Saving the North Umpqua’s bruiser winter steelhead
From the bad-ass Web site, www.busterwantstofish.com
NOTE: Too often we fly fishers demand our managers to stick their necks out for us and when they do all we do is accept the benefit and move on. Same goes for landowners who open their properties for our enjoyment. What do we do? Typically we say, “cool” to ourselves and not a word to the generous ones. So, here’s an idea, straight from the blog, Buster Wants to Fish www.busterwantstofish.com regarding the efforts of a biologist to represent us in our appreciation of wild fish and our demands to keep the wild winter fish of Oregon’s North Umpqua genetically pure and alive. Take a moment. Do this. Call or e-mail.
A giant North Umpqua winter wild.
Time to help us out in trade for all that rosy f’ing sunshine we bring to your day, good peoples.
March 17th, 2010
Seriously, we need a little help here. More to the point, thee venerable North Umpqua needs your help again, and it’s more important than we’ll ever be. Are these fish worth protecting. Would you trade this for a hatchery slum-dog? Read the story. Call the gal. Do good.”
In a nutshell, handsome, forward-thinking, cognitive All-Stars like your badass selves signed petitions, wrote letters and spoke up on behalf of not harvesting what’s left of the wild North Umpqua winter steelhead in southern Oregon for the last two years because you’re flat out just ultra smart and have crystal balls that see futures.
As opposed to those few locals crying foul that they can’t kill and keep each of the majestic fish they land, bag them up and re-discover said majestic fish and an important part of the Northwest identity all white and burned three years later in the bottom of their chest freezer, right under the soup bones and jelly they never used either.
Worthy of mention, also, is that the North Umpqua wild winter steelhead are the last pure genetic fish left in the Umpqua system, having never had to compete with swimming hatchery hot dogs that risk diluting their gorgeous genes. For more on the issue, check out our friend, critter and salmon legend Jay Nicholas speaking exhaustively on the issue of the North.
Recently on the tail of poor hatchery fish returns to a system that’s also been extremely low from lack of rain, locals have again been making noise about the lack of harvest “opportunity” above all, pressuring fish managers to re-open the kill of wild winter steelhead. We can only imagine threats of a more aggressive hatchery program aren’t far behind—something both science and common-sense says would be a crime and disaster.
So let’s f some stuff up, shall we? Together, let’s call the district bio in charge of all this and, for once in our lives, let’s be nice.
Let’s thank her for two years of fantastic fishing and general hope for the future of wild fish in the North Umpqua system. Let’s kill her with true kindness and stoke about the new no-kill regs on the North Umpqua and how you feel that’s created real opportunity to pass something critical onto our kids. All it takes is one call that lasts about one minute, ’cause when I called, this lady was seriously blown away I was thanking of her, didn’t know what to say and sincerely was happy for the call. She sounded foxy, too; south Oregon cougar foxy.
Her name is Laura Jackson. Her digits are: (541) 440-3353 ext. 247. email is: Laura.S.Jackson@state.or.us
Talking points:
– She signed the no-kill petition.
-You like and support the current management program of no-kill on wild North Umpqua winters.
-You value the catch and release of wild fish, because science says wild is the future of our fisheries.
-You feel this creates true, sustainable opportunity for both future generations and the local economy.
-You are free Friday night, she’s a cougar fox and you are ready to plow.
All joking aside, one call. One minute. Four talking points and an optional fifth. All good. Let’s try this and see what happens. Can’t hurt.
*Props to Crump for the heads up on this.