March 10th. - General Monthly Meeting 7pm WEDNESDAY 10th. at the Sooke Community Hall
March 7th. - Good Morning; Thank you to those who showed up on Saturday, a lot was accomplished again. There are six trays of Chinook waiting to be ponded and most of the coho. The steelhead are still being stubborn, maybe if someone has an extra boombox around, we can try playing Barry White beside the tank for a while. Gotta be something that turns a steelhead on.
Our third mink was extradited to foreign parts this weekend. We’ve moved enough of them now for a pretty fair hat and gloves, I think. Unless it’s the same one or two doing the round trip.
A reminder to everyone – our new CA will be at the meeting this week. It would be a bit shameful if there’s only a few members on hand – a good showing would be nice (hint,hint). Next weekend – Mar. 13 – is the day we plan to take the net pen floats out of the lake. If you can spare the time, it will be a fairly major job and the more people we have, the easier it will go. They have people in the camp and I’d like to be out of there as quickly and neatly as we can. Please, if you can, show up. We’ll meet at the powerline at Butler main at 9 a.m. and sort out who goes where. Mel
March 1st. - Greetings; We now have phone service once more. Turns out it was the connection in the shop – too damp, all the wires became green dust and cut the circuit. What the hell – guess twenty years of little or no heat was asking a bit much. The tech put in a new box and all is well.
We will be ponding a few trays on Saturday, so anyone with nothing to do is welcome to show up and see what’s going on. The Job Jar is getting pretty bare, but there are a few things to get done yet. One tank was done on Saturday and the net looks great. Still have to do #13. If time allows, we may have a look at the steelhead, but they don’t look all that ready yet. If anyone knows how to awaken the old “urge” in a steelhead, pass it on, we’ll need the tank before too long.
In case any of you Feeders have missed the latest status – there are fry in most of the troughs and three of the round tanks, so just look around and feed everything with swimmers in it. They’re not quite at the “pirhana” stage yet, so feed lightly.
There’s a chance that our new CA (community advisor) from DFO will be here for the next general meeting. I’ll let you know. If he is, a good turnout would be nice – wouldn’t want to have him think we’re a three member society. More later. Mel
MARCH.
February 24th. - Hi, there; There will be a work party on Saturday to pond the first Sooke Chinook. We’ll try to get the netting rigged on the big round tanks to have them ready for use, as well. The steelhead will be checked while we’re at it, just in case there’s a female ready to contribute to the gene pool.
If anyone has a use for cardboard trays that are about 5” x 3” and 2” deep (they were for French fries ) we have a ridiculously huge number of them that are taking up space. Be great for starting seeds or cuttings (anyone into a gro-op?) If there’s any interest, let me know. Mel
February 23rd. - Morning, all; Just a heads-up, first. General meeting on Mar. 10, usual place and time. If you still haven’t forked out for this year’s dues-this would be a great time to come out and find out where things are going .
We’ve started feeding fry. We’re s bit ahead of normal timing this year – warmer winter, warmer water – whatever, the fry are a bit early, which is a good thing – gives them a chance to get bigger before freedom looms on their horizon.
Again – thanks to everybody for a couple of really good work parties – lots of work has been done and things are coming along well with the Spring to-do list. We still have three female steelhead waiting in the tank, being stubborn. No – I’ll pass on the chance to make a statement about the female nature, difficult as that may be. Mel
February 20th. - Hey everybody; We will start feeding fry on Monday, February 22. There are fry in tanks #1A to #4A. They will only need a very small ammount for a few days, until they start actually feeding, so don't overdo it. The food is in the white plastic barrel under the counter, with a sign on the lid. There are a couple of little cups on the scale, with a ring around them. The ring is the level of food for each tank. You can even go lighter, but no more than the ring level. Feed every 20 minutes, as usual, but watch to see if they respond and when.
If there are any questions, call me or Willy and we'll try to sort it out for you. I'm attaching (I hope) a copy of the schedule. If you can't make your day for any reason, let me know and an alternate will be arranged. Mel
February 12th. - Hello, Feeders,all; There will be a short training session next Saturday, February 20th. Hopefully there will be a couple of trays to pond, but the focus will be on cleaning and feeding for those who either haven’t done it or just want a refresher. It’s a fairly simple process, but needs to be done carefully, for several reasons. We’ll meet at Butler’s gate at 9 a.m. Please try to be there. Mel
February 12th. - Good Evening; For those who didn’t make the meeting, and I have your names – being in Portugal is no excuse, Tony & Sheila !, just a brief catch-up. There have been some great additions to the tanks and troughs that should streamline the process a bit. We have one female Steelhead ready, but the males aren’t responding as well as we’d like (maybe they swam up here from San Francisco and need some re-wiring) We’ll check them again on Monday.
The plan is to hold a brief training session on Feb. 20 on the subject of feeding and cleaning, if anyone not on the feeding roster is interested. 9a.m. at the gate. Its almost time to start ponding and it will be an as-necessary process, rather than a scheduled one. Time, tide and salmon fry await no man, as the saying goes. I’ll try to pass along alerts, so we can have a few sets of hands to deal with the work.
The derby process is underway. Don Miklic has had a moment of madness and taken on the job of Chairman. Shame – he’s such a calm sort – hope the psycotic stage holds off for a while. If memory serves, its about the second month when one finds oneself staring at the wall and mumbling a lot. Seriously – its not a bad job IF the help is there. We have the usual faithful bunch, but if anyone else would care to come out and pitch in, it would be most welcome. Enjoy the Olympics - Mel
February 10th. - General Monthly Meeting 7pm WEDNESDAY 10th. at the Sooke Community Hall
February 4th. - Good morning, All;
Just a reminder that there will be a General meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 10, usual time and place. There will be a Work party on the Saturday following, Feb. 13, to knock some more stuff of the To-do list.
The new additions to the troughs and the lower tanks is underway and should be done in the next week.
Bryan Meads and Don Miklic are finishing the work in the new storage container as I speak. Apparently Les Bagley was going to stand around harassing them after he does the morning checks, so the work will progress at a faster rate, I suspect.
The start of the ponding is still quite a ways off, Willy figures roughly 100 ATU's to go, at a current average of 6 ATU's a day - you do the math. Once it's looming on the horizon a bit closer, I'll pass the word and it goes much easier with a few bodies to deal with it.
We have signed on for our usual booth at the Rotary Auction again. Doesn't happen 'til May, but if you were planning a trip to Hawaii, this gives you time to cancel, cause it's much more fun to be at the arena. Really !! On the serious side - we will be looking for some socially adept types to man the booth and talk to the masses. More on that later.
Pretty much it for the moment - anything new will be passed along at the meeting, which we WILL attend in droves - right ?? Mel
FEBRUARY
January 19th. - Hi, Everyone; I was informed today that I’ve been lax in keeping in touch. So – I’m reaching out and touching ! Things are going well at the hatchery. Hatching is progressing at a good rate and survival is all we can hope for.
We are in the process of installing new dividers in the Cap troughs – aluminum, no less. It will be ( hopefully) one size fits all, so no more jig-saw party to get them in. Much better for disease control, as well. The new lids for the big round tanks are being made as we speak. Part of the lid will be fixed aluminum (the back part by the walls) and the outer portion will be a frame and net arrangement.
Bryan Meads and his crew have done a great job in the new container and the shelves will be valuable storage. Next work party will be mainly to get the nets sorted and tagged and stored away. Thanks to everybody that was there last weekend – a lot of work was done. My apologies to those standing in the line of fire when we turned the pump on for the hoses. Who knew a pipe had come apart over the winter ?? An overhead one, at that. Mind you – if my repair had held the first two tests, there wouldn’t have been quite as much water flying around. Safe now !
Still some spots to fill on the feeding roster. I’ll bring a list to the next meeting, so all those frantic to get on the list before it fills up can grab a spot.
We’re still holding at five steelhead. Willy had the first group grope last Saturday, but he must have lost his touch since the Fall, no-one was ready to go for it. The old close, but not that close syndrome. If anyone’s interested in the process, let me know and I’ll try to keep you in the loop. For those who have never been involved – unlike the salmon, we’re not allowed to kill the steelhead to harvest. The eggs have to be taken from live fish and the donors are returned to the river. Interesting process. Involves sedation and air pressure – very high tech sexplay!!
That about covers the recent stuff, see everybody at the General meeting on Feb. 10. Mel
January 19th. - Evening, all; Just a reminder that there will be a work party this weekend to get some stuff done. Hopefully, under better weather conditions than we’ve had !!
For those who haven’t heard – the shocking is done, lots of hatching going on, two mink trapped so far and five steelhead in the holding pattern. See you on Saturday – Butler’s gate at 9 a.m. Mel
January 15th. - Good afternoon, All, Is it just me, or does ”at least you don’t have to shovel it” not really cut it anymore ?? A squirrel just ran past the window in a floation device – enough already !!
We finished off the last trays this morning – all the shocking is done. The Coho have started to hatch, so things are trudging along at the normal pace. One mink so far in the trap, a small one apparently. Not a happy one, by any means – the stick I had through the trap to hold the fish head in place looked like it had been through a chipper.
There are now five steelhead in the tank, all nice looking fish.
There will be a work party on Saturday, January 23, to whittle away at the to-do list. One busted valve from the freeze-up to replace – pipefitters welcome, shelving to put up in the container – carpenters welcome, general clean-up around the troughs and the tool-room – mindless laborers line up behind me ! (Meet at the gate not later than 9am)
We’re going to replace the wooden dividers in the troughs with aluminum ones, for sanitary purposes and ease of installation. Not that expensive and anyone who’s spent hours trying to figure out which ones go where, then jumping up and down on the ones that still don’t quite fit, will appreciate this improvement.
Still a few spots on the feeding/cleaning roster. Those of you who are waiting in the wings to leap to front of the line – wait no more. Pass along your name, while the spots are still available.
Thank you to all the people who put up with cold hands and my cooking during the shocking parties, your help is what makes the whole thing work. Mel
Wednesday, January 13. - GENERAL MONTHLY MEETING 7PM at the Sooke Community Hall
Monday, January 11. - DERBY MEETING 7PM AT 7194 DEERLEPE ROAD
JANUARY 2010
28th. December - Everybody caught up on their sleep ??
