March 24, 2008
It happened just as I knew it would. The story that tells it all. To begin it started out like just an ordinary day. Last evening we had a little sprinkle, but it was sunny and warm today. One of my big plans was to get some of our things ready for our return trip back to Janesville, although we're not leaving until April 1st. I wanted to get some of the things we're not using put up for storage as well as get the motor home hitch ready for the car. Helen did the wash and finished up some paper work.
Around 4:30 or so I decided since it was a warm day, why not try to fish the Coquille River again. This time I talked Helen into going over to the boat ramp across the river with me. We hooked everything up and were ready for some fishing. Helen decided to use the old stand by, night crawlers and I stuck with the given, grass shrimp on a large hook for the Sturgeon or Steelheads. I cast mine out with the intention of getting a fish, like really I believe this was going to be the day. Well ,I guess you may say it was the first cast Helen caught a sucker about 11’ long. Threw it back and she cast back in with her trusty night crawler. 5 minutes later she pulled in a real small Coho salmon, too small to keep, but at lest she caught two fish, which is better than I have done on this dumb river for almost two months. Of course she threw her line back in and pulls out another small Coho, which was too small to keep.
Now this is the highest insult a guy could get. Here again two months not even a bite and within 1 hour or so Helen catches three fish. Hey it was great I really enjoyed myself and even though I did not catch anything it was nice to see Helen at least catch something. Next time I will have her bait my hooks for me it must be that loving touch that does it.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
EASTER SUNDAY IN OUR RV
March 23, 2008
PINK AZELIA FLOWERING SHRUB
Easter Sunday, rained real well in the early morning and sprinkled most of the day. Still a mild day not short sleeve weather by no means, but comfortable. Helen got a real nice ham Saturday to cook up this holiday being our first Easter Sunday dinner in the motor home. We used the convection oven, which is the first for us. Never really used one before and this was a learning experience. We finally realized after cooking the ham in the oven that we needed to increase the cooking temperature to at least 350 degrees and use the combination convection & roasting method. Turned out pretty good.
Since Helen's cousin was sick we thought about taking some ham and fixings up to their house so she did not have to cook for her and Ed. We visited for a while then headed back for our meal. Actually the meal turned out good and we will know better next time, however we really don’t plan on having a lot of Easter ham dinners in the motor home. Pretty tight to cook a large meal in a small confined area the size of this motor home. But it will work in a pinch. If weather would have been permitting it would be nice to barbecue, but it’s the wrong time of the year for this.
PINK AZELIA FLOWERING SHRUB
Easter Sunday, rained real well in the early morning and sprinkled most of the day. Still a mild day not short sleeve weather by no means, but comfortable. Helen got a real nice ham Saturday to cook up this holiday being our first Easter Sunday dinner in the motor home. We used the convection oven, which is the first for us. Never really used one before and this was a learning experience. We finally realized after cooking the ham in the oven that we needed to increase the cooking temperature to at least 350 degrees and use the combination convection & roasting method. Turned out pretty good.
Since Helen's cousin was sick we thought about taking some ham and fixings up to their house so she did not have to cook for her and Ed. We visited for a while then headed back for our meal. Actually the meal turned out good and we will know better next time, however we really don’t plan on having a lot of Easter ham dinners in the motor home. Pretty tight to cook a large meal in a small confined area the size of this motor home. But it will work in a pinch. If weather would have been permitting it would be nice to barbecue, but it’s the wrong time of the year for this.
THE SEAL PROBLEMS OF OREGON
March 22, 2008
Another great sunny warm day for crabbing, so we went directly to Charleston via Libby Lane. Like I mentioned it shaves off about 7 miles. I decided I need to buy another bait bucket at the the bait and tackle shop at the Marina. The lady told me I should be trying out different bait for the crabs. She told me to try cockle clams and of course be sure and try the mink out. I guess the mink meat is not liked by the seals, which have a tendency to steal your bait. Actually I have been using the plastic netting,which works real well for me. I figure why not try the different type of bait out, so in each net I put in 3 cockle clams, 2 chicken legs and ½ of the mink. No biggie with the other bait, but the mink is pretty gross. I would say it looks like a skinned cat. Anyway I figured I would offer the crabs a buffet meal.
