Pikeminnow anglers go for bounties, bonuses

[Washington Hunter]

Published May 14, 2006

BY JEFF BARNARD

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHINOOK LANDING, Ore. -- On his first cast of the northern pikeminnow season this year, Jim Walker pitched a black and silver lure resembling a baby salmon into the dark green waters of the Columbia River and -- BAM! -- hooked a 24-inch fish with a $4 bounty on its head.

"I thought we were really going to get into them," the 73-year-old retired manufacturing supervisor from Troutdale said from his boat in the Columbia River. "We didn't hook another one all day."

For bounty fishermen, size means nothing, numbers are everything and there is no such thing as catch and release when it comes to the most voracious predator on baby salmon in the Columbia Basin -- the northern pikeminnow.

As long as they are 9 inches long, the Bonneville Power Administration, which sells the power generated by federal hydroelectric dams in the Columbia Basin, pays $4 apiece for the first 100 fish, $5 apiece for the next 300, and $8 for every one after that.

There also are more than 1,000 $500 bonus fish, marked with a wire through the dorsal fin, scattered through the 450 miles of the lower Columbia and Snake rivers in the bounty zone to attract more fishermen and help biologists estimate the effect of what is believed to be the only bounty fishing program in the country.

Fishermen have to turn in the pikeminnows to claim the bounty. The fish are then ground up into fertilizer. Pikeminnows are not good eating; they are bony and the flesh is mushy and has little flavor.

Folks who really work at the program, 12 to 18 hours a day and seven days a week, can gross $20,000 during the May to October season. Two of the 1,800 people who sent in vouchers more than once last year got paid close to $40,000 each.

"It does take a lot of work, and it does take some knowledge to really catch 'em consistently," said Tim Caldwell, 46, of Cascade Locks, who was 10th on the money list with $19,084 for 2,425 fish, two of them bonus fish.

"I'm after it for the money. If it just comes to fishing for myself, I'd rather be fishing for salmon or walleye." Caldwell has been bounty fishing since the program started in 1991, full time for the last three years. His best day was 141 fish, but it was no casual outing -- up at 2 a.m. and fishing until 10 p.m.

The "sport reward fishery" -- the folks running it don't like the term bounty fishing -- brought in 241,000 northern pikeminnows last year as part of the program, which is financed by BPA to make up for harm caused to salmon by the network of federal hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

 

[TheTone]

But didn't slamon and steelhead populations evolve with Pikeminnows in the river systems with them?

 

[Curly]

But didn't slamon and steelhead populations evolve with Pikeminnows in the river systems with them?

Yes, but they didn't evolve with dams in the river. Bonneville power has been paying for the squawfish bounty thing for many years now to help the salmon due to the dams creating habitat for the squawfish that wasn't there prior to the dams.

 

[TheTone]

Sorry, I should have put something in the identify my sarcasm, like maybe this guy|oo . I was just trying to point out that maybe there is another problem other than pikeminnows/squawfish eating smolts.

 

[Washington Hunter]

Yeah, well I think most people know that the main problem is the dams. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Let's see...put several concrete blockades in a river that drastically impacts the salmon's ability to migrate upstream to where they spawn....hmmm, I wonder why the salmon are going extinct?

But, if reducing the pikeminnow temporarily helps to save the salmon, then I'm all for it. Because there is no way in hell they will ever remove the Columbia River dams.

 

[Curly]

Sorry, I should have put something in the identify my sarcasm, like maybe this guy|oo . I was just trying to point out that maybe there is another problem other than pikeminnows/squawfish eating smolts.

I thought maybe you felt the same way the guys that are quoted below feel; (they don't want any pikemonnows killed.)

Smallies are introduced and eat native fish. Pike minnow are native and should be there. The only reason ther is a bounty program on the CR is because the dams created habitat that is more conducive to pike minnow being able to prey on salmonids. It's a stupid and costly "solution" to the problem.

1. my comments are very reactionary because I believe in spite of the millions of dollars we are spending to restore native salmon and steelhead we aren't really willing to do what is necessary to restore them so i hate seeing sqaw fish ( northern pike minnow) being the scapegoat for the lack of human forethought concering out native species.. Killing off sqawfish is not a good answer for the problems humans have created..

2, hatchery salmon and steelhead juveniles travel down the river system is very large schools making them very attractive to all predators, wild salmon and steelhead juveniles migrate individually, are in better health and more aware of predators than are their hatchery counterparts and thus are much less attractive and vulnerable to predators...

3 I believe that hatchery salmon and steelhead are a HUGE impediment to the restoration of our native populations and thus the fewer of them that make it to the ocean the better.. therefore i like sqawfish in the river chowing on them... .

 

[BigHornRam]

"Because there is no way in hell they will ever remove the Columbia River dams."

