CCA Meeting Minutes 12/6/2015

• State Executive Director Chris Cone, issued a congratulatory message regarding CCA Corvallis being recognized by the state as the Chapter of the Year at the CCA Oregon banquet.

• Cone also mentioned the recent ODFW Commission meeting on December 4th. ODFW's consideration for the gillnetting industry could set a precedent for prioritizing non-recreational fishing. Below is a summary from that commission meeting:

In September, a group of Columbia River gillnetters testified at the ODFW Commission in Seaside to tell the Commission that the bi-state Columbia River salmon fishery reforms – adopted by Oregon and Washington in 2013 -- should be scrapped in favor of a return to extensive gillnetting in the Columbia River.

This would go against the commitments made to recreational anglers and fish advocates who care about protecting our wild fish, sustainable fisheries and the sport anglers who have paid additional fees to implement key aspects of these reforms.

The December 4th ODFW commission meeting was packed with over 60 CCA members as well as members from the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, The Association of Northwest Steelheaders, and the Northwest Guides and Anglers Association. Several stood before the Commission to provide input on the transition away from the use of gillnets, and the shift to a recreational priority in the Columbia River. The Columbian published some press regarding commentary by some of those in attendance which you can read on their website here: "Sports fishing groups: Columbia River Salmon Reforms Working."

CCA's expectation is for the Commission to carry out the Columbia River reforms approved by the Oregon and Washington Fish and Wildlife Commissions and made into law in Oregon with passage of Senate Bill 830 in 2013.

We are more than halfway through that transitional period. Sport anglers are paying increased fees to fish in the Columbia and the taxpayers have helped fund the plan. Shifting direction before the changes in the bill go into effect is not acceptable.

• Other major obstacles mentioned include predation issues (such as cormorants and pinnipeds) as well as prioritizing hatcheries as beneficial to recreational angling.

• An announcement regarding details about the Fishing Derby: The event will be held July 1st-Labor Day. Anglers can enter to win weekly prizes and a grand prize.

• We have funds allocated from the national office to apply towards a habitat project for our chapter. CCA Corvallis needs to prioritize a goal for the chapter's habitat project. This will be discussed further at the next meeting in January. Ideally, the chapter needs to find some direction and choose a project we want to adopt for our chapter.

• Guest speaker Eric Martin's presentation was well received and informative. The details were extremely thorough, but some of the highlights included the pros and cons of steelheading on small water, studying structure during low flows in the summer and what to look for in winter. Martin made recommendations of allowing a hole to "rest" after hooking a fish, and moving to find fish rather than being stationary. Finally, he suggested keeping a log book and recording the date, time, water temperature, flow, moon phase, as well as the sex and condition of the fish landed. A wide variety of rigging demonstrations were also exhibited.