This time we're going over to dock 3 to see how we can do on that one. Looking on the Chart Navigator that area is a little deeper than docks 4, looks like around 11 feet deep. We went out to the end of the pier where we met yet a another great couple. We were giving them all of our Red Rock Crabs and when the quit they invited over to their home for dinner. Talk about friendly!
Amazing enough we finally caught a couple of legal Dungeness crabs. I decided that I should start keeping all my Red Rock crabs, since one of them was pretty big. I think you are allowed 20 of them each. We got about 10 or so.
The main thing this captain does now is live off his boat and make Bongo Drums. Kind of unique drum since he makes them out of old wood that he gathers from ship yards off of older boats being refurbished. He has a complete wood working shop set up in the fish holding area below the deck. It has all the equipment needed that you would find in a wood cabinet shop. Besides doing this, he is a general maintenance person that goes around and repairs other boats, while docked that need repair work. Kind of like a handy man for boats you might say.
We stopped by the Port Side Lounge for a cold beer, since I figure we deserved after a hard day of crabbing. Interesting.. there was some commercial fishermen talking about the problems they're having with the government. Also they discussed the impact on ruling of the potential commercial Salmon restriction that may be imposed on them. Not only are the commercial fisherman mad about the fishery problems in Oregon, but your recreational fisherman are upset also. They are claiming the Oregon Fish and Game is not doing enough for fish and wildlife. They're concentrating to much on other things like increasing license fees and not really using the money for renewing the present resources they have. Instead they're using it on projects that have very limited impact on the general fish and game resources, such as environmental impact statements, protection of endangered species and studies of nonessential projects. Pretty confusing and a big can of worms.
I guess one of the big jokes is the new rule that Washington, Oregon and Idaho came up with to help the Salmon run in the upper Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, where the seals gather each year to eat migrating spring Chinook salmon. They have received the OK to kill up to 80 returning seals that are known predators eating the salmon that are making their run up the river.
For further information read the report from the Columbian News. Follow the link below.
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/03/03232008_The-Sea-Lion-Dilemma-Feast-or-Salmon.cfm
Here is another excellent site on the Views of the DFW in Oregon Oregon Fish & Wildlife
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/SeaLion/index.asp
I guess there are some options on the table to deal with the seals. Euthanize them up to the 80 seals, however they will not be able to shoot them in the sight of other seals. At least this is what I have been told. They will only be allowed to kill the offending marked seals. Another option is make them available to catch for Zoos and Marine World aquariums. This is the preferred alternative. Great idea, but the cost for this would be out of the question from what I can tell. You have to include the cost of catching the animals, crating them and the cost of transporting them to zoos that really want them. There comes a point when they will not find enough homes for these seals, then we're back to ground zero again. So its back to shooting them again.
Now you may think destroying 80 seals is a lot. Well just travel along the coast sometime and see the amount of seals there really are. There are thousands of them. It was not a problem that many years ago when the Indians had the right to hunt the seals for the hides and meat. The seal population was pretty much in control and there was numerous salmon spawning in the rivers. The salmon was doing real well. Since the government stopped the option of the Indians hunting the seal they are now out of control again.
Although the seals eat other fish, they have are sweet tooth for the salmon. Not sure how many salmon they eat, but it’s a lot. Besides that I guess they really don’t eat the whole fish, but just eat the belly of the salmon, the rest is just wasted.