Just a note to let you all know when the january meetings will be. Stan has offered his new place for the first Derby meeting, (along with a couple of other kind souls) so we'll go there and critique all the renos while we're at it. He's in Steve French's old place, for those that know where that is. For those who don't, it's 7194 Deerlepe Rd. That's about three houses short of the Stop sign when you're going to Bryan or Neil's place. Should be enough cars along the road to make it simple. We'll go for 7 p.m. on Monday, January 11.
The usual general meeting will be the same week, on the 13. Same old time, same old place.
Things are quiet at the hatchery, always a good thing. The Chinook are hatching at a good pace. Still a few trays of Coho to shock, I'll put out the word on when. We have one steelhead, a doe, as of Saturday, don't know if peter has been on the river over the weekend or not.
Have a good New Year's Eve and hope New Year"s Day isn't a painful ordeal for anyone. Mel
23rd.. December - Ho, Ho, ****&%%% Ho;
Kidding, just kidding, just a syptom of seasonal burnout. For those who haven't had a chance to keep up - we're well into the Coho shocking. Willy's figures are giving us an 85 % survival, which is really good, when you factor in the dead females we harvested. We're getting roughly 35-40 % survival from the dead-female eggs, which is not too shabby, when you figure we used to toss the dead ones and lost everything. Other than borderline frosrbite from the water temperature, its been a good shocking period.
The work parties we had during the Fall were highly productive and a lot of the back-up in the Job Jar was dealt with. The new container hasn't been put into service yet, the nets were all frozen solid and wouldn't have been too easy to measure and move. A task for warmer times. Not sure who's idea it was to convert the Container into a dog kennel to make space during work parties, but it would take up the whole space to house all the critters, so that idea wasn't gonna fly. Besides, we'd just have to clean up the spilled food ourselves, so it just creates more work.
Most of the alterations that wiser minds came up with for the new trap have been done. I'm sure that next Fall, those of a " Damn, there must be a better way to do this" mind, will come up with more ideas, but what's been changed will definitely help to keep Les out of the river. We dumped a couple of loads of road-base on the road at John Martin's, so that one was crossed off the list. Thanks to the guys on the shovels (except Les Eve, who threw more gravel down my boots than out of the truck. Loggers, you can work 'em, you just can't train 'em!)
We finally got our Steelhead permit. Wish the gov't was as slow to collect taxes, but that's not gonna happen. Peter's already got one doe in the tank and he's seen a couple more in his favorite hole. Wish him luck.
One other item to toss on the table beside the turkey and stuffing ! We need to start cogitating on the plans for next year's Derby. (Had to use that word in a crossword, thought it sounded very wise) If someone would consider offering their abode for a first meeting, we'll try to set it up for the Monday before the January general meeting. I'm not seeing a sea of waving hands out there, people !! Any way, if someone is willing, let me know and I'll go from there. If there's a candidate for the job of Event Coordination and Organization Committee Chairperson ( fancy name for stuckee), we could use a name, as well. Actually, it isn't that bad, there's a real pool of great people who make it simple.
With that, I'll let you all go. Have a great day with those near and dear, unless your spouse wants you at home. Kidding again, of course. Merry Xmas and thanks for a great year for the Society. Mel
14th. December - Shocking News - Got your attention? Nothing bad, really. There are several trays of Coho ready for shocking and we'll plan on doing them on Saturday. If its a nice, balmy day, we may try to get some other chores out of the way, but that's a dim hope, I suspect. The Chinook have started to hatch over the last couple of days, so that's on track.
If the weather goes for a dump and we need to rethink things, I'll let everyone know, but as long as the snow doesn't try to turn us into Whistler west, we'll be on for Saturday, see you then. Mel
4th. December - Ho, ho, everybody; There will be a slight change to the work party schedule for Saturday. Everybody will meet here first, and after my xmas lights are all up, we'll head up to the hatchery. Kidding, of course.
Just reminding everyone that there will be a General Meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 09, usual place and time. If you still have dues to pay, bring some cash and get it off your xmas list. Hope to see you all there. Mel
3rd. December - The work is not over for the year yet. As long as the snow gods allow we need one last work party this year. (why do they call it a party)
It's now time to winterize the Hatchery.
1. drain taps & some of the pipes
2. remove air stones
3. stow unused netting and build shelving for the netting we used most of the time
4. test the emergency portable pump
5. shock two more coho trays
If you are available SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5th please be at the Butler gate at 9:00 a.m.
Hope to see you there
Don Miklic
Vice-President
DECEMBER
29th. November - We have officially completed this year's egg harvest as of this morning. The guys took the eggs from the last female coho and released the remaining males into Rocky creek, in case there are any ladies looking for a hot date. There have been a substantial number of nice coho in the creek this year, some in the recent week, so, who knows?
All the Chinook eggs have been shocked and one tray of Coho has been done. It'll be a week or so before the next trays are due, but I'll put the word out when we're close. for those interested.
There will probably be a work party in the next week or so, hopefully a Saturday, to deal with a few things that are outstanding, before winter. Mel
24th. November - Sorry about the dearth of info, no real excuse except that I've been busier than a bear in spawning season the last few days. Luckily, Willy and the gang probably haven't missed me much, just carried on and did the work.
I spoke to Bryan Meads wife at the show and the long-suffering lady is surviving his recovery. Knowing Bryan, probably much better than he is. I suspect she'll be at the door, waving happily the first day he gets out for a run. Glad to see the worst over for him, he's missed around the place.
The new container is happily ensconsed at the Hatchery. It went into it's new home like planned, sometimes even the dumb get lucky. Its amazing what they can do with those platform trucks, he moved the container around like a good thing. 'Course, it had to be raining ! Now we get to hide a whole bunch of stuff.
Still a few stubborn Coho holding out on us. Either that or Willy is getting too close to them and doesn't want to do the deed. All the Chinook are shocked, finally, with a really good survival rate. Somewhere around 4-5%, I think. Good, anyway.
It'll be a while before the first Coho eggs are ready for the big drop.
A last note for everyone who hasn't dug under the mattress yet - dues are due again, so try to make the next meeting and sign up for another fun-filled year with the fish. Give some thought to the idea of spending some real bonding time with the little ones in the Spring - we'll be asking for feeders before long. The more we can feed, the bigger the ones you get to catch. MEL
18th. November - We will be shocking three chinook trays and, hopefully, taking eggs, tomorrow. (Thursday), so if anyone feels the urge to go cross-eyed staring at little orange eggs, we'll meet at Butler's gate at 9 a.m.
Monday will be a case of hearing from the truck driver when he's leaving Saanich and meeting him in the village to take him to the Hatchery. I'm guessing that we won't see him before 10:30 or 11:00, but there's a couple of things that can be dealt with before then. Let's just go with 9 a.m. at the gate and hope for the best. Mel
18th. November - One can only hope it's raining in Hawaii, I'd hate to think Les Eve is missing all the fun !! Still a few stubborn coho in the tank, what is it with females ? Spend three years getting ready for an event, then hang around like they don't want to take part. It's a bit painful, one fish a day.
Bryan Meads, our shiny new Director, is home from the body shop. He's still a bit limited, 'til the paint dries on the body work on his leg, but Jackie will probably be glad to get him out from underfoot when he's mobile. I understand the nurses on his floor gave him flowers when he left, in honor of the peace and quiet they were looking forward to. Hard to keep a good man down. Welcome home.
Our new Storage Container will be arriving on Monday, Nov. 23rd. If there are a few people with a couple of hours to kill, it would be great to have a small crew on hand to get it located. Couple of other things to deal with, as well. We need to give the emergency pump a run-up and it would be good to have some members there to see how it works. Hope it never has to be used, but, if it does, the old "chicken with its head cut off" operational mode would be kinda sad to see, so we'd like to get dialed in on the set-up.
The colder temperatures have slowed down the shocking program, but there just may be some trays to do by then, as well. More on that as we hear from Willy.
15th. November - Who's up for a shift to Spring ? I suggest we skip the rest of the Fall/Winter stuff, enough already ! Good for fish, I guess.
We still have some coho at the hatchery who can't make up their minds about spawn/no spawn. Bill's beginning to feel like Romeo, standing in the rain under a balcony, getting wet and waiting for something to happen. The egg take has been fairly good on the coho and we're holding good numbers in the trays.
The Director's plan for a fact-finding trip to Hawaii has been put on hold. We decided, instead, to spend the money on a GPS for Les Bagley, so his next trip to Nitinat will be less eventful, although his passengers seemed to enjoy the side trip to somewhere. The Nitinat eggs arrived (eventually !) and are happily growing in the trays. A long day for the travellers, good work, everybody.
I spoke to Peter McCully at Goldstream on Saturday and we have reason to be well satisfied with our season, so far. Most of the Hatcheries along the inside of the Island are having rather poor returns, some verging on disasters.
The colder water of the last few days has had a couple of effects. One - no-one wants to get their hands in it to pick eggs very much, and - two - it's slowed the process down and shocking is delayed for the trays still coming due. I'll keep you in the loop as to when there will be more trays ready. Mel
10th. November - A huge thank you to everybody that showed up for the shocking party. It was probably one of the best days we've ever had for sheer numbers of eggs done. Basically the whole chinook population is done, with the exception of four trays that aren't quite ready. We alotted two days for the work and it was done by 2:30 today, so tomorrow will just be a case of checking coho females and harvesting any that are ready. If anyone's interested, it will be the usual 9 a.m. at Butler's gate. Again - thanks for the turnout and the hard work. Hope to see most of you at the meeting tomorrow night. Mel
8th. November - Hey, everybody (and I DO mean everybody); We will be shocking Chinook eggs on Tuesday (and probably Wednesday, as well) and if you can free up some time, the more hands, the better. There's a lot of eggs to do, about 24 trays altogether. Free lunch and all the eggs you can pick. We'll meet at Butler's gate at 9 a.m., as usual. Bring a friend. Mel
A huge thank-you to everybody who turned out on Saturday. I was surprised at how many came out with the rain, didn't really want to go myself !! But - it turned out to be a decent day and a lot got done. More coho were harvested, we have 50,000 eggs for a total of 113,000 coho eggs with about 30 females left. One (1st) tray of chinook was shocked and most of the garbage was burned. For the moment, all the leaves are gone and the yard is much neater (at least til the next wind). We fixed up the spot where we plan to install our storage container, that will get all the nets off the ground and make it even tidier.
