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Fishing News Release & Updates

(Updated 1-18-12) 

 Trout season opens for ALL Oregon waters May 26 - Oct 31 2012

 

Attention Anglers:

 Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, you will need an "Aquatic Species Prevention Permit" for your drift boat, canoe or inflatable pontoon boat over 10 feet long. Permits are transferable to other non-motorized boats, but each boat on the water needs a permit. Permits go on sale Dec 1 wherever ODFW licenses are sold and online. For more information see the news release.

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Chance to win Sports Pac: Apply early for controlled hunt

 

SALEM, Ore.—Apply for a fall big game controlled hunt by Jan. 31, 2012 and you will be entered into a drawing to win one of 50 2013 Sports Pacs (a $164.75 value).

For the third year, ODFW is awarding a total of 100 Sports Pacs among the pool of hunters that apply for and are issued a fall big game controlled hunt application before April 15. While residents receive a Sports Pac, non-residents selected in the drawing will win a hunting license (a $140.50 value).

The purpose of the drawings is to encourage hunters to apply for controlled hunts early, well before the May 15 deadline. The sooner hunters apply, the better their chances of winning one of the three drawings:

  • 50 Sports Pacs (or Non-Resident Hunting Licenses) will be awarded among pool of hunters that apply between Dec. 1, 2011 and Jan. 31, 2012.
  • 30 Sports Pacs (or Non-Resident Hunting Licenses) will be awarded among pool of hunters that apply by March 15, 2012.
  • 20 Sports Pacs (or Non-Resident Hunting Licenses) will be awarded among pool of hunters that apply by April 15, 2012.

A Sports Pac includes a Combination Angling/Hunting/Shellfish License, a Combined Angling Harvest Tag, a Validation for Upland Bird and Waterfowl hunting, plus a General or Controlled Deer, General or Controlled Elk, General Cougar, General or Controlled Bear and Spring Turkey Tag.

The drawings will take place Feb. 1, March 16 and April 19 and winners will be notified by mail. Hunters unsuccessful in the first or second drawing will be re-entered into future drawings. Only one entry per hunter is allowed, meaning hunters that apply for several controlled hunts will still only be entered once. Controlled spring bear hunt applicants are not eligible for the drawing.

Hunters can apply for controlled hunts online, at a license sales agent, at ODFW offices that sell licenses, or by mail or fax order using the fax or mail order application (also found on page 17 of the 2012 Oregon Big Game Regulations).

Mail order/fax applicants should allow 7-10 days for their applications to be processed and issued. Remember, to be eligible for the drawing, the controlled hunt application must be issued, not just received, by the drawing deadlines (Jan. 31, March 15 and April 15). Controlled hunt applications can be processed and issued immediately online, at license sales agents or ODFW offices.

The deadline to apply for a controlled hunt is May 15 each year. In 2011, 79,481 out of 380,639 total applications, or almost 21 percent, were processed by April 15, 2011. That compares to 21 percent in 2011 and 16 percent in 2010.

“Most controlled hunt applications are received during the last few days,” said Deanna Erickson, ODFW license sales services manager. “However, these drawings have increased the number of early applicants.

In the past, the high volume of sales activity in the last few days prior to the deadline led to long lines and slowed or crashed the system.

The vendor that manages the license sales system is purchasing the Sports Pac and Non-Resident Hunting Licenses for the winners.

Some of Oregon’s big game hunts are limited entry, including almost all rifle hunting of deer and elk east of the Cascades and pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, and Rocky Mountain goat hunts. These hunts require a controlled hunt application.

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Contact:
Michelle Dennehy
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Michelle.N.Dennehy@state.or.us
(503) 947-6022

 

Willamette sturgeon retention season delayed until February
Columbia River seasons to open Jan. 1

 

SALEM, Ore. -- For a second straight year the traditional Jan. 1 opener for white sturgeon retention on the lower Willamette River, including Multnomah Channel and the Gilbert River, will be delayed because of an anticipated cut in the harvest quota.

ODFW fishery managers will consult with the Fish and Wildlife Commission at the Jan. 6 meeting regarding 2012 sturgeon management. Based on Commission guidance, dates for the retention season in the lower Willamette will be announced around mid-January.

According to John North, ODFW Columbia River fisheries manager, when the retention season does open in February it’s likely to be even shorter than the 12 day season in 2011.

“With the reduced catch quota and more anglers targeting Willamette River sturgeon, I expect the retention season to last just a couple of weekends,” he said. “However, the lower Willamette and other sturgeon fisheries are currently open to catch-and-release fishing all year.”

More details about the harvest quota and possible season structures on the lower Willamette will be available after the first of the year.

In the meantime, the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam and the reservoirs between Bonneville and McNary dams will open to white sturgeon retention on Jan. 1 under permanent rules. The seasons below the Wauna power lines and in the three pools above Bonneville Dam will initially be open seven days a week while the area from Wauna upstream to Bonneville Dam will be open three days a week (Thursday – Sunday). Final 2012 retention seasons for mainstem fisheries will be discussed and set at a Joint State Hearing on Jan. 26.

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