What I have heard from most people that deal with fishing is they want to see the Indains once again be allowed to hunt the seals. Which I have to agree with myself. I can see the fishermen’s concerns and why they're so angry. Again the concerns are not just with the commercial fisherman, but the recreational fisherman too. If they hook up to a salmon and there is a seal around, odds are going to be the seals will take the salmon off the hooks when they're bring in their fish. Here again they just take a large chunk out of the belly of the salmon and leave the head.
What the fisherman want is let the state run its own fish and wildlife program and not have the federal government step in with all there rules and regulations. I think there will be a time when a lot of the people get fed up the way things are controlled with both local and federal governments. I really can’t say I blame the fisherman for feeling the way they do about the way things are being handled.
Due to the increase in ocean temperatures it is thought that this is another thing having an impact on the salmon. However, this is not known yet and it’s a theory like so much of science is.
Another great sunny warm day for crabbing, so we went directly to Charleston via Libby Lane. Like I mentioned it shaves off about 7 miles. I decided I need to buy another bait bucket at the the bait and tackle shop at the Marina. The lady told me I should be trying out different bait for the crabs. She told me to try cockle clams and of course be sure and try the mink out. I guess the mink meat is not liked by the seals, which have a tendency to steal your bait. Actually I have been using the plastic netting,which works real well for me. I figure why not try the different type of bait out, so in each net I put in 3 cockle clams, 2 chicken legs and ½ of the mink. No biggie with the other bait, but the mink is pretty gross. I would say it looks like a skinned cat. Anyway I figured I would offer the crabs a buffet meal.
This time we're going over to dock 3 to see how we can do on that one. Looking on the Chart Navigator that area is a little deeper than docks 4, looks like around 11 feet deep. We went out to the end of the pier where we met yet a another great couple. We were giving them all of our Red Rock Crabs and when the quit they invited over to their home for dinner. Talk about friendly!
Amazing enough we finally caught a couple of legal Dungeness crabs. I decided that I should start keeping all my Red Rock crabs, since one of them was pretty big. I think you are allowed 20 of them each. We got about 10 or so.
DUNGENESS --------------------------------------RED ROCK
The main thing this captain does now is live off his boat and make Bongo Drums. Kind of unique drum since he makes them out of old wood that he gathers from ship yards off of older boats being refurbished. He has a complete wood working shop set up in the fish holding area below the deck. It has all the equipment needed that you would find in a wood cabinet shop. Besides doing this, he is a general maintenance person that goes around and repairs other boats, while docked that need repair work. Kind of like a handy man for boats you might say.
We stopped by the Port Side Lounge for a cold beer, since I figure we deserved after a hard day of crabbing. Interesting.. there was some commercial fishermen talking about the problems they're having with the government. Also they discussed the impact on ruling of the potential commercial Salmon restriction that may be imposed on them. Not only are the commercial fisherman mad about the fishery problems in Oregon, but your recreational fisherman are upset also. They are claiming the Oregon Fish and Game is not doing enough for fish and wildlife. They're concentrating to much on other things like increasing license fees and not really using the money for renewing the present resources they have. Instead they're using it on projects that have very limited impact on the general fish and game resources, such as environmental impact statements, protection of endangered species and studies of nonessential projects. Pretty confusing and a big can of worms.
I guess one of the big jokes is the new rule that Washington, Oregon and Idaho came up with to help the Salmon run in the upper Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, where the seals gather each year to eat migrating spring Chinook salmon. They have received the OK to kill up to 80 returning seals that are known predators eating the salmon that are making their run up the river.
For further information read the report from the Columbian News. Follow the link below.
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/03/03232008_The-Sea-Lion-Dilemma-Feast-or-Salmon.cfm
Here is another excellent site on the Views of the DFW in Oregon Oregon Fish & Wildlife
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/SeaLion/index.asp
I guess there are some options on the table to deal with the seals. Euthanize them up to the 80 seals, however they will not be able to shoot them in the sight of other seals. At least this is what I have been told. They will only be allowed to kill the offending marked seals. Another option is make them available to catch for Zoos and Marine World aquariums. This is the preferred alternative. Great idea, but the cost for this would be out of the question from what I can tell. You have to include the cost of catching the animals, crating them and the cost of transporting them to zoos that really want them. There comes a point when they will not find enough homes for these seals, then we're back to ground zero again. So its back to shooting them again.
