Rain Or Shine (an outdoor column): March 2016

Monday, March 21, 2016

Rigging Prawn Spinners for Spring Chinook with Pro Escobedo of VIP Outdoors

To watch this tutorial, please follow the link to the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/rigging-prawn-spinners-vip-outdoors/

Taking Better Salmon & Steelhead Photos

Taking Better Salmon & Steelhead Photos

To read this article, please follow the link to the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/taking-better-salmon-and-steelhead-photos/

Corned Venison

To view this recipe, please follow the link to the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/the-wild-chefs-corned-venison-recipe-from-field-to-plate/

Highlights from Steelhead University's Springerpalooza 2016

To read highlights from this seminar, please follow the link below to the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/highlights-from-steelhead-universitys-2016-springerpalooza/

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

CCA Corvallis Chapter Banquet 2016

Coastal Conservation Association's Corvallis Chapter knows how to throw a party...

May your glass be filled and your tickets be drawn. The CCA Corvallis Chapter Banquet is buckets of fun!

Last year's Corvallis Chapter CCA Banquet brought 83 people through the doors of the Albany Eagles Lodge to gather for the cause of conserving our fish populations and preserving our fishing opportunities as sport anglers. This year's pre-sale tickets for the event have already greatly exceeded that number, and we still have a few groups that are expected to buy their tickets at the door. Needless to say, this year we are expecting quite a crowd!

CCA Members traveled from around the state to attend the inaugural banquet event

The event far exceeded our goals in the way of fundraising, netting the highest percentage of funds raised vs. overhead on the event itself in the state.

State Director Chris Cone leads the auction, assisting the auctioneer in spotting bids

At the State Banquet, held the Monarch Hotel and Event Center in Clackamas this past November, the Corvallis chapter was recognized for it's contributions with an award for "New Chapter of the Year."

Josh Tacchini (left) shows off the New Chapter of the Year award stands with state director Chris Cone (center).
Ty Wyatt (right) shows off his "Spark Plug" award at the CCA State Banquet

Ty Wyatt was also recognized at the State Banquet, receiving the honor of the "Spark Plug" award, an honor held for members who performed above and beyond as volunteers, contributing their service at the chapter and state levels.

Ty Wyatt and Stefanie Donaldson tear off their raffle tickets and toss them into the drawing

In the past year or so, CCA Corvallis has had held presentations by ODFW biologists, guides, product manufacturers, and outdoor writers, contributing a wealth of knowledge and inviting the most novice of anglers to improve their skills and increase their chances of catching fish. Each demonstration has packed rooms to the point that not getting there early could mean you walk into a standing room only audience.

Everything from booze to books were doled out to lucky raffle winners.

Donations from sponsors, as well as many product manufacturers, guides, writers, community organizations and businesses contributed to the success of the event. $27,546 in items, guided trips and vacation packages were donated last year. This year's banquet donations total $47,147, blowing last year's prizes out of the water. You have to play to win, but if you play, you will certainly not leave empty handed.

Bead Game participants call heads or tails by placing their hands where they think the coin will land.
Almost like a game of horse, if they miss the shot they call, they lose a string of beads. The last person with beads standing takes home the winning (crab) pot.

Games brought out the inner child of the young and old. Participants of the bead game, aka "Heads or Tails" played to win a crab pot filled miscellaneous fishing goodies. The card game winners took home a digital, wifi-controlled Green Mountain Grill wood pellet smoker.

Card Game winners Mei Li and Richard Jones celebrate with their stoked face and look forward to smoking their catches

This year's banquet promises to raise the bar, with tons of raffle prizes, silent and live auction items, trips, and vacation packages. This year's games include:

The Card Game

Prize: Daniel Boone WiFi Controlled Green Mountain Grill

Kayak Raffle

Prize: Hobe Mirage Revolution 13 Kayak Package

Beer Glass Raffle

Prize: Guided Trip for 4 with Nomad's Fishing Adventures

Bead Game (This year's bead necklaces are strung with LURED beads!)

Prize: 90 quart K2 Cooler

In addition to the games, the live auction items this year offer quality crafted items, exotic destinations and adventures for the outdoorsman and angler in all of us.

1) Guided trip for 2 with Northwest Connections. This trip is for a fall salmon or winter steelhead trip with Nolan Davis.

2) Costa Rica Trip – 1 week in Costa Rica at Hummingbird Vacations, Los Suenos Resort. 7-nights accommodations for 2 to 6 people in a 2-bed/2-bath condo. The resort boasts two pools, swim up bar, hot tub and passes to the Los Suenos Beach Club. Discount fishing packages available to CCA members with the top 5 charters in Los Suenos. Airfare not included.

3) Iron Eagle fish sculpture “Rainbow Dancer.” This Beautifully detailed wall hanging depicts a rainbow trout exploding from the water taking a fly.

4) Authentic African Adventures – 7 day hunt for 4 hunters in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Trophy Impala or Blesbuck for each hunter. Additional animals per the pricelist. Hunt with registered professional hunters. Pick-up and drop-off from Polokwane Airport, food, drinks, laundry and accommodation all included.

5) CCA Advocates package. CCA Cousins Rod, Limited Edition CCA Simms Jacket, CCA Hat

6) Sage Canyon River Company Rafting trip - A one day 6hr rafting trip for 6 people on the Deschutes River. 13 mile float starting at Harpham Falls, stop at Maupin City Park for a delicious BBQ lunch before beginning the final descent to Sherar’s Falls. Experience Class III and IV rapids with spectacular views of high desert rock formations and wildlife.

