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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">They're Hopping on
the Klamath <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">Crescent City
Triplicate-9/11/09<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">By Kurt
Madar</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">The Klamath
River is back, with fishermen from all over hoping to catch a big fall-run
chinook. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">After a couple
of years of lower-than-expected catches, the Klamath is once again full of
salmon. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">The run is so
strong that the Yurok tribe has already pulled its allocation of 30,900 fish.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">“Fishing on the
river hasn’t been this good in a long time,” said Rick Nielsen, of Sacramento,
who has been fishing the mouth of the Klamath for the last 30 years.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Oh, and there
are steelhead trout to be caught in the Klamath as well. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">“Today hasn’t
been as good as this weekend,” Nielsen said. “I haven’t seen anyone even get a
bite.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">The fish were
coming upriver in droves over the weekend, he said, with anglers hooking 150
fish Saturday and 125 Sunday. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">That number
dropped to only seven fish Monday, according to officials.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">But Nielsen
isn’t worried because the salmon were expected to start running again within a
day or two. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">According to
California Department of Fish and Game fisheries biologist Sara Borok, 1,409
adult fall-run chinook salmon and 749 2-year-olds (jacks) had been harvested by
sport fishermen as of Wednesday. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">“Jacks are not
counted as part of the quota,” Borok said. “We keep track because they predict
next year’s returning 3-year-olds.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Last year the
adult harvest for the same time period was much lower, with only 662 fall-run
chinook caught as of Sep. 9.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria Math','serif'"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">The jack catch
was 1,292 by the same point, a predictor of this year’s higher catch of
3-year-olds. But Borok said that despite the jack total being down, it is “still
a good number, very promising.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Borok does not
believe that the in-river sport fishing quota of 30,800 fish is going to be
caught by the time the season is over Dec. 31. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">That is not
because people aren’t trying. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">The parking area
that fishermen use to make the half-hour soft-sand trudge to the mouth of the
Klamath was packed Tuesday with cars and trucks sporting license plates from all
three West Coast states and beyond. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">The “bankies” (a
nickname given by charter boat companies to shore-bound anglers) aren’t the only
fishermen vying for salmon. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Numerous charter
companies are also operating, and according to Fish and Game officials, catching
15-20 fish a day. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">“The reason that
you are seeing people from all over is that the Klamath/Trinity drainage is it
in California right now for salmon fishing,”</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria Math','serif'"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Borok said.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">The Smith River
is also open for fall-run fishing, but until a good rainfall raises the flow
rate, fish won’t be starting upriver. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Little Ray’s
Tackle Box owner Tommy Chew said that this is the best season he has seen since
2002. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">“It’s going
really well,” Chew said from his Klamath Glen store. “This is sort of like my
Christmas.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Chew agrees with
Borok that “there is no way the quota will be caught.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">“Not because
it’s a bad run, or that we don’t have a lot of fishermen, 30,800 salmon is just
a lot of fish,” Chew said. “To be honest we have a lot more fishermen here than
in years past.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Aaron Funk,
owner of the Kamp Klamath RV park near the mouth of the Klamath, has seen a
“tremendous amount of fish coming through.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Despite the fact
that salmon fishing helps to extend the tourist season past Labor Day and even
into October, Funk feels that the area isn’t taking full advantage of having the
only fishable salmon river in California. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">“We need to get
the word out that we are the only river in California where people can fish,”
Funk said. “We definitely get people from all over, I have one guest from
Germany that is here specifically for the salmon, but we need to advertise that
we are the only game in town.”# <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><A
href="http://www.triplicate.com/20090911106924/News/Local-News/Theyer-Hopping-on-the-Klamath"><FONT
color=#0000ff>http://www.triplicate.com/20090911106924/News/Local-News/Theyer-Hopping-on-the-Klamath</FONT></A></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>