Now you may think destroying 80 seals is a lot. Well just travel along the coast sometime and see the amount of seals there really are. There are thousands of them. It was not a problem that many years ago when the Indians had the right to hunt the seals for the hides and meat. The seal population was pretty much in control and there was numerous salmon spawning in the rivers. The salmon was doing real well. Since the government stopped the option of the Indians hunting the seal they are now out of control again.
Although the seals eat other fish, they have are sweet tooth for the salmon. Not sure how many salmon they eat, but it’s a lot. Besides that I guess they really don’t eat the whole fish, but just eat the belly of the salmon, the rest is just wasted.
What I have heard from most people that deal with fishing is they want to see the Indains once again be allowed to hunt the seals. Which I have to agree with myself. I can see the fishermen’s concerns and why they're so angry. Again the concerns are not just with the commercial fisherman, but the recreational fisherman too. If they hook up to a salmon and there is a seal around, odds are going to be the seals will take the salmon off the hooks when they're bring in their fish. Here again they just take a large chunk out of the belly of the salmon and leave the head.
What the fisherman want is let the state run its own fish and wildlife program and not have the federal government step in with all there rules and regulations. I think there will be a time when a lot of the people get fed up the way things are controlled with both local and federal governments. I really can’t say I blame the fisherman for feeling the way they do about the way things are being handled.
Due to the increase in ocean temperatures it is thought that this is another thing having an impact on the salmon. However, this is not known yet and it’s a theory like so much of science is.
INFLATION HITS OREGON ??
March 21 2008
It was a nice sunny day, so away we go to Charleston to do some crabbing.
Had to stop by for a quick lunch like we always do, you know the McDonalds and Burger King trip. Hey, inflation is setting in! I got my Whopper Junior for a dollar still, but had to pay dearly for Helen's Double Cheese Burger, which went up in price from $1.00 each, to $1.29 each. I guess it had to happen sometime.
WHALE CARVING . OCEAN BLVD (to Charlston )
I would be willing to bet Whoppers will go up also. Going to have to limit our lunches down to once every other time we go to town. (I know, Randy, I'm a cheap skate! Not really, I'm frugal).
Could not take it had to stop by Bi-Mart to get another reel for Helen, since the old one went belly up. I thought the first one we purchased, which is a Shakespeare reel was a pretty good brand. I would have taken it back, but dummy me, I lost the receipt. Normal if you want a product to fail just throw the receipt away and I promise it will fail. Anyway we found another reel, which is pretty new to the market called Okuma, It-30. Nice looking reel, real smooth retrieve. Was a good buy on sale for 20% off. I have heard a lot of good comments on this reel.
Could not take it had to stop by Bi-Mart to get another reel for Helen, since the old one went belly up. I thought the first one we purchased, which is a Shakespeare reel was a pretty good brand. I would have taken it back, but dummy me, I lost the receipt. Normal if you want a product to fail just throw the receipt away and I promise it will fail. Anyway we found another reel, which is pretty new to the market called Okuma, It-30. Nice looking reel, real smooth retrieve. Was a good buy on sale for 20% off. I have heard a lot of good comments on this reel.
Then of course had to buy one more crab trap. This time we got the round basket type. Good buy at $18.00. Eventually we will have another 3 more traps since you're allowed 3 traps each. These are good for crabbing on the dock, but would not use them out in the bay since they would drift a lot based on how light they are. Only bad thing about the round ones is you have to continually check your trap, since there open at the top. See pictures below not closed in like your square Danielson traps. Of course there is an advantage to using the round ones, as they keep you from getting bored while waiting around like you would with the enclosed traps.