A reminder to all - AGM and general meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. We'll be voting on the Director's holiday in Hawaii, so you might want to be there. Annual dues are due, so bring money ! Again - thanks for the turnout. Mel
5th. November - Good Afternoon; Our chinook eggs from Nitinat will be ready on Nov. 11 and the plan is to pick them up on the 13th (Friday). If anyone is interested in making the trip to see the hatchery, the truck will be leaving around 6 a.m. The trip involves returning to the Hatchery here in late afternoon and putting the eggs in trays. Its usually a 12 hour round trip with a stop for lunch in Duncan or somewhere in that area. Let me know as soon as possible so I can work out the details. Mel
4th. November - Hey, People; Harvested more coho eggs today, slowly getting there. Just a reminder that there will be a work party on Saturday, Nov. 07 to get a couple of chores out of the way. Cleanup in the compound is a biggy, lots of leaves, among other things. So- if you can spare some time, a good turnout would be great.
AGM next week, as well. Annual dues time, too, so bring your money. Mel
1st. November - Good Morning. I sent out a notice regarding the AGM/General meeting for this month (Nov.) yesterday. It inadvertantly went out from the Society e-mail address, so that may cause some confusion for replys, if there are any. If anyone sends me a reply, it will come to my own e-mail now.
I know that Nov. 11 is Remembrance day, but I figured most of the official ceremonies are long over by 7 p.m. and, since it is a non-working day, it shouldn't have a large impact. If it will be a major problem for a majority of members, let me know asap and we can go for a different day. I'm not certain how hard it would be to re-schedule the Hall for a different night, so I need some time. Unless I hear from a lot of people by early this week, the date won't change. Mel
NOVEMBER
31st. October - OK-put down the Halloween candy and listen up !!
Monday morning will be the next day for checking the coho for eggs. Usual time at Butler's gate, 9 a.m. We've harvested two females to date and there should be a couple more ready.
There will be a work party on Saturday, Nov. 07 to get some stuff done that's piling up. General clean-up in the yard and preparation for the container for storage. We need to clean up the old "Junk Yard" up the hill and make a flat area for the container. If it's reasonably dry, anyone with a leaning towards arson can get a fire going and clean up the junk piling up outside the back gate, as well.
Last item - AGM and General meeting on Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. Hopefully, we'll have a good turnout to get some things sorted out for the coming year, schedules for feeding and such. You can go back to swiping the kid's candy now. Mel
29th. October - Friday Morning Hey, there; We will be checking the coho for donor candidates, if anyone wants to be on hand. Usual place, the gate at 9. Mel
26th. October - Greetings, All; Well, the deed is done. We have all our Coho in the Hatchery as of this afternoon. The gate is open and the harvest is over. This rain brought fish up to the weir like teenagers at an I-pod sale. We took everything in two days and now we start the egg production.
Thanks to everybody who worked at the weir, it went well.
Willy's going to start checking for ripe females (doesn't sound very nice, does it?) on Wednesday morning. Knew there was something a bit strange with him. Family secrets, don't ask. Anyway, to get serious, we'll meet at Butler's gate at 9 a.m. and get to it, so - if anyone is interested in the process, or has been there, but has some time available, all help is welcome. We have a fair number of fish to sort and some clean-up to do, if enough hands show up. Mel
24th. October - Another call to arms; We are getting coho at the weir and if anyone can be available in the mornings, at 9 a.m., it would be great if you can show up to help move fish to the hatchery. We'll be meeting at the weir on Young Lake rd. by the bridge.
It will be every morning for the next few days, until we get the numbers we need for broodstock. There may be days with no fish, but we still have to check. Mel
24th. October - Good Morning; If someone has an hour free today around 4 p.m.(Saturday) and could give Bill a hand at the Coho trap on Demamiel, could they give him a call at 642-3443? We took a bunch of fish this morning and the trap should be looked at again before dark. Thanks. Mel
23rd. October - Other than the guy gathering all the animals and building the big boat in my yard, things are going well. All the gear is back at the hatchery from John Martin's (thank you, everybody, for your time). There haven't been any more Coho at the weir yet, but this rain will probably stir the hormones a bit.
We check the trap every morning at 9. so if anyone wants to stop by and see what's happening, feel free. Not exactly a bracing exercise yet, but, once there are some fish, things will perk up. Mel
22nd. October - Greetings, All; We're hoping to get the last of the stuff back to the Hatchery tomorrow morning from John Martin's. If a few harty souls have an hour or two to spare, it would be appreciated. We'll meet at the Soccer Field at 9 a.m., pick up the stuff and go up to the Hatchery.
The water has dropped to the point where we're not seeing anymore Coho at the weir yet, so we don't have any at the Hatchery right now. Right now it's just a case of watching the water temp and general conditions at the Hatchery. If things continue at the present rate, it looks like the first shocking will take place around mid-November. Mel
21st. October - Good Evening, All a huge thank you to everybody who was on the river this morning. It made a nasty job much easier. If Rob Gamache had spent less time swimming and more time actually working, we'd have been done sooner, but he wouldn't get out of the pool. Does a great breaststroke, though.
Almost everything is back at the ranch, except for one load that's too long for the Hatchery truck. Another day, not to worry. The new trap worked well and after the usual "damn, why didn't we think of that. We'll fix it before next year's broodstock" stuff is done, it'll work even better.
We are holding 295,804 eggs (chinook) in the trays, now we wait for the Coho. We have a couple of Coho and a few Chum in Rocky Ck., below the hatchery, always nice to see. Mel
19th. October - So---everybody up for a morning at the river ?? Hope so - it's on for tomorrow morning to get all the bits back on dry land. The water was down nicely this a.m., not quite enough for easy working, but down. It should be good tomorrow, so we'll meet at the Soccer Field at 9 and get it over with. If you can be there, great, the more the merrier. Mel
18th. October - Stand by, here we go again -
The river was down about a foot at the trap and everything is still holding on - moved a bit, but still holding. We'll plan on Tuesday morning, before the rains start on Wednesday (forecast is always spot on - right ?). We'll meet at the Soccer Field on River road at 9 a.m. and go from there. If you can spare a couple of hours, all hands will be appreciated.
There are two females left at the Hatchery which will have their moment in the spotlight tomorrow and that will be it for the Chinook. Should give us just under 300,000 eggs, unless there are a few in the trap in the morning.
The Coho have arrived at Demamiel weir today. We released the ones that were there, since they were all really green, but may start keeping a few over the next day or two. The plan will most likely be to meet at the Weir in the mornings at 9 and deal with whatever is there. Everybody is welcome to come up and chip in.
There is one morning still open for someone to do the water check at the Hatchery (Sunday) if someone feels the call to duty. Let me know. Mel
17th. October - Good Morning; - Ask for a little money and your taxes go up - ask for a little rain and the high water mark's somewhere around your chin !! And just about as quickly as the taxes arrive.
We checked the trap last evening and there was about six inches of it sticking out of the river. The water rose about four feet, roughly, a lot of rain. The odds of getting anything done about the trap are pretty well nil until Tuesday. That's assuming the forecast is right and the rain's are over for a day or two.
On the bright side - no more water issues at the Hatchery. Rocky is up and roaring, again. We have three female chinook still waiting for beds in the maternity ward (wait-lists everywhere) and everything is ready for the arrival of the coho at Demamiel.
Back to the Trap & Fence - we'll check it today and tomorrow and I'll fire off a bulletin every day as to status of the river. Hopefully, we'll be able to deal with it Tuesday morning. Mel
15th. October - Morning, Everyone; Apparently I neglected to add a meeting point to the message about Saturday's trap removal. We'll meet at the High School at 9 a.m., since the Soccer field is usually pretty busy. Hope to see a lot of faces. Mel
15th. October - It's that time of year again. We have to start monitoring the water temp for the eggs in the next few days. What is needed is for one person to check the water temperature in the morning and ensure everything is kosher for flows in the Incubation Room. Takes, at most, 45 minutes. Anyone who can do a morning, please let me know in the next day or two and we'll get a schedule drawn up.
Lots of chum in the trap this morning, but no chinook.
Plans are still in place for Saturday morning, to pull everything out at John's. The more hands, the easier the work, so if you have a few hours, please show up at the High School by 9 a.m. and we'll get the job over and done.
One other item. If someone has the third set of keys, could they get them back to Jack's or let me know. Mel
13th. October - We are changing the plan, with regrets. We haven't had a Chinook in the trap for the last two days and that leaves us short 8-10 fish for our numbers. The decision has been made to leave the trap in place until Saturday, to hopefully get us the fish we need, after the predicted rain that is forecast over the next couple of days. My apologies to those who made the effort to leave the day open tomorrow, but Mother nature is calling the shots at the moment. Mel
11th. October - Good morning, All; Twelve females were taken from the trap and moved to the hatchery this morning, eight were harvested. The total egg-take to date is 226,129 Chinook eggs, which is roughly 75,000 short of what we hope to end up with. If the trap produces the same numbers over the next two days, we will reach our goal on tuesday. As a result of this optomistic approach, we are scheduling Wednesday as the day to pull the trap and fence out of the river.
Those of you who were there when we put the rig IN the river know what a job it was. And those of you who weren't, trust me - it was a bit of a chore. Soooo - I'm asking for as many bodies as possible to be available for a couple of hours on Wednesday morning to help with the removal.And - if anyone has a tame gorilla or two sitting around munching bananas - bring him along. We will meet at the Soccer field at 9 a.m. and go from there. If there is a change in plan, I'll let everyone know on Tuesday. The hope is that we can get everything on dry land before the rains get serious and it turns into a battle against Mother Nature ( who always seems to whip one's butt)
Bryan - if you have a good harness for Mike, we may use him to tow it all out onto the bank. Just a thought.
For those who haven't had the chance to see the new Trap in operation, you're welcome to join us at the soccer field in the morning at 9. Watching Willy and Les Eve going manna-a-manno with a bunch of irate fish in a small space is entertainment that's hard to beat. Mel
6th. October - BROODSTOCK TAKING THIS SATURDAY 10th. OCTOBER - Okay, who knows a rain dance ????
The new trap works well (we think - haven't exactly had a huge rush of customers ) We've had a few Chinook and some Chums, but nothing frantic.
