&P extended the fish ladder — an artificial stream running down a concrete chute — far enough to reach the water. But that wasn’t feasible in 2004 and 2005.
So crews went out and got the salmon in the specially equipped boat that sends an electric current through the water and stuns fish momentarily so they can be netted and spawned.
“Electro-fishing is a fair way to collect fish,” Hanten said. “It’s not nearly as effective as running the spawning station. But we’ve been able to get the fish we needed.”
The 100-plus female salmon taken at Whitlock Bay produced about 350,000 eggs. The state of North Dakota matched that total with salmon eggs taken by spawning crews up north. Together, those two sources will provide about 700,000 eggs, which should produce about 180,000 Chinook salmon to be stocked back in Lake Oahe next year.
GF&P is upgrading its salmon stocking again, after cutting stockings for a couple of years when baitfish populations fell in the lake.
So the salmon population is expected to build again.
So there’s no doubt Polovich will be back. Maybe next year, he’ll catch two.
[url "http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/01/06/news/outdoors/344outdoors.txt"]http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/...oors/344outdoors.txt[/url]
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