30 INCH ROUND CRAB TRAP
We walked out to Dock Number 4. This is one of the docks that most of the people go out on to crab. According to a program we have installed on our laptop called Chart Navigator, dock number 4 is 9 feet deep (Low tide).
We started crabbing about 2 pm or so, just at high tide. We caught quite a few Dungeness Crabs, but once again under size or females. We did get some Red Rock Crabs. We met a couple that was crabbing next to us that were from Medford, Donna and Bill. Great people again. We gave the Red Rock Crabs to them, since they wanted them for a crab salad. We crabbed until about 5 pm until the tide got pretty low. Never seem to have a lot of luck when it gets to that point, however I have talked to other people that say they catch them anytime.
NO CATCH UM
March 20, 2008
Pretty much rained most of the day, with brief periods of breaks in the storm, however I was bound and determined to once again try to fool the fish. My new strategy was head across the river to a boat ramp that is located about 250 yards up stream, on the South side of the river above the RV park.
I am starting to run out of ideas on catching fish. I can’t believe as much as an avid fisherman that I am, I can’t seem to catch any thing.
I am starting to run out of ideas on catching fish. I can’t believe as much as an avid fisherman that I am, I can’t seem to catch any thing.
Earlier I was watching a couple of people fishing on the bank near the boat ramp, which I assumed if others were fishing that area it should be a good spot to fish. I drove over to the boat ramp and watched another gentleman fishing, just to see what he was using. It appeared he using sand shrimp with a small orange like object on the top of the bait. I would assume it was salmon eggs. Also noticed he was using a bottle of WD-40 spray, which I have heard works pretty good for fishing. Did not see him catch anything, but at least I had a better idea on what to fish with and maybe fish this area. Its an area where you can drive right up to the bank with your car and cast standing, then get back in the warm car and keep warm while its raining. This is the type of fishing you do in Eagle Lake when it's cold and it seems to work... I have to admit fishing on a large river that is flowing so fast is not my specialty. The river is flowing so hard now you can’t’ keep your bait in one spot. Of course this mainly applies if your trying to fish for sturgeon. You want your bait to drift if you’re trying for steelhead or salmon.
Well I fished for over 3 hours with out even a bite. Since the river was really high and muddy it goes to show you it was not the best idea. What I should have done earlier when we first came up in the latter part of February was fish from the dock at the RV Park. I did see fish jump near the dock, should have stuck with fishing that area since the steelhead were running and I’m sure what I saw jumping were steelheads. Since the river is high and muddy it’s hard to tell where the fish seem to be hanging out.
Another dishearten day of fishing, not even bite as to say. Again skunked, you would think, or get the impression I belong to an organization to save the fish. The kind of an organization they have for birds, such as the Audubon society.
Another dishearten day of fishing, not even bite as to say. Again skunked, you would think, or get the impression I belong to an organization to save the fish. The kind of an organization they have for birds, such as the Audubon society.
CRANBERRYS IN BANDON
March 19, 2008
Good grief! The sky is finally blue, the sun is shinning, so today we are heading for Rocky Point to try for Sturgeon again. Don’t really have much hope as it rained pretty good all night long and the Coquille River is running high and muddy, but since we have the time why not.
Good grief! The sky is finally blue, the sun is shinning, so today we are heading for Rocky Point to try for Sturgeon again. Don’t really have much hope as it rained pretty good all night long and the Coquille River is running high and muddy, but since we have the time why not.
Zeroed out again today fishing Rocky point. We fished for about 3 hours. Helen tried with a bobber, which worked pretty good staying out in the current while I bottom fished, however the fish were not there. Neither one of us got a bite, not even a bump. Used grass shrimp and regular shrimp. After fishing for this amount of time and being so sunny we thought why not try Bandon again and do a little surf fishing. When we got there it was almost low tide, which is no good. Only saw one person fishing on the beach. Looking at where the water from the Coquille River was flowing into the Ocean it looked like a big mud bath. Pretty mucky.