7) Sage Canyon Outfitters Pheasant hunt - Based in Central Oregon's town of Maupin, the trip includes a guided hunt utilizing a highly skilled guide and dogs, 20 birds, and one night's stay for two. Customer's dogs are Welcome! Fishing is also available on the ranch for an additional fee.

8) 5-day King Salmon trip for 2 to the Togiak River Lodge in Alaska. This trip is all about the fishing at one of the top lodges in Alaska. It’s about getting into large numbers of big hard-fighting king salmon and carefully selecting the premium fish from your daily catch to take home. Airfare not included.

9) Kill Bag Game - Three kill bags loaded with gear. Each bag contains a guided trip with a local guide. The lucky winners will fish with one of several of Oregon’s best guides, Brian Campbell, Daniel St. Laurent, Mike Kelly, Damon Struble, and Nick Popov.

10) Green Mountain Grills, Davy Crocket pellet grill. The Davy Crockett is the ultimate portable grill. It comes with a digital WiFi, a meat probe, a peaked lid for stand-up chicken/ large fowl/ rib racks. Also included is Sense-Mate, a thermal sensor which constantly monitors grill temperature. It can run on 12V or 120AC so it’s perfect for home or camping, tail-gating, hunting, house-boating, music festivals or anywhere you can take it!

11) King Salmon Outfitters, Nushigak River Alaska. 6-day/5-night adventure for 1. 24-hour power, hot showers, flush toilets, & memory foam mattresses in a remote rugged setting. 10-hours of guided fishing per day and unlimited bank fishing. Float plane transportation from Dillingham to camp provided! Flight to Dillingham not included.

12) Guided trip for up to 4 with Mike Kelly’s Guide Service. This trip can be used for Salmon or Steelhead. Pick your prime time!

This is event is all about having a good time, and building a community of anglers that care about our conserving our fisheries and preserving sportfishing opportunity. We look forward to seeing you at this year's Corvallis Chapter Coastal Conservation Association banquet at 5:15pm at the Eagle's Lodge in Albany Oregon at 127 Broadalbin St. NW, Albany, Oregon 97321. You can find a map to the location and get directions by clicking here.

There's still time buy your tickets in advance! You can do that here.

Your CCA Corvallis Chapter Secretary,

Randall Bonner

p.s. Did I mention there's FREE BEER from Burnside Brewing?!

A Letter to my Readers about my New Writer Page on Facebook

Several years of writing for various print publications and online periodicals have evolved into a steady stream of writing opportunities. At the suggestion of the editors at Wide Open Spaces, I've decided to create a writer/author page to help distribute links to my articles as they appear. To my family, friends, and readers, I'm grateful for the support that I've received, advice, and kind words from mentors like Wilhelm Cortez, Jeff Holmes, Bill Herzog, Terry Wiest, Eric Martin, Robert Montgomery, & the list goes on.

While contributing to print publications is timeless and extremely rewarding, the word count and imagery normally holds the most value to the editors. Published content online on the other hand holds value by the view count, so the assistance of social media is a necessary evil in order to make the wheels turn. Social media certainly has it's pros and cons. The purpose of this page is to simply act as a vehicle for the flow of my content to travel to my readers. I realize that by posting in numerous Facebook groups already, many of you already get dozens of annoying notifications as a result of my incessant "spamming." However, now and then, I receive compliments, gratitude and encouragement that inspire me to continue what I'm doing and become successful at it. Thank you for being patient and understanding about this.

Each day I spend in the outdoors, record my experiences, and share them with you, I am truly "living the dream." Thank you for the support, being part of that dream, and making it come true for me.

If you would like follow my writing as it's published, please like the Randall Bonner Outdoor Writer Facebook Page.

Thank you,

Randall Bonner

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Prevention & Treatment of Bites & Rashes

To read this article, please visit the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/prevention-treatment-bites-rashes/

Rare Golden Walleye Caught on Oneida Lake

To read this article, please follow the link below to the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/rare-golden-walleye-caught-oneida-lake/

15 Best options for drop shot rods

To read this article, please follow the link below to the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/15-best-options-drop-shot-rods/

When connecting with nature means disconnecting from everything else

To read this article, please follow the link below to the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/connecting-nature-means-disconnecting-everything-else/

This Tenkara spoof will have you reeling

To read this article, please follow the link below to the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/tenkara-spoof-will-reeling/

5 Recipes to make with your spring turkey bounty

To read this article, please follow the link below to the Wide Open Spaces website:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/5-recipes-make-turkey-bounty/

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

CCA Corvallis Meeting Minutes 3/9/2016

Guest Presenter: Kyle Buschelman of Willamette Valley Outfitters

Introduction by Chapter President Jim Andrews:

If you haven't purchased a banquet ticket, please do so as soon as possible. This will help the Eagles Lodge be able to gauge a headcount for how many people to expect. You can purchase a ticket on the CCA Oregon Website here: http://www.ccaoregon.org/corvallis

Josh Tachinni has flyers if anyone wants to help promote the event by posting them in areas where they can be seen.

Kyle's spring chinook presentation covered a trolling rigging demonstration with a 3 hook bait system, emphasizing that the 3rd hook is particularly beneficial in barbless fisheries.

Also covered in Kyle's presentation was plug rod fishing, bait and diver, spinner & bait rigging as well as his backbouncer set up for fishing smaller systems upriver.

Willamette Valley Outfitters begins running springer trips on the Columbia River/Multnomah Channel on March 21st through the end of the season. Fishing will transition onto the McKenzie and Umpqua Rivers as the season progresses in May.

To book a trip with Willamette Valley Outfitters, you can reach Kyle at:

(541)517-7536
oregonarcher@gmail.com

www.willamettevalleyoutfitters.com