Most Central Oregon anglers are familiar with the Wild & Scenic section of the Crooked River below Bowman Dam.  Of course, the Crooked flows into Prineville Reservoir as well but based on my experience few outside of Crook County have spent much time there.  The North Fork of the Crooked does not provide the same abundance of fishing as the Wild & Scenic section, but it flows through a beautiful area of the Ochoco Mountains.  Prior to the construction of all the dams below (Bowman, Opal Springs, and the PRB complex), this section of the river was prime spawning habitat for anadromous fish.  Big Summit Prairie is also nearby, worthy of a visit on its own.  The last time I visited the North Fork my wife and I saw one of the biggest bears I have seen in Oregon, it was a brownish red color and seemed undisturbed by us as we watched it for some time.  The North Fork provides habitat for an important strain of wild, native redband trout.  ODFW is planning a electrofishing survey of the North Fork and could use some volunteers, this would be a great opportunity to help and see some beautiful country that is not very far away.

Here is the message from ODFW:

We will be conducting some trout population monitoring in the Ochoco National Forest with backpack electrofishers July 18-20.  We will be camping at the Deep Creek campground for this trip so we can be on-site earlier in the day to take advantage of the cooler temperatures for us and the fish.  However, camping is not required and volunteers may choose to help for one, two or all three days.  Volunteers will help with netting fish and recording data.  We will provide meals for this project beginning Wednesday evening.

If you are available to help, please let me know which day(s) you are available.  I will put together a schedule and send out a more detailed email with meeting times and locations once the schedule is set.  Please let me know if you have any questions or need more information.  Feel free to share this email with others that may be interested.

Thank you in advance for your help,

Tim Porter, ODFW, timothy.k.porter@state.or.us, (541) 447-5111 ext. 24