What kind of defeatist attitude is that W. H.? Get the 4 Snake dams breached. Then claim the Columbia dam below that is the problem and only provides an "insignificant" amount of electricity. Then the next, and so on, and before you know it the Columbia is free flowing again. Simple. Don't kill the squaw fish or haze the sea lions, that will only prolong the process.

 

[JoseCuervo]

The attention to the Pikeminnows and Sea Lions is a smokescreen, diverting attention to the real issues.

I had the opportunity to travel along the Columbia this week. Probably 200 miles total. I must have seen thousands of trucks on the highways on both sides of the rivers, seemingly hundreds of trains with miles of freight cars, and I saw 2 barges in operation on the river. The amount of freight on that river is negligible relative to the freigh on either side of the river on the rails and roads.

 

[Washington Hunter]

I'm not sure freight is the issue with the Columbia River dams. More likely it is the cheap electricity they provide.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Nobody is suggesting breaching the Columbia dams. And the Lower Snake doesn't provide much for electricity. The argument around the Lower Snake is almost solely for the few grain shippers.

 

[Curly]

Something to agree w/ Jose on! Guess it had to happen eventually.

The Columbia River dams are there to stay. The 4 lower Snake R. dams..........well, they will go eventually.

 

[BigHornRam]

"Nobody is suggesting breaching the Columbia dams."

I am. Why do the job half assed? If you're going to do it, do it right. No compromise Jose. Don't worry about those Palouse grain farmers either. I hear about 20% of them threw in the towel this past year. Sold out to California developers. All those new homes are going to need electricity however. Maybe they can import it from CA?

 

[MarvB]

Maybe they can import it from CA?

Nope, none to spare...try BC Hydro to the north hump

 

[JoseCuervo]

Don't worry about those Palouse grain farmers either. I hear about 20% of them threw in the towel this past year. Sold out to California developers. All those new homes are going to need electricity however. Maybe they can import it from CA?

BHR, try and get some education so that you don't always look so stupid. The amount of electricity from the dams on the Lower Snake is a small percentage of BPA's output, and BPA is a net EXPORTER of power to places like California.

And I am pretty sure that 20% of the Palouse farmers didn't sell out last year. I think you are full of BS on that one.

 

[BigHornRam]

"and BPA is a net EXPORTER of power to places like California."

Oh really? I didn't know that. All the more reason to knock em all down to the Pacific.

"And I am pretty sure that 20% of the Palouse farmers didn't sell out last year. I think you are full of BS on that one."

Are SURE or pretty sure on that one? They are developing the hell out of that high dollar Southern Idaho farm land. What makes you think the reasonably priced real estate on the Palouse hasn't been "discovered"?

 

[MarvB]

Interesting article of the Palouse (link)

A great deal of the wheat grown on the Palouse is consumed overseas. What they can't sell, farmers count on the government to buy as food aid, which lis typically 10-15% of the crop. Without food-bank/aid orders, wheat prices would fall and so "should" land prices...but, like BHR is likely saying, the land "value" is also kept artificially high (compared to ag) by the ability, if you will, to easily turn into the next subdivision down the road.

Here's the link

http://www.unc.edu/~wwolford/Geog21Spring2004/SeedsofDiscord.doc

 

[BigHornRam]

I was getting a couple little nibbles from the Jose Fish, and then he went away. The 3lb gob of power bait I chuck in the water must have scared him off.

 

[TheTone]

Living very, very near the Palouse area I haven't noticed a huge amount of farms being listed for sale in the recent future. Heck there has been one chunk of farm ground on the Washington side listed in the local paper for a year now. If anything I'd say the Palouse is becoming better wildlife (espicially for Birds) due to some of the work being done locally by IDFG, NRCS, and the HIP program. There may be some new highway work going on in the region, but large scale development is not happening.

 

[BigHornRam]

Tone,

What's the "recent future"? Do you think all land sales are listed in the local rag? Just because large scale development is not happening now, could it be possible that it is being set up for it in years to come? When the baby boomers start to retire do you think a few of them will flee the crowded, crime infested cities, to live in quiet, nice little college town in North Idaho?
Thanks in advance for your response.

 

[TheTone]

If you were a retiring person would you want to live in Moscow? It has some elements for the retired crowd, but I don't know many willing to put up with rowdy, drunk college kids. We are seeing some subdivisions happening in the Lewiston area on some farm ground; mainly two different groups are involved in these projects both of which somewhat run the city on development type projects. The "farm" side of the company will sell land for development and then magically the "construction" side gets the development bid. One thing that may help with development in the Moscow area is the amount of environmental people in that area that fight nearly any sort of development project. The only business I can think of on the palouse that is really growing is Schweitzer in Pullman. As you mentioned retirees, I realize they will not be looking for jobs, but real substantial growth will take jobs; I just don't think we have that job base in the area. Southern Idaho is also much better set on infastructure. South of the Coeur d' Alene area our road system is terrible and is not set up well IMO to handle lots of growth. The Boise area has a much more developed transportation network to support growth.