fishld, Oops, sorry

Thats cool Reel Truth. You know and understand the Stanley basin. Did you or the rest of you know that the Salmon river is the longest un-damned river in the lower 48??? Do you know why they called it the Salmon river??? Not because they found Chalupas in it 200 years ago !!!! This is the Salmon in Idaho not the little creek in Wa. state. Stanley is going to get maybe 300 fish this summer.. And these will be hatchery fish. 20 to 30 years ago (pre lower snake damns) the river and its tribs got 1000's of fish. The thing I don't really understand is the fact that the folks in Oregon and Washington and even the gov in Idaho don't realize that they killed the columbia salmon runs when they built those 4 damns... People bitch about rape out in the ocean by commercial fisherman.. Well do the math.. The Idaho fish made up 1/3 of all the Salmon in the north west so guess what??? They are gone and now they are after yours... We have hundreds of miles of spawning habitat, but the fish just don't get to the ocean any more. Did you know that 10x people live in the Portland and Seattle areas than live in Idaho "total" ????
The hunting is already gone in Washington state.. Most guys I know from there that are serious about hunting hunt over here in Idaho... I am sure I will get flamed for saying that but its a fact... We could use your help in getting the fish back.. In fact, its really up to you guys on what happens. This is not adressed to anyone " and I really mean that" its just that you guys and your states are holding all the cards...

Did you know that the WASHINGTON STATE record steelhead was in fact a B-RUN STEELY from the Clearwater river in Idaho??? It was caught in the snake below Clarkston in 1974..

P.S our Indians don't get to use nets.. if they get to fish at all...

Whats that got to do with bears ???

I know this is getting away from the funny/sometimes serious subject of fishing with bears...re the dams issue...Even tho it seems substantiated that dams are the cause of the demise of the salmon runs in the Columbia and its tribs, think about it. Bonneville is a big and powerful company. If I understand correctly, Bonneville sells power from these dams to California, Nevada, etc. When you are talking that kind of money, do you think the sports fishermen, even united, are going to have any impact on removing the dams? And the politicians like to "sound" like they are all for removing the dams...but don't think they can or are willing to "walk the talk" either. Unless the salmon make more money then the dams...don't think its gonna happen. Money talks, remember??? And that's a real shame!!!

And to Akking..no prob..haha

Now..let's get back to those funny bear stories..they are great!!! AND...to tell the truth, I'm also not one that really looks forward to fishing side by side with one of those.

There was a book I read called " Alaskan Bear Tales". That was one good book. Kinda had funny and scary true stories. Might want to check it out some day.

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Just because I look big, dumb, and ugly, doesn't mean I am. It means I can stomp you for calling me it!

My friend who is now 97 years old showed me pictures of his visits to yellowstone a couple monthes back. He is standing in front of his car feeding bread to bears standing on their hind legs. He said it was really something to see all the bears, they would just behave and beg for food. Even allowing petting during feeding.
My brother works in the middle of AK by the artic circle in a gold camp. They have regular problems with black bears that come into camp and break into the housing. B&E is a death sentence for the bears, but come with some pretty funny situations. Bears that have guys pinned behind doors in hallways, coming through windows in the middle of the night. He has a picture of one bear that is in the bucket of the front loader with the bucket all the way up. How the hell he got in there is anybody's guess. The bears have no fear and are quite curious of people and their surroundings.

Here is a link for the Book "Alaska Bear Tales" http://www.steelheader.net/cgi-bin/anaco...=steelheadernet



[This message has been edited by smilesforu (edited 03-31-2000).]

A ladyfriend had broken in her boots on urban trails and was ready to try a woodland hike. Early one evening, we headed up a gated logging road, hoping to spot some deer in the clearcuts.Those we saw were too far away for good viewing. When we came to where a brushy draw intersected the road, I told my friend to wait quietly on the road while I hiked to the top of the draw and then crashed down through it. I headed into the brush and she began waiting for Bambi and friends to appear. Twenty minutes later, I stumbled back onto the road and found a hiking partner shaking in her boots, stammering, and gesturing at the road. Finally, she was able to tell me how she had heard a deer coming down the draw, and had remained quiet as it got closer and closer. Then, it emerged from the brush, crossed a drainage ditch, and stopped on the road. Much to her surprise and shock, it wasn't Bambi standing a few feet from her, IT WAS BEN! Both were equally frightened, but only one was "frozen" with fear. The bear ran across the road and disappeared into the heavy cover. My friend expressed concern that no one would believe her bear tale. One look at the large muddy bear tracks crossing the road where we stood was all the proof I needed.

On the way out, we had two yearling-sized black bears cross the road just ahead of us. Over the next two hiking seasons, we had ten other encounters with blackies. We never experienced any aggressive or threatening behavior from these bears, but it would only take one such event to ruin your day. I always carry bearspray while hiking, now.