We harvested the first eggs today - two females for a total of 9,000 eggs. One more female in the tank waiting her turn. Water at the hatchery is a bit of an issue, but sufficient for now.
For those who will be coming on the weekend, remember - we'll meet at the High School and try to reduce the number of vehicles at John's as much as possible. 9a.m.
OCTOBER
29th. Sept. Me, again; - It works, ain't that a hoot !! When we checked the new trap this morning, there were three good sized Chinook in it, along with one Chum. Very encouraging. The plan is to deal with them tomorrow (and any more that show up) and see what's moved in on Thursday, when we take the nets and stuff down to John's.
The plan, at this point, is to do a beach seine on Saturday, Oct. 10. By then, we should have a better idea of numbers and what we can take from the net process to get us closer to the numbers we want for the year. I'll put out the word again in the next few days, when things are a bit clearer. So far - so good !!
Once we have an idea of what's involved in keeping up with production from the trap. there will be a call for people to help on a daily basis (maybe every couple of days) to tend the trap and move fish. I'll get the word out when we decide. Mel
29th. Sept. - Apparently, there is some confusion about the date of the work party, so - it's Thursday, Oct. 01. We have one Dog salmon in the trap, or at least, one as of yesterday. Bill and I are going to check the trap this morning and deal with any residents. This rain may speed things up, but we'll see. John spotted what he felt were four Springs in the lowest pool (where we netted last year with great success), so they are in the system. Lots of jumpers above the bridge, around the Flats, at high water. More news as it happens, here on Hatchery FM. Mel
28th. Sept. Good Morning - For those with some time on their hands next Thursday, we will be loading up the nets, cages, transport tanks and other and sundry bits and pieces for beach seining, to move them to John's. Not a huge job, but it'll take a while to make sure we have it all. The usual plan - meet at Butler's gate at 9a.m. Hope to see you there. Mel
A HEARTFELT COMMENT - I'm looking for a word - oh yeah - disappointed, that's it !! We spent several hours at John's yesterday, putting the Fence & Trap in place. When I say we, I'm not referring to the huge turnout of members I had hoped for, I'm speaking of the same few dedicated one's who always show up to save the day. We didn't get done, for a couple of reasons. First time hiccups, running out of netting ( my miscalculation) and generally too much to do and too few to complete.
It ended up about 90% done and looks pretty good, a few final things we'll do today and it should be ready. However, and I do mean, HOWEVER.!! While I understand that we all have lives of our own, although Jud is beginning to wonder, this is a volunteer Society, and, without the most important part of the equation - the Volunteers, it ain't gonna fly, people. As Willy points out, now and then, if you took the regular bunch at the work parties and scrounged your heart out, it would be hard to come up with one healthy worker, it's like the waiting room at the Therapy ward most of the time.
Again, I don't expect everybody to show up, every time, I know realities of life. But !! A few more bodies, and the whole process would be a lot easier. Plus, the members that do donate so much effort would feel like it wasn't beating a dead horse quite so much.
So - down off my soap-box. All that's left to prepare is the gear for beach-seining and the transport system. Now we wait for Big Mother to make up her mind to turn the water on and start the show. Won't be a lot happening until we get some more water, but, when it does, it'll probably be the usual, "Oh crap, call out the troops, it's starting " kind of thing, so - in the immortal words of the kid in shorts waiting at the streetlight for old ladies - BE PREPARED. Mel
20. September. VERY IMPORTANT WORK PARTY MESSAGE - Saturday, Sept.26 John Martin's place.
Morning, All;
So - everybody getting excited about broodstock ?? Just to bring you all up to date: Most of the bits for the new Trap and fence are down at John's, just need to put it together and fine tune everything. "Just", now there's a word that covers a lot of "damn, who forgot those bits?? We'll be holding a work party on Saturday, Sept.26, to put the trap and fence in place. This WILL not be a walk in the park, so to speak. Gonna be a lot of head scratching and "maybe we should try this" kind of stuff. It's going to be important that there are as many able bodied people on hand as possible, so if you can possibly be there, come out and help. We all need to get a handle on how it's going to work, before we have to do it for real.
On the subject of John Martin's place. In order to keep the vehicle numbers under control at John's, I'd like to try something new. As a trial run, we'll meet in front of the High School at 9:30 on Saturday morning and try to leave some of the vehicles there. Car-pool sort of thing. John has asked if we can manage to have a few less cars at his place and I'd like to try and accomodate him.
We had a successful work party this Saturday and managed to get all the new parts in place at the weir on Demamiel. The new cage setup is going to be a great improvement and looks pretty, as well. Lots of shiny aluminum. Hey - if it looks good, it has to work good, right ?? My thanks to you guys who grunted all the heavy stuff down the hill. Brought back some UGLY memories of the days we used to pull the whole monstrosity out every year. Yeah - I can hear all of you who were there agreeing. The general area around the trap was cleaned up and the upstream fender log was re-secured, so that's all in fighting trim for the Coho. They will, of course, be returning in unheard of numbers, right ??
We still have to gather up all the nets and ropes and cages and boats and - well, all the stuff that is the beach seine madness. We will do at least one day of seining, just to enjoy the insanity of it all. Gotta have some fun, can't just bail them out of a trap and go away. At this point, there isn't a lot of fish sign, but if and when we see some serious rain, it'll all kick into high gear pretty fast, so everyone needs to be - well, not on Red alert, but on sorta Pinkish alert, I guess. Must be a better term, I'll work on that !! Best guess would be 10 days to two weeks, but it could be sooner. Everyone who's been here for a few of these knows how fast Mother Nature can decide to see how ready we are. We've been caught with the proverbial pants down where we don't want them a time or two, but it always seems to work out.
I guess that pretty much touches on the high points for now. If anyone wants more info, get in touch, by all means. Mel
12. September. VERY IMPORTANT WORK PARTY MESSAGE - BROODSTOCK TIME.
Okay, start rounding up the animals, two by two - the rains have come !
Missed a lot of you at the general meeting tonight - just forgot - didn't you. We will be moving the new cage and its attendant bits to John Martin's this weekend, on Saturday. There are fish in the harbor and if the rain keeps up, we may want to be ahead of the curve. It's a fairly big job, so a big turnout would be important, if you can spare the time.
I liked my old job - I could look at the crew and say - you WILL be there, now I have to be all nice and stuff - weird.
Anyway, we'll meet at the gate at 9 a.m., as usual and it should take a couple of hours. Then, on the following weekend, we'll be doing it again, on a smaller scale, to get things ready at the weir on Demamiel, so keep that day open, too.
Its getting around to the busy time, again, so be prepared for a lot of begging from the hill. If we're going to keep up the level of the work, it's going to take people and that's where we count on you, the members. See you on Saturday. Mel
9th. September Our monthly meeting will be held at the Community Hall on Wednesday 9th. Starts at 7:00 prompt. All welcome
SEPTEMBER 2009
Saturday, August 29th. WORK PARTY - Be at the gate on Butler Main by 9am if you can make it.
23rd. August. Greetings, All; Just a few things to bring everybody up to date on the latest adventures in the continuing saga of the Society.
First up - the Work Party next Saturday, August 29th., with a free lunch thrown in. It would be nice to see a good turnout, since the work list is fairly long. Nothing too major, but a lot of stuff that needs to be done, if we get the man(people) power to accomplish it. I'd like to be able to use the pipe-work to dial a few more of you in on the workings of the water-system for the trays & troughs. Its a bit daunting, if you're not familiar with it, but not hard to understand, once the system is explained. Sorta like that old Mousetrap game, only on a scale more like a Horsetrap size. We need to have a good Brainstorm session on the new Chinook trap, as well. There's a basic idea in place, but we all know how well those ideas usually work, first time out of the gate. We're almost back into the meeting season, too. The first General meeting will be on Wednesday, September 9th. Now I know a lot of you will be back in school, but just do your homework early that day, so you can make the meeting ! The Consultant's Derby was a success again this year. Thanks to all of you that were there to help at the weigh-in spot. Someone should have brought a bull-whip, it got a bit hectic and unruly, for a while. Everybody trying to weigh in over a period of about 1/2 an hour was crowded, to say the least. It went well, nevertheless and we were the joyous recipients of a cheque for $13, 500.00, a new high for Cristoph and his crew. For a one-day event, they do an incredible job of putting it on. (Stop smiling, Garth, it's only money !) For those who haven't had access to the fact and/or fiction of our Derby, it was another great couple of days. We're thinking of adopting the name - "the Sooke where the Hell are we Derby" since it seems like the fog is around every damn year !! But there were lots of fish and lots of weight, more than any other year and the best of all was the fact that a 39 lb. Hatchery fish was the winner. If you ever wonder why we shed so much sweat doing what we do - that's the kind of answer that makes one go "Yeah!!!" Made a few bucks as well, so it was all a good thing.
I think that about covers current affairs. Hope to see a lot of you on the weekend (somebody with BBQ skills would be good. Stan - you there? Or maybe Neil ??) Mel
21st. August. Consultants Derby General Info: This is mostly for the people who have "signed up" for the weigh-in at Peddar Bay, but anyone else who is at loose ends is welcome to come by, as well. Free booze and food - and a live band - better than we offered !! Actually, not sure about the booze, being a strict teetotaller, I didn't try the bar last year - I seem to remember Bryan Manning crawling around on the grass - he may remember if he paid or not, at least for the first few.
At any rate - I'm planning to be there at 11:30, to set up the tent (which, I hope, means Bryan will be there WITH the tent at the same time ) and the weigh-in starts at 12:00. Cristoph's hoping to have all the fishing crowd processed and up at the tent by 2:30 or so. I figure by 3 he'll be starting to develop a twitch from stress, but maybe it'll work.
The awards part of the day should be over around 5:30 (notice the repeated use of the word "around" - been there, done that) but I hope to be on the road by 6-ish. Hope to see you there. Mel
16th. August. Consultants Derby General Info: Anyone who wants to drop by and either help at the weigh-in or man the info table is more than welcome. Stay as long as you like, the food was great last year. The Derby ended at 1 p.m. last year and the weigh-in was pretty much over by 2:30, when the dinner and awards part started up in the field. That went on for a couple of hours and we just sat under the tent and talked to people and munched away. If memory serves, I was on the way home by 5:30 or so. Mel
15th. August. Consultants Derby - The plan at present is to be at Peddar Bay, with the tent and display stuff, around 11:30 Saturday morning. The weigh-in starts (usually) around 1 P.M. If anyone is interested, feel free to show up and help out. The awards thing is not too long and the food was great, last year. We were out of there around 4:30 - 5, if memory serves. If you can be there and want to let me know, I'd be grateful for any help. Mel
P.S. The bridge is still out on Kangaroo, so we either have to go in to Happy Valley or around through Beecher Bay.
10th. August. Morning, All; Bit weird, waking up to the sound of rain this morning! Who washed their car yesterday ?? One has to hope this reaches up to the Interior, they'll enjoy it to the max, I suspect. Okay, that covers the amenities, now to the business at hand. The work list is done for the Hatchery, nothing major, lot of small stuff. A bit of pipework, some valves to look at, a mounting pile of what must be called garbage( not the word I had in mind, but this is a rather public message!) to deal with and some general re-organization for the Fall. With some luck, and LOTS OF HELPERS, could be done in one day, I hope. No - the capitols wasn't me hitting the Caps Lock key by mistake, I'm hoping, since this IS a democracy and I can't threaten whippings and beatings, that a good number of people can spare a day to get caught up. I will, however, promise grub and refreshments. Yes, Les, that might even cover a couple of cold beer.
Since there is a derby some of us are working at on the weekend of the 21/22nd., the work party will be on the Saturday of the 29th. Of August, for those who might be thinking, he forgot the month, I'll pretend he meant Sept.
In case I forgot to say it in the Derby e-mail, my profound thanks to all of you who worked so hard that weekend, I've heard nothing but good things about how well it went. We even coined a buck or two for the effort.
See everybody on the 29th, 9A.M. at Butler's gate. - Mel
6th. August. Happy August, All; I'm on the hunt for a small crew to help at the Consultant's Derby om August 22, a Saturday. They've asked for help at the Weigh-in, as we did last year, and for a couple of people to be there early in the morning to pass out info packages to contestants. We'll be setting up the tent and offering info and shirts in the afternoon, when they have their dinner and awards. It took about four hours altogether last year, with good food and drink and a nice cheque for the Hatchery. Let me know if you can help out. Mel
3rd. August. Good Morning, All; We done it !! The Derby's over for this year and it was a resounding success, thanks to the members that worked their butts off, the people who fished through the fog and lumpy weather, and the (not so willing) but plentiful fish. Best part for those of us at the weigh-in ?? Our Derby was won by a 39 lb. HATCHERY fish !! Is that not cool beyond words ??
There are still some things to deal with - totaling up some costs and paying the odd bill, lashing Gerry to a tree and chastising him for a couple of very minor glitches that probably were my fault - but, hey, I ain't gonna take the fall !!, and cleaning up the bits of paperwork. It appears, at this point, like the monetary aspect went well. I'll let you know from Mexico, when I see what's left.
A huge thank you to everyone who worked so hard to keep the ball rolling, it truly was an effortless process over the weekend. And, as anyone who's been part of this kind of thing knows, it ain't easy without the people who did the groundwork. Well, might have been better if Tony hadn't driven the car past a cop (with no plates) that didn't do my heart a lot of good. Then shed a hubcap on the way to the flats (thanks, Stu, for spotting and retrieving it) Of course, having to jumpstart it at the weigh-in, to move it to the Flats gave me a bad moment, when we wanted to move it after the party, with the new owners standing around (it DID start that time ) What the hell - if it went too smooth, we'd start to think we were too good at it, right ??
Anyway - it's over for this year. We have some chores to do at the Hatchery and, once we get organized a bit, I'll sound the call for a work party, with the usual huge reponse, of course - right, everybody ?? Be in touch - enjoy the great weather MEL
 2009 SSES Chinook Derby Photographs
August 2009
29th. July. DERBY THIS WEEKEND SATURDAY 1ST. - Weigh-in opens pretty much at daylight and runs until 7p.m., Sunday 2ND. Same opening until Weigh-in CLOSURE AT 1 p.m., then down to the Flats FOR FOOD AND PRESENTATIONS.
28th. July. NEWS UPDATE - DERBY THIS WEEKEND
Hey, Who left the door to Hell open???, So - how ya' all liking the heat, so far? Things are well on track for the weekend, the only big chore is getting everything loaded up and ready for Saturday. If a few people are available at Noon on Friday, we'll meet at the gate at 12 and pack up the hear at the Hatchery. There are a couple of small chores that are outstanding, if enough bodies show up and it's not as deadly hot that day.
Since Don Miklic has been dragged away to go fishing at Kitimat, no-wait, he was going there to work, that's right, yeah, yeah, Bryan Meads has taken on the chore of Derby wrangler for the weekend. He has the "Schedule of Slavery" and can be called, if you volunteered and need to check on your period of "durance vile". If you want to come by and just hang out, we can always find you a job to let someone have a break, so don't feel shy.
Derby stuff aside, once the dust settles, we will be looking at the summer maintenance issue. Nothing huge to tackle this year, but there are several smallish chores. I'll send out a notice as to times and a few warm bodies would be nice, when the time comes. The new trap for John Martin's pool is done - I keep picturing Sheena, Queen of the Jungle in the thing, something left over from the teen years, I suspect !! Looks great, though. New lid for the Demamiel trap is done, as well. Anyone who's felt body parts stretch with the old one is gonna love this one.
Willy and Glen both passed with honours at UBC, although I haven't heard all the stories about the co-ed adventures, if there were any, of course (nudge,wink). It rather sounds like we've been extraordinarily lucky or smart, take your pick, in the success department, for a bunch of scruffy volunteers. You can all be justifiably proud of the work you've been part of, from the sounds of some of the problems occuring elsewhere.
"bout it for the moment, people, hope to see lots of you over the weekend. MEL
Whilst there are no longer any fry to be looked after at the hatchery the Chinnok Derby takes place on 1st. & 2nd August.  Tickets are still available at
EAGLE EYE, THE CRAB SHACK, WEST SHORE SPORTS FISHING CENTRE AND ISLAND OUTFITTERSand in the coming weeks there will be work parties at the hatchery for a general clean up and maintenance. Watch this space.
JULY 2009
June 23rd. There will be two more Derby Ticket sale-days at Eagle Eye. 9am until 3pm each day Sat., June 27 & Sat., July 04.June 17th. The Sea-pens were emptied on Monday evening and all the bits and pieces were hauled back to the ranch. We are now officially on summer holidays. For those who haven't heard, because you MISSED the meeting, there will be no meetings in July and August. We will start up again in September, to get things rolling towards Brood stock time. There will be a couple of work parties during July and August, for maintenance at the Hatchery. Mostly pipe work and valve overhaul, to correct a few problems that popped up around the place. I'll send out a notice and I just know that hordes of people will beat a path to the work site. We realize that summer is not the greatest time to be available, but give it your best shot. If we don't keep things running, it could be disastrous at the wrong time.
Tickets are going well for the Derby, we're going to have a couple more days of Saturday sales coming up. Thanks to the idiot who forgot to put an ad in the Mirror, we didn't get it out there as well as we probably should have. The ad's in this week and next, however. Hey - at least I'm willing to admit to my idiocy, that should count for something.
The Derby Committee will meet in the next week or so, to get the next step moving, I'll let everyone know when that comes along. Mel
June 11th. Couple of short items. First - to all the feeders - Thanks for the effort, the little fellas and fellettes thank you too, but I'm firing the whole works of you ! Since the Steelhead are the only thing left, we'll deal with them over the next few days, before they go. Second - there will be no meetings over the summer, we'll go back into regular meetings in September. There will, of course, be a few Derby meetings over the next while, but we haven't set a date for the next one yet. I'll send out e-mails re: work parties over the summer - if you can help, it would be nice. No cement parties this year - I promise.
Third - I set a time for the Sea pen release for 9A.M. on Monday morning, but, after numerous concerns from members about giving the little guys (sorry - keep forgetting the P.C. version - fishpersons) safety, I'm going to take the group advice and go for 6 P.M. instead and give them the stealth edge of darkness. ! So - see everybody at the wharf at 6P.M. on Monday. Mel
June 10th. Free at last!, free at last!, thank the Lord, they're free at last ! As of this morning, the only residents at the Hatchery Hilton are the Steelhead fry. All the Chinook & Coho have been released. A huge Thanks to everybody for a good season, again. I know how sad all the feeders are going to be, with nothing to do on their alloted days but sleep in , or, in Les's case, go play golf, but that's life. The plan for the Sea pen is: meet at the Gov't wharf at 9 A.M. on Monday and send them off on their travels. We'll pull everything out of there and get it back to the Hatchery. Three or four people will go from there to the Marina and release the fry they've been raising. We'll probably just pull the net out there and leave it for a day or two, then go back and clean everything up. Dealing with the Gov't wharf will be enough for one day, I suspect. See everyone at the meeting tonight, right ?? RIGHT ??? MelJune 9th. After discussion with Willy, the decision is to release the Sea-pen tenants on Monday, June 15. By then they'll be gnawing on the net, for lack of food, so it's time to let them find their own drive-thru. We may do Sooke Harbor Marina at the same time, their food is about used up, too. It would be nice to get the Wharf Pen out on Monday, no - let me re-phrase that - we will get the Wharf Pen out on Monday, but the Marina one isn't that critical. We can let it dry for a day or two before we deal with it.
So - it will require a few good (careful, now) persons to deal with the floats and all the bits that go with it. A good show of bodies will make the chore much easier and it's pretty much the last big chore we face until Fall.
June 8th. The clipping is done !! For those planning on coming out tomorrow (Tuesday), Don't. We had planned to do the rest of the Coho, but they're so small that whatever patience the crew had left would have been short-lived by noon. So there will be a break tomorrow and on Wednesday the Exodus will begin.
Everything will be released with the exception of the Steelhead. We'll keep them as long as we can, so Willy doesn't suffer "empty-nest" syndrome too soon. If a few people can be at the gate on Wednesday at 9, we can move all the Chinook & Coho out and pick up the long hose from the dump site, then clean up the toys for the Summer.
And - as a quick reminder, there's a General meeting on Wednesday at 7P.M. A good turnout would be appreciated, so we can wrap up some stuff that needs to be dealt with. It will probably be the last meeting until September, so I'm gonna bring a couple of cases of beer to celebrate. NOT - but it got your attention, didn't it ??
Huge kudos to everyone who's running around with sore hands and crossed eyes from the last few days, we (that's the royal "we", the clippers get the real credit!) did an amazing job, the final number was around 65,000 fry altogether wondering why their little butts feel so light. Mel
June 4th. Things are winding down at the hatchery for this year. The only Fry left are the ones for clipping over the weekend and the Steelhead, that are now in a trough and growing. There are a few summer maintenence projects that we need to address during the next couple of months, but that's a ways down the road. The next General meeting will be on Wednesday, June 10. We have a fair amount of important items to deal with and that requires a good presence of members, so, please make an effort to be there. A couple of the items involve money, so its nice to have you there as members to help decide on spending. If we have to spend it without your input, don't be muttering down the road that no-one was asked about their opinion.
Just a reminder that we'll be clipping fry over the weekend and on Monday & Tuesday, as well. If you're interested in the process and some free food, come on up for a day or whatever you have to spare. We'll meet at Butler's gate at 9 A.M. every morning.
The Sea-pen fish are eating like teen-agers at the Mall with Dad's Credit Card and growing well. It looks like the food will last for ten days or so, then it's time for the empty-nest syndrome for the feeders. But, hey, like the teen-agers that always seem to show back up on the door step, they'll be back in three years and looking for an anchovie, right, Les ??
June 3rd. Water temp is 13 deg C.Today Bill P. had to cut the water flow to the troughs since the level in the main header was down about 4". Tomorrow Wednesday we intend to move out tanks 8, 9, 10, and 11 (150,000 fry) as well as about half of the coho. Likely on Friday the same amount will be moved out as well. We are hoping that starting Saturday we can clip about 100,000 fry if we have that many left in the hatchery. The sea pen are doing well from 4.5 grams up to 8 grams now. To be released mid month. Thus by mid-month we should be clear of fry except the steelhead which we will try to keep as long as we can. Bryan
JUNE 2009
May 31st. We have reached that stage where water has become a major problem. As a result of existing & perceived shortages, we will be moving fry on Wednesday, June 03. We intend to achieve a state of having empty tanks that can be turned off to provide a cushion for the tanks we have to have water in for the clipping project next weekend. This will entail, hopefully, two trips to the river with fry. If we can prevail upon four or five bodies, that should be lots of help, so, if you can lend a hand, we will meet at Butler's gate at 9 A.M., as usual. Hope to see you there. Mel
May 30th. We moved more fish today, both coho & chinook. We will be starting the clipping project on Saturday, June 06, and the plan is to do as many Chinook as possible on Saturday & Sunday, then switch over to Coho for Monday & Tuesday. There has been a good response from clippers, but anyone who wants to see what it's all about is more than welcome to come up and take part for as long as you want.
May 26th. I'm not sure if I put out a notice about this or not, but we're planning on evicting more tenants on Friday, May 29. The target is three loads if we can get it done. If you want to check out the process, we'll meet at Butler's gate at 0900, as usual.The Steelhead are about 50 hrs. from ponding, so sometime next week, at the temps we're getting now.
Still waiting for a few more responses to the Clipping plan. One day, every day, whatever you can spare, would be a help. Fire me your name and I can work out a schedule. Clipping is the only indication we get as to returns, so it's fairly important.
May 23rd. We've transplanted more little ones, the first Coho are frolicking in Young Lake and the numbers are dwindling at a fine rate. Thanks to the crews who have been hauling them around.
We would like to clip a fair number of both Coho & Chinook fry for ID purposes down the road when they come back. The process will entail roughly two days for each group. If everything goes well, we can run around 15,000 a day thru the scissor brigade, so we hope to do approximately 25,000 to 30,000 Coho and the same number of Chinook.
When ?? Well, we're thinking of the first weekend in June. Starting on Saturday and going through until Tuesday. We realize that a lot of people can't devote all that time to the process, so if we can get a commitment from willing people to put in as much time as they can spare, we can work out a schedule that will take that into account. What I hope to get is a response from willing "Edward Scissorhands" for a couple of days during that period that I can build into a workable plan.
If you've never spent a few hours finger wrestling with a tiny fish that ain't too excited about a fin-trim, you haven't lived !! It's actually kinda fun, seriously. Lotta work, lotta BS around the table, and free food. If you can give us a bit of time that would otherwise be spent foolishly somewhere like the golf course or mowing grass, let me know in the next week, so we can see if it's do-able.
A quick note to anybody who gets a key from Jack's place - please, please remember to roll the combination when you close the door
May 22nd. Today 45,000 coho were moved out to Young's Lake. A further 45,000 chinook were moved to the upper Sooke River. Feeding continues at the sea pen. Bryan May 19th. Update on stuff - The Chinook in the sea-pen are starting to feed well, finally. Not exactly what one would call a feeding frenzy, yet, but they are boiling around a little. We ended up with around 90,000 and 4,000 were moved to Sooke Harbor Marina, where they were doing okay at last word. If anyone notices a "Live Bait" sign appear on the highway, let us know. Matt may try to bolster their income when we're not looking !!
There have been three trips to freedom with fry at the Hatchery, so far. One trip to the Potholes and two runs up Boneyard. Something around 180,00 deportees. There will be another round-up and trail drive on Friday, May 22, if anyone is curious about the process. Mostly from the lower round tanks, 10 & 11. Usual time - 0900 at Butler's gate.
Derby is rolling along and looking good. The final posters are up around town and the phone lists are being done. Our Sponsor's have been really great and the prize list looks pretty healthy, down a bit, with the economy, but surprisingly generous overall. Tickets will be going on the market on June 06 & 13 at Eagle Eye by members, same as the last Derby. If you know anyone who wants in, let 'em know.
A reminder to Derby Committee members (and anyone else who wants to sit in) the next meeting is on May 28 at Neil's, again. We'll be doing the Rule Books & ticket packages, so that'll be a bit labor intensive.
That's about it. I'd like to thank all the people who are working at the Hatchery, doing the feeding and cleaning. One of those boringly mind-numbing jobs - but it has to be done and its being done well - thanks. Mel
May 16th. Friday 15th. we released 120,000 chinook into the upper Sooke (each tank 20,000 - two trips with truck and trailer). It looks like this will be the routine for the next little while. BryanMay 13th. Fry were delivered from Nitinat and deposited in there respective pens.
May 9th. The Sea-pen was put in at the gov't. wharf this morning and four tanks of fry were thinned out, the parolees going to the Potholes for their work-release. There was a noticeable lack of people, people !! It becomes a little sad, seeing only the same few volunteers all the time, until the fun stuff occurs. The biggest reason I send these notices around is in the (all too often, vain) hope that new faces will show up and get a chance to learn what we're all about.
The Nitinat fry will be coming down on Wednesday, around 11 - noon, depending on travel times, and we need a few hands to help put the net in at the wharf, before the new tenants show up for their room. We'll be meeting at the gate at 10 a.m. to load the last of the gear and take it to the wharf. At the same time, we will be taking a small number of the fry to Sooke Harbor Marina for their net-pen. More bodies, people. The fish will be moved by bucket and it's going to take a few helpers. We have to put the net in there, as well, although the net is there, just tied up out of the water.
The process will most likely take four to five hours, but any help given will be welcome, even if you can't be around for the whole evolution. Bring a friend, preferably one who loves work (not watching it - doing it !) So come on out - I don't mind taking off my shoes to count heads, if I use up my fingers. Mel
May 4th. First - We had a good day at the Rotary Auction, lots of interest and good feedback. Thanks to everybody who made the process easy. It was great to see Stan the Man roaming around like old times. Plans are more or less on track for the Sea-pen thing. We'll be putting the pen
in at Sooke Harbor Marina on Friday and the Gov't wharf one on Saturday. Anyone
who can help is more than welcome to come along. The one at Sooke Marina will
involve packing a fair amount of bits and pieces out the floats, so it would be
nice to have as many as possible show up.May 1st Rotary Auction takes place including an n educational display manned by SSES volunteers
MAY 2009
29th. April We will be welcoming the new additions on May 13th, rather than May 11th, due to time issues at Nitinat. The pens will be going in the water on the same days, we just get the fish a bit later. 26th. April General status note: Almost all the fry are ponded and the Steelhead eggs were shocked on Saturday 25th.. We'll be starting to thin the numbers with releases before long, both to ease the crowding and to ensure good water ( Rocky creek is slowing down, as it does every year). We're pretty much up to speed for the Rotary auction on May 2nd. It's looking like the fry for our Sea-pen and the new pen at Sooke Harbor Marina may be coming from Nitinat at the same time, so we need to have both set-ups in
place and good to go by May 10th. If we can get a few people to be available on May 8th, we'll get the pen done at the Marina first. The Pen at the Gov't wharf will, hopefully go in
Saturday, May 9th. That one, as many of you are aware, takes a bit more effort. Derby - Well - the confusion is slowly being downgraded to organized confusion.
The support from our Sponsors has been really great and we are planning to get
the printing of tickets and Posters underway this week.
22nd. April We're going to have a work party on Saturday morning (25th.) If interested be at the gate on Butler Main by 8.45am. Mel
Our next monthly meeting will be held at the Community Hall on Wednesday 13th. MAY . Starts at 7:00 prompt. All welcome
15th. April There won't be anything ready for ponding this weekend, so everybody can polish the clubs or sharpen the hooks and enjoy the time off.We still have some Spring clean-up to deal with, but that can wait for a while. Thanks for all the response over the last while, it makes the work easier for all.
At the moment, we have roughly half the Coho to pond and just a few trays of Chinook left. Sadly, we had a few bad trays and lost a number of fry, but we still have great numbers of healthy little ones Mel
The general monthly meeting was on April 08 at the Community Hall.
5th April The second stack of Chinooks was ponded on Saturday and the third Mink was relocated to a new home.The Spring chores are getting knocked off at a good rate, thanks to everybody at the work parties.
Saturday, April 11 will be another work party, mostly for ponding. There will be four or five stacks to pond, so anyone who's interested in the process and learning what's involved in the feeding/cleaning part of the system is welcome to come up and lend a hand. Hell, we'll let you use both hands.
On Tuesday, April 07, we're going to start on the Otilith recovery program. Yeah, I know, what's an Otilith and why are we recovering them ? The Otilith is the small bone that fish use to detect vibrations in the water that they transfer into sound. It's in the head, behind and slightly above the gill plate. Finding them is akin to the needle in the proverbial haystack. The science boffins have developed a method of altering the bone in the early stages of growth that makes it possible to identify place of origin and even date of hatching. The fry from Nitinat are marked this way. The heads of our broodstock Chinook were saved and frozen. Now we are going to recover as many of the bones as possible and ship them off for identification. Think CSI Sooke, with Glen as the weird head of the group!!
Anyway, we're going to have a "training day" to figure out the process and anyone with some time is invited to partake of the autopsy school. Should be interesting and we'll do BBQ if we're there for lunch. Butler's gate at 0900 Mel.
1st APRIL We've started ponding, so FROM MONDAY 6th. IT'S TIME TO GET FEEDING UNDERWAY - ROSTER.
Stan Eakin is home and doing well, he'd probably like a visitor or two, just skip the doughnuts !. If anyone wants to e-mail him a couple of insults or something, I can pass along the address. MelAPRIL
30th. March. We ponded the first babies on Saturday, 8 trays of Chinooks. Great turnout, everybody, thanks, a lot was accomplished. Neil did a fair job of standing in for Stan at the BBQ.
We are now at the point where feeding and cleaning becomes a reality. There are still a few blanks in the roster that Really need to be filled:
Monday - no-one for the afternoon (only need one person, just to feed, although company is nice. I've done afternoons for a few years and it can be a tad boring by ones self.)
Friday - again - no-one for the afternoon
Saturday- we need one person for the morning shift and one for the afternoon.
24th. March Good Morning, Everybody; There will be a work party at the Hatchery on Saturday, Mar. 28, at 9 a.m. to get a few more Spring jobs out of the way. We'll be checking the babies for ponding, as well. There may be a couple of trays ready, depending on the usual factors.Stan Eakin has been thru his bypass surgery and is recovering nicely. He's not ready for visitors yet, still pretty groggy. Neil is in contact with Robin, his daughter and she's keeping him in the loop.
There was a good turnout at the Derby meeting and things are going along at a good rate, to date. Good response from Donors. Hope to see a good crowd on Saturday, there'll be burgers and dogs for lunch, for the hungry. MelThere is a Chinook fishing Derby Meeting at Director Gerry Glaum's home at 7pm on Monday 16th. Telephone 250 642-7806 or email glaums@shaw.ca for details. SSES Members and willing volunteers welcome Thursday 12th. Well attended meeting last night with Community Advisor
Sonora Butterfield present She is a straight talking young lady who indicated that she is willing to help the SSES in any way she can and is an available contact to groups and individuals alike. Wednesday 11th. is our monthly meeting at the Community Hall. Start at 7:00 prompt. Our new Community Advisor
Sonora Butterfield
is scheduled to be at the meeting so please come along. All are welcome.The very cold weather continues to inhibit ATU levels and unless there is a sudden change for the better ponding is unlikely to take place much before the end of the month
MARCH
Saturday 28th. Hatchery repairs, cleaning and maintenance was carried out by a volunteer work party Work party planned for Sat. 28th. anyone interested to be at Butler Main gate by 8.50amAt the recent meeting Hatchery Director Glen Varney reported that we currently have 152,392 Coho eggs and 532,058 Chinook eggs. Survival rate approximately 90%. The Society will sponsor a table at the next Rotary Auction. Wednesday 11th. Feb. Monthly meeting held at the Community Hall. Confirmed that the SSES has been granted a Permit to take a small number of Steelheads.The province has agreed to attend a meeting to explain their position on steelhead. President Hull also advised the membership that the Community Advisor would like to attend one of our monthly meetings Water temp's remain very low as a result ATU's are slow to rise. Ponding will certainly not be taking place before MarchChinook Fishing Derby planning is underway with several meetings having taken place. More Volunteers are still needed anyone who is willing to lend a hand should contact the SSES President Mel Hull Tel. 250 642-5548 email melanjudy@shaw.ca. FEBRUARYAll Coho have now been shocked with a good survival rate. Wednesday 14th.Jan. Monthly meeting held at the Community Hall. Amongst other subjects the question of Steelheads was debated at some length. Thursday Jan 8th. The Hatchery survived the holidays in fine shape. The daily minders are heartily sick of the hike in and out, but at least there were no problems, -well - shortness of breath and sore legs don't really count, I guess. The coho trays are being shocked at a very slow rate and the chinook are hatching nicely. Earliest time for ponding will be March, by the look of things. The water temp went down to 0.3, which is about as cold as its ever been, -6 air temp at the manifold. The Derby is underway, in a manner of speaking. More on that at the meeting next week. We really need everybody to give serious thought to helping, in whatever way they can. A request for volunteers will be made at the meeting. Hey - Gerry puts out a great munchie selection and good coffee, so it's not a bad deal. The other thing that we need people to think on is the upcoming feed/clean requirements. Morning shifts are the critical ones, with the cleaning. "Many hands make light work" and all that wise old saying stuff. Afternoons are mostly just feeding. We'll be asking for names at the meeting. Don't make us go the "kick a##* and take names route", that's no fun.
Happy "at least it's kinda green again" New Year, all;
Jan 3rd. Getting to the hatchery This morning Tony and I did our Friday thing at the hatchery. The
snow was frozen so hard my little car did not make it to the gate so we walked in. It was worse walking than last Friday when the snow was soft. ATU's were 552. Water temp 3.1 Cheers Bryan Manning
Tuesday 29th. Greetings from the frozen heights of Lannon Creek; The first Derby meeting was held last night. The first steps were taken towards the project and we'll fill everyone in at the General meeting on the 14th of January. There won't be any shocking to be done for at least a week and probably longer with the temp the way it is. Which is, of course, abysmally cold !! We may have to budget for snowshoes for the daily trips if "Global Warming" keeps this up. If anyone was planning to attend the meeting last night and missed out due to my oversight, my apologies and let me know in as few four-letter words as possible, so I can make sure it doesn't happen again. Have a great New Year and don't shelve the studded tires just yet !! MELSunday 28th. To all you snowbirds; First -a reminder for those who are interested in helping with the Derby project - there is a meeting at Gerry Glaum's igloo on Monday, the 29th at 7 p.m. Anyone who needs directions can contact me here and I'll try not to send you into oblivion. Second - for those doing Hatchery watch. The road was a nightmare on Saturday, at least Young Lake road was. Glen managed to get into the main gate with his mini-semi, but didn't try to get beyond the flat stretch. It's probably a lot better now, but just be aware that you may have fun. Third - all those who have a deep-seated hatred of all things white and fluffy - hold up your hands !! Cheers Friday 26th. Getting to the hatchery Road from gate to the hatchery is still covered in deep snow and only accessible with appropriate transport hence Bryan, Tony and Elizabeth (Bryan's daughter) plus three dogs had to leave their small car at the gate and make the journey on foot.
A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MEMBERS
Monday 22nd. Ho,HO,HO; If anyone who hasn't yet stuck their hand in the air to help with the Derby is interested, there is going to be a meeting after the big day - Xmas, what else would I mean ??. Drop me a line and I'll fill you in on the details. Have a great 25th. Things are going well at the hatchery, water temp on Saturday was .03, the coldest I can remember it. Shocking has been somewhat delayed as a result, of course. MEL
Wednesday 17th. Hello, one & all; With the weather the way it's been and seems to be planning to continue, I'm suggesting that we wait until after the Xmas period to hold the first get-together for the Derby. I'm thinking the Monday after Xmas, the 29th, would be a workable date. If those who are willing to get this thing underway could let me know if that works, I'll finalize a time and place in the next few days. Hope everyone has a good holiday and, if you ain't been good, at least the coal will help you keep warm !! MEL
Thursday 13th. Start of Coho egg shocking. If interested, be at gate on Butler Main between 8.45 and 9am. Mel Hull
Thursday 11th. Hello, All; First and foremost, I have to apologize profusely to many, if not most, of you. I've been bumbling along, thinking I had the e-mails of everyone in the folder I use to send out hatchery info. Apparently not so !! So, if you've had the feeling you'd been forgotten, I assure you that's not the case, just the techno wizardry of the Pres that's been sadly remiss. So - an update for those who have been out of the loop. The Chinook have been shocked and we started the Coho today. It will be at least a week before the next trays are due and this time, I promise to let everyone know. At the General meeting this week, the decision was made by the members present to hold a Derby this year, partly monetary, yes, but also to keep us in the public eye, as the Derby has been so effective at doing. We now need a few volunteers to form a Derby Committee and get the ball rolling. Anyone who might be up for the work is asked to respond to me by e-mail and I'll set up a meeting to start the process. Again, my abject apologies for the lapse, and, if I see a crowd coming up the hill with flaming torches, I'll understand. I may open fire, but I'll understand. MEL
Thursday 11th. At yesterday's monthly meeting the majority of the members present voted in favour of holding a fishing derby in 2009. Volunteers able to assist are requested to contact President Mell Hull Tel. 250 642-5548 email melanjudy@shaw.ca.Wednesday 10th. Is our monthly meeting at the Community Hall. Start at 7:00 prompt. All are welcome. All Coho eggs have now been harvested and the water temperature at the hatchery will be monitored daily until the point when we can begin shocking of the Coho eggs. Members will be notified by email when that is taking place. DECEMBER 2008Nov. 27 Hi, Members; Just an update on things at the Hatchery. All the Chinook eggs are shocked and there are only a few Coho left to harvest. They will be looked at on Friday by the regular TEMP. CREW for status and, if ready, will be the last chore for a while. It's looking like four to five weeks until the first Coho eggs will be ready for shocking. Thanks for everyone's help with the shocking, it went well and the survival is great. Current numbers, Chinook - (after shocking) - 518, 000 and 147,700 for Coho to date. Mel Hull. Previous Years Egg Totals Nov. 18 Our thanks go to the South Vancouver Island Rangers that have been supporting us for some time with donations from their in-house derby and we have just received another $300.00 from them. To date they have donated a little over $2000.00 to the SSES.NOVEMBER 18th.  free local environment workshop Nov. 15 We are continuing to take Coho eggs and have commenced shocking of the Chinook eggs currently in the incubator room Wednesday Nov 12. At the AGM outgoing President Bryan Manning was thanked for his excellent stewardship of the Society throughout his term of Office. New SSES President is Mel Hull Tel. 250 642-5548. New Secretary is Rob Henderson Tel.250 642 0518. Also see feature below. Matthew Mackenzie General Manager of the Sooke Harbour Resort & Marina, pictured making a $1500 donation on behalf of the company to Chairman Bryan Manning at the recent SSES AGM. The donation was the proceeds of the first Chum Fishing Derby organized by the resort & marina. Also representing the company at the AGM was Jen Raffert and they had brought along several other guests. Both Matt & Jen took great interest in the meetings proceedings and subsequently have joined the Society. Nov. 12 Is our AGM at the Sooke Community Hall at 7:00 pm. Annual dues are due.Nov 9 Today we were able to take our full quota of Coho from the trap at Youngs Lake and released many more to make their way up river. Endorsing what we had seen when taking Chinook from the river in October, the size and quality of the Coho seen today was superb. Interesting to note the number of Hatchery fish taken for broodstock (Adipose fin removed) and a number of others were released. As a result of starting to harvest the eggs from the captured Coho females there will be the need for ongoing work parties over the next few days, notification will be by email. Nov. 8 With this rain the Coho run has started. We already have 10 in the tanks at the hatchery that were taken from the trap today and we'll be taking more Broodstock from the trap and eggs from captured Coho females tomorrow.NOVEMBER 2008
Oct 2008 Once there are eggs in the incubation room, volunteers visit the hatchery daily to record the water temperature. The accumulation of this temperature data gives an ATU total that is indicative of the time to "shock" those eggs. If you have a couple of hours available regularly on any one day and would like to get involved with the hatchery give us a call. CONTACT LIST Oct. 12/20. Ongoing process of taking eggs from remaining Chinook Female finalizied today.Oct. 11 Having taken our full quota of Chinook Broodstock the temporary fence was removed from the Sooke River and returned to the Hatchery on 14th. Oct. 9 Today and very much against expectation we were able to take our our remaining female broodstock from what has turned out to be a splendid return of Chinook to the river. The quantity, size and condition of both sexes was surprisingly good and a delight to see. Also interesting to note was the quantity and quality of Coho seen in the river but less Chum than usual were seen. Wednesday Oct 8 will be our monthly meeting at 7:00 at the Community HallOctober 7 Members Today we took 42 springs roughly 50/50 male/female. On Thursday Oct 9 we'll try again at 9:00 am at John Martin's. Also if everything works according to plan on Saturday Oct 11 we may do another sweep and then remove the upstream fence before the water gets too high. See you Thursday Bryan Manning SSES PresidentOctober 7 Despite yesterdays poor take we returned to the river today with some of the same personel and a few new faces, hopeful that things would be better. The first sweep was rather discouraging as only one Chinook was found amongst the many Chum.We then moved further down the river to a deeper pool and much to everyones surprise and delight that proved more profitable as we netted more than 40 Chinook, many of them being a very good size. Another interesting feature of todays sweep was the large number of Coho seen in the river, again many were of a very good size. We will be making another sweep on Thursday 9th. and if necessary a final one on Saturday 11th. October 6 Today members and helpers made the first attempt at taking this years Chinook Brood Stock from our usual location on the Sooke River. Sadly despite everyones best efforts only 4 Chinook were found.
THE ENGINEER'S DERBY SUPPORTS THE SOOKE SALMON ENHANCEMENT SOCIETY ONCE AGAIN IN 2008
 Having made a generous $1500 cash donation last year, Christoph Moch and his colleagues who organise the Consultant's Invitational Fishing Derby, this year responded to the Hatchery need for additional funds by making a superb $9000 donation from the proceeds of this years event. The SSES Board of Directors send their collective thanks to the organisors and their sponsors for this very generous donation, which is much appreciated.
LYLE ALBERT BOND
August 16, 1963 - August 7, 2008
Sunday August 3 FINAL SOOKE ENHANCEMENT SOCIETY DRAW  AUGUST 2008 Friday July 18 to 29th. The water intake pipe at the Hatchery was upgraded by volunteers. This was to have been done totally by hand but the surrounding infastructure was such that it required the use of a Bobcat to clear the area before the work could start. Once that was accomplished the old pipe was removed and the new one cemented in place. Friday July 25 - SECOND EARLY BIRD DRAW WINNERS  Friday July 18 - EARLY BIRD DRAW WINNERS  July Members Selling SSES Draw Tickets  Monday July 15 Salmon Day at the Flats Committee meeting held. Wednesday July 9 General meeting plus guest speaker..Wednesday July 9 All of the remaining hatchery fry were released today. JULY 2008Thursday June 29 All of the hatchery Chinook fry were released today. Thursday June 19 Salmon Day at the Flats Committee meeting held. Monday & Tuesday June 16 17 There were work parties both days at the hatchery that clipped all of the Coho.Friday June 13 All fry were released from the Government Wharf Sea Pen which was then dismantled and returned to the hatchery the following day. Wednesday June 11 General meeting at the Community Hall.JUNE 2008Friday May 16 Commence feeding of fry in Sea Pen Wednesday May 14 Monthly meeting. 7pm at the community hall.Wednesday May 14 Total of around 80,000 chinook fry were delivered to the Sea Pen today. 
Hi Members 78800 Chinook Smolts arrived in Sooke today. They are setting in to there new home at the Gov Dock. The average weight is 5.0 grams. We will feed 1/2 there daily food 3kgs tomorrow (Thursday) and full amount 6kgs on Friday. It would be good to feed twice a day minimum. We are starting a new thing this year and it is water quality. There are new tools to do this and a record sheet in the food box. I will be doing a demo tonight at the general meeting. If any one wishes to learn this please let me know. I will be able to teach this to people as we go. I am still at Nitnat Hatchery until mid June and have been feeding over 8.5 million Chum and 1 million Chinook at the lake pen. 240 kgs of food a day. Hope everyone is well and see you soon. Glen Director of Hatchery Operations
Monday May 12 Sea Pen erected at Government Wharf in preparation for the arrival of fry from Nitinat
Sunday May 10 Today Bill Pedneault and I shocked the last of the eggs. The final tally is considerably better than we forecast. The final count was 23,705 and the mort rate, while I didn't add it up, should be 10 - 15 % at most. We'll have to check the trays in a few days for any additional mortality, but it shouldn't be very high. Our original estimate was out almost 1000 eggs for each female. One would think we'd be a bit better by now, wouldn't one??
The new plaques look really good on the Memorial board, by the way. Mel Hull
Saturday May 3 Bryan Manning, Mel Hull, Neil Fawdry, Al Colburne,Tony Rewston and Amy Fchwojka manned an information booth at the Sooke Rotary auction.
The winner of the "Guess how many salmon fry in the tank" competition at the auction was Abby Grigg from Sooke. Her guess was 252 the actual number in the tank was 237. She receives the prize of a SSES Hat & T. Shirt, well done Abby MAY 2008 15 April 2008 Today we ponded 4 trays (about 10,000) Chinook in to tank 3a.
April 12 2008 Today we ponded 4 trays (about 10,000) coho into tank 7A and 10,000 chinook into 3B.
Wednesday April 9 There will be a general meeting tonight at the community Hall at 7:00
April 5 2008 On Thursday 3rd. Mel Hull and Bill Pedneault took the eggs from all except one of the females at the hatchery. We should have about 20,000 eggs. They also ponded more Chinook into tank 3B.
APRIL 2008
March 26 2008 Bryan Manning and Neil Fawdry made a powerpoint presentation regarding Salmon and the Jack Brooks Hatchery to a number of local Telus personel
March 15. Ponding Chinook Fry at the Hatchery  Saving the threatened salmon California Newspaper article March 14 2008 UK newspaper articlewest coast braced for ban on salmon fishing Alternative Fund Raiser Planned "Salmon Day At The Flats" Sunday 3rd. August 2008 (Details to be announced)MARCH 2008February 14 2008 Nicola Tribal Association position on Early Timed Chinook 2008 February 9 2008  ArticleRecord numbers of Chinook caught accidentally by Bering Sea Pollock trawler fleet February 6 Sooke News Mirror Letter - Mike Hicks FEBRUARY 2008 30 January Sooke News Mirror article - David Suzuki Foundation 30 January Sooke News Mirror article - Opinions vary 29 Jan. LETTER OF SUPPORT RECEIVED FROM - SALMON ENHANCEMENT & HABITAT ADVISORY BOARD Email - COMMENTS RECEIVED ON THE CANCELLATION OF THE DERBY 16 January Sooke News Mirror - article regarding cancelling the fishing DerbySSES VOTE TO CANCEL 2008 FISHING DERBY JANUARY 2008
November 15 2007 NEWS JUST IN. Click on article below  November 8 2007Today we received a $1500 donation from the organisors of the Consultant's Invitational Fishing Derby. The cheque was presented by Christoph Moch and Carl Wilkinson and very gratefully received by the societies President Bryan Manning in the company of Secretary Stu Whitney and several other Society Volunteers. The Board of Directors send their collective thanks to the organisors and their sponsors for this generous donation, which is much appreciated. ABOUT THE CONSULTANT'S INVITATIONAL FISHING DERBY
The Consultant's Invitational Fishing Derby is an annual fundraising event organized by the Derby Committee consisting of representatives of the participating engineering companies. In its second year of existence, this event has grown to more than 90 entrants with 23 registered boats. The 8 participating engineering companies (UMA Engineering Ltd., Stantec Inc., Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd., Golder Associates Ltd., Focus Corporation Ltd., Bullock Baur Associates Ltd., J.E. Anderson & Associates Ltd., and 1st TEAM Consulting Ltd.) are Victoria based consulting firms which are active in the fields of civil and environmental engineering. Employees of these companies regularly face the professional challenges associated with environmental impacts of human activities. Avoiding, mitigating, or reversing negative environmental impacts is not only the commitment of these companies, it is also the personal desire of their employees. A number of them are avid anglers of local waters and know about the concerning situation of many local fish populations. For that reason, the Victoria consulting engineering community came together two years ago and launched the Consultant's Invitational Fishing Derby to raise funds that go directly to any environmental organization of choice. For two years in a row, the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society was chosen as the beneficiary of the derby donations due to the Societies outstanding work and honourable volunteer efforts for the enhