2016 Wickup Reports

[DLM]

Great snow pack this year, water should not be in short supply like last year. Now the only question, How big will they be!101chromefish101tooexcited

 

[Dr. Matt]

Just a general question to those who follow this thread but does anyone understand why opening day this year is a Friday (April 22nd) and not Saturday. I've heard it rumored that ODFW has decided to make this a fixed date so does that mean in a few years time that opening day could be a Tuesday (say calendar year 2020)?

 

[Bill]

Yes Doc that is how I understand it.

 

[DLM]

Not sure how I feel about that, on the positive side it may take some pressure off (reduce the crowds) on the weekend following opening day.

 

[SuperD]

Not sure how I feel about that, on the positive side it may take some pressure off (reduce the crowds) on the weekend following opening day.

Doubt it. There are still a lot of people working for a living. I know of and fish some lakes with set date openings but they tend to be the 1st of the month dates. Picking the 22nd was the oddity of this case for me.

 

[chukardave1]

They picked the 22nd because that was earliest date that the fourth Saturday in April could be date wise.

 

[Dr. Matt]

So I know that this space is meant for updates on how fishing is going etc. at Wickiup, but since the opener is a bit off... I'd like to ask another broad question. I was talking with a friend of mine last night and we were speculating on the fish quality and numbers for the 2016 season when he stated that he had heard that there is an initiative afoot to kill off the kokanee fishery on Wickiup. I'm not one to spread rumor or prone to conspiracy theories but what my friend had to say got me thinking. Has anyone heard of such a movement? Is this just an urban legend? If there is something to his comments, could someone explain why this would be the case.

 

[mrmike]

First I heard of anything like this, Why! they are on an average the biggest fish in the state. There is no stocking program.

 

[chukardave1]

I have not heard of this either and truly hope its a bunch of bunk. It is the best big koke fishery in the state that has needed no real management for years. Self sustaining, ODFW should like not having to do anything and having a successful fishery like this. May want to pose this question on another site and see what responses you may get.

 

[Bill]

I really don't think so. I heard the same rumor a couple years ago about another lake,contacted Todd Ashbury at ODFW and confirmed it was B.S.

 

[DLM]

The only thing I have heard was that there are some environmentalists that have concerns about all the water that is being used by farmers and such along the Deschutes and the various irrigation canals. From what I have heard they want less water released from Wickiup and are using some frog I have never heard of as a weapon in their fight. Apparently this frog lives around Wickiup somewhere and they want to make sure it has enough water. OR maybe they want the damn taken out so the river can return to it's natural state. I don't know that this is fact, just what I have heard and I may have it completely wrong. Maybe some of our members from that area have more and better info than I have.

 

[DLM]

When in doubt just ask google. This is what I found. Sounds pretty harmless but let's not forget the poor little spotted owl........101blah101

This was dated last July.

Lawsuit Launched to Protect Deschutes River Oregon Spotted Frogs
From Damaging Dam Management​

PORTLAND, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity today submitted a formal notice of intent to sue the Bureau of Reclamation over operation and maintenance of the Crane Prairie and Wickiup dams, which are harming the Oregon spotted frog on the Deschutes River. In accordance with a settlement agreement with the Center, the frog was protected in August 2014 as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. This protection triggered a duty for the Bureau to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and adjust dam management to ensure it is not jeopardizing the survival of the frog, neither of which it has done.
“The Oregon spotted frog is one of the most imperiled amphibians in the world,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. “The Bureau of Reclamation needs to step up and ensure that management of these two Deschutes River dams doesn’t drive the Oregon spotted frog to extinction.”
The frog lives both upstream and downstream of the two dams and is harmed when the reservoirs are rapidly drawn down in the spring, stranding egg masses, and when the level of the river is raised flooding important frog habitat. These problems can likely be fixed with minimal impact to irrigation deliveries, but it will take some care on the part of the Bureau.
The frog was once common from British Columbia to Northern California along numerous rivers and lakes, including the Deschutes and Willamette, but has undergone massive declines mostly because of loss of its wetland habitats. Today there are fewer than 100 known sites where the frog still survives.
“The fate of the Oregon spotted frog is intimately tied to the health of our rivers and streams,” said Greenwald. “As we've dammed, channelized and polluted rivers across the Northwest and beyond, species like the frog have suffered. By saving these animals, we'll almost certainly improve the health of the Deschutes and other Northwest rivers.”
The Center is represented in litigation by Laurie Rule and Elizabeth Zultoski of Advocates for the West.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 900,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.​

 

[Jurassic Cowboy]

The KPO is now collecting catch records for all the lakes in Oregon. To help us out please go to the Kokaneepoweroregon.com website and under fishing reports fill out the catch record form each time you go out fishing. We can then share this data with the ODFW to show them what is being caught at the area lakes. The KPO will be working with the ODFW this year to stock Detroit Lake with larger sized kokanee in hopes that they will not be just food for the trout and chinook in the lake.

Thanks for the help improving our fishery.

 

[chukardave1]

Did just hear that because of the drought they don't expect Wickiup to fill this spring. Hoping it will top out at 88%. It's 73% right now. Also big wildcard is going to be the frog issue this season and how they have to manage flows to mitigate that (non)issue. Could be another short season up there this year.

 

[Dr. Matt]

Thanks Cowboy for the information about KPO, I'll be sure to report appropriately. On the frog thing I had read about that in the Bulletin, I hadn't put 2 and 2 together as far as any possible impact to fishing at Wickiup. It'll be interseting to see how this all plays out.

 

[kokablew234]

Visiting from Idaho couldn't get into Odell this morning because of snow, can I get into wickiup? Thanks

 

[chukardave1]

I doubt you can get in there yet. Don't believe anyone has plowed the road. I am not sure how much snow they have but would imagine it's too much to drive through unless folks have been keeping it beat down all winter.

 

[DLM]

Doesn't the Wickiup season open in April?

 

[chukardave1]

Yes April 22nd.

 

[Jonathan A]

Lake is full, campsites are empty and looking forward to opening weekend. Took a visit to scope it out on the 3rd and most off map campsites are still a little snowed in and have lots of small trees across the roads, so if you plan on going to a backwoods campsite I recommend a chain saw.