I should have taken a picture of the Coquille where it meets the Pacific Ocean, its unbelievable on the marked difference. On the southern Jetty where we saw the fisherman it was just as clear as any day you would be on the ocean. The waves were not all that big, but big enough. We decided then to head to Bullards Bar, a state Park North of Bandon. Real pretty Park. This is where many of the fisherman go with their boats to crab. Of course the river needs to be down to a normal flow, otherwise too much fresh water is coming into to the bay, which the crabs don’t like. We took the road out to the lighthouse, which is called naturally, Bandon Lighthouse. The road that goes to the lighthouse borders also the Bandon Marsh Wildlife area. The paved road takes you within about 150 yards of the Light house real easy walk. The road continues even closer, but at this time of the year it’s closed at the lower parking lot. In the summer you can drive within 25 yards of the light house.
We walked just south of the lighthouse on the cliff that over looks the bay and it looked pretty promising for rock fishing. Pretty steep cliff about 20 feet down too the ocean at low tide. If the river was flowing at a normal rate and is was near high tide, it would be a great place to fish. Something we will try later. Going to have to be careful, but its much safer than other places I fished when I was younger.
The only problem with the Bandon area is the wind always seems to be blowing, which does not make is very comfortable if it’s overcast. It also makes a problem trying to fish and cast your line into the water. Another area to try at another time.
We headed home on highway 101 heading North and about 10 miles out of Bandon we spotted what appeared to be a cranberry farm, so we had to stop and check it out. And yes, indeed it was a cranberry farm. Pretty big farm seems to go on forever. For some reason I always thought cranberries were only raised back East somewhere. Well now that I think about it I see a lot of labels on cans and packages that have the name brand Ocean Spray, which surely stands for pretty much anywhere along the coast. This can be Maine on the East to Oregon & Washington on the West. The plants were all dead and the ponds where they grow them were pretty much dried out, but we took some pictures and you can surely see they were cranberries. Real neat farm, another first for me and Helen, as we never saw a cranberry farm before. I know, it does not take much to make me happy.
You know for the amount of travel a person does in the United States they never get to see all that is available in an area. The good thing about what we did was not really plan on any set time frame and went with the flow as they say. Even if your'e just traveling a short distance from home spend more time in the area to look around. You might just be amazed at what you will see and find out. Hey another plus, as you will save gas at the same time, maybe enough for a few extra restaurant meals.
I should have taken a picture of the Coquille where it meets the Pacific Ocean, its unbelievable on the marked difference. On the southern Jetty where we saw the fisherman it was just as clear as any day you would be on the ocean. The waves were not all that big, but big enough. We decided then to head to Bullards Bar, a state Park North of Bandon. Real pretty Park. This is where many of the fisherman go with their boats to crab. Of course the river needs to be down to a normal flow, otherwise too much fresh water is coming into to the bay, which the crabs don’t like. We took the road out to the lighthouse, which is called naturally, Bandon Lighthouse. The road that goes to the lighthouse borders also the Bandon Marsh Wildlife area. The paved road takes you within about 150 yards of the Light house real easy walk. The road continues even closer, but at this time of the year it’s closed at the lower parking lot. In the summer you can drive within 25 yards of the light house.
We walked just south of the lighthouse on the cliff that over looks the bay and it looked pretty promising for rock fishing. Pretty steep cliff about 20 feet down too the ocean at low tide. If the river was flowing at a normal rate and is was near high tide, it would be a great place to fish. Something we will try later. Going to have to be careful, but its much safer than other places I fished when I was younger.
The only problem with the Bandon area is the wind always seems to be blowing, which does not make is very comfortable if it’s overcast. It also makes a problem trying to fish and cast your line into the water. Another area to try at another time.
We headed home on highway 101 heading North and about 10 miles out of Bandon we spotted what appeared to be a cranberry farm, so we had to stop and check it out. And yes, indeed it was a cranberry farm. Pretty big farm seems to go on forever. For some reason I always thought cranberries were only raised back East somewhere. Well now that I think about it I see a lot of labels on cans and packages that have the name brand Ocean Spray, which surely stands for pretty much anywhere along the coast. This can be Maine on the East to Oregon & Washington on the West. The plants were all dead and the ponds where they grow them were pretty much dried out, but we took some pictures and you can surely see they were cranberries. Real neat farm, another first for me and Helen, as we never saw a cranberry farm before. I know, it does not take much to make me happy.
You know for the amount of travel a person does in the United States they never get to see all that is available in an area. The good thing about what we did was not really plan on any set time frame and went with the flow as they say. Even if your'e just traveling a short distance from home spend more time in the area to look around. You might just be amazed at what you will see and find out. Hey another plus, as you will save gas at the same time, maybe enough for a few extra restaurant meals.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
OYSTERS, OYSTERS
March 18, 2008
Little better day today with some showers, but not real heavy rain.
We had to make our weekly trip to Coos Bay again to get some dog food and other items. Since we have Lacy on a special diet we get her a special dog food that most pet stores don’t carry.
We have been giving her a brand called Canidae. It does not have any corn or chicken bi- products, which we have found out is no good for dogs. Even Purina and other brands have the corn fillers so you may want to check it out. We used to think we were buying Lacy a pretty good dog food which was Kibbles and Bits. The food was not really cheap dog food like some of your off beat generic brands like Wal-Mart carries.
One of the reasons we went to Canidae brand was because Lacy is getting old (12 years +) and she had developed a strong odor . Doing some research on this we found this could be caused by low grade dog food with fillers. We also found out that a lot of Golden Retrievers have the same problem because of their long hair and the water repellent constancy of there hair. The odor they can put off can be down right obnoxious. Being an old dog we keep her in the house, which compounds the problem of being confided in tight quarters.
The store we found in the local area to purchase our brand was a local ma and pa pet store that sell the better quality dog foods . They also have a dog grooming service where you can have the dog bathed, or you can do it your self for 1/2 the price. Really pretty good deal for $15.00 if you do the grooming compared to $30.00 if they do the grooming and bathing.
Since it was still pretty early and the tide was still high we made an attempt to fish under the bridge in North Bay to see if we could at least catch some perch. Based on the showery conditions this would be an ideal spot to weather any adverse, inclement conditions that could occur while we were fishing and stay a little dryer.
What we did not plan on was the trail below the road too the spot we wanted to fish had a large Culvert about 30” in diameter. This made it impossible for us to get the dog over the culvert to the spot under the bridge since she is so old she can’t really climb or jump any more. So we threw that idea out and went over the North Bay along the Trans Pacific road.
We were looking for a place that we could fish from our vehicle without walking a long distance and since the dog was still a little wet from her bath we wanted to leave her in the car. We did find the BLM Boat ramp, but did not see anyone fishing, however it was still showering and we were probably the only idiots in the bay looking for a fishing spot. The main thing we were looking for is a spot where down the road, we could fish from the car as an alternate spot in case it did rain. However we did find a spot that will be good for digging Eastern Mud and Eastern Softshell clams.
EASTERN SOFTSHELLS CLAMS
Since we did not find that ideal fishing spot we headed back and decidedto stop at the oyster farm, Clausen Oysters. Theyre located along North Bay Road. At the retail counter we read some real interesting things about how oysters are raised.
CLAUSEN OYSTER FARM
I guess they have over three crops of Pacific oysters growing on 700 leased acres. Clausen’s is a pretty big operation.
Naturally I had to buy 1 lb of the small ones for my oyster shooters and make up an oyster stew that I plan on for supper t0mmorow. I would fry them up, but Helen is not into these too much, however she will eat the oyster stew.
OYSTER BED PLANTING
Kind of funny you can’t gather oysters for your self, the commercial market has it all sewed up so you have to buy them from a commercial source. No biggie the cost is quit reasonable. Think I paid around $7.00 for a lb of the shucked oysters.
The ones in the shell sell for around .50 each, which is about the same you would pay at Susanville Super Market, however they'er not as fresh as the ones you get here.
They have a real neat photo gallery and a lot of interesting information to read about Oyster farming, just click on the link below.
http://www.silverpointoysters.com/Gallery/
Little better day today with some showers, but not real heavy rain.
We had to make our weekly trip to Coos Bay again to get some dog food and other items. Since we have Lacy on a special diet we get her a special dog food that most pet stores don’t carry.
We have been giving her a brand called Canidae. It does not have any corn or chicken bi- products, which we have found out is no good for dogs. Even Purina and other brands have the corn fillers so you may want to check it out. We used to think we were buying Lacy a pretty good dog food which was Kibbles and Bits. The food was not really cheap dog food like some of your off beat generic brands like Wal-Mart carries.
One of the reasons we went to Canidae brand was because Lacy is getting old (12 years +) and she had developed a strong odor . Doing some research on this we found this could be caused by low grade dog food with fillers. We also found out that a lot of Golden Retrievers have the same problem because of their long hair and the water repellent constancy of there hair. The odor they can put off can be down right obnoxious. Being an old dog we keep her in the house, which compounds the problem of being confided in tight quarters.
The store we found in the local area to purchase our brand was a local ma and pa pet store that sell the better quality dog foods . They also have a dog grooming service where you can have the dog bathed, or you can do it your self for 1/2 the price. Really pretty good deal for $15.00 if you do the grooming compared to $30.00 if they do the grooming and bathing.
Since it was still pretty early and the tide was still high we made an attempt to fish under the bridge in North Bay to see if we could at least catch some perch. Based on the showery conditions this would be an ideal spot to weather any adverse, inclement conditions that could occur while we were fishing and stay a little dryer.
What we did not plan on was the trail below the road too the spot we wanted to fish had a large Culvert about 30” in diameter. This made it impossible for us to get the dog over the culvert to the spot under the bridge since she is so old she can’t really climb or jump any more. So we threw that idea out and went over the North Bay along the Trans Pacific road.
We were looking for a place that we could fish from our vehicle without walking a long distance and since the dog was still a little wet from her bath we wanted to leave her in the car. We did find the BLM Boat ramp, but did not see anyone fishing, however it was still showering and we were probably the only idiots in the bay looking for a fishing spot. The main thing we were looking for is a spot where down the road, we could fish from the car as an alternate spot in case it did rain. However we did find a spot that will be good for digging Eastern Mud and Eastern Softshell clams.
EASTERN SOFTSHELLS CLAMS
Since we did not find that ideal fishing spot we headed back and decidedto stop at the oyster farm, Clausen Oysters. Theyre located along North Bay Road. At the retail counter we read some real interesting things about how oysters are raised.
CLAUSEN OYSTER FARM
I guess they have over three crops of Pacific oysters growing on 700 leased acres. Clausen’s is a pretty big operation.
Naturally I had to buy 1 lb of the small ones for my oyster shooters and make up an oyster stew that I plan on for supper t0mmorow. I would fry them up, but Helen is not into these too much, however she will eat the oyster stew.
OYSTER BED PLANTING
Kind of funny you can’t gather oysters for your self, the commercial market has it all sewed up so you have to buy them from a commercial source. No biggie the cost is quit reasonable. Think I paid around $7.00 for a lb of the shucked oysters.
The ones in the shell sell for around .50 each, which is about the same you would pay at Susanville Super Market, however they'er not as fresh as the ones you get here.
They have a real neat photo gallery and a lot of interesting information to read about Oyster farming, just click on the link below.
http://www.silverpointoysters.com/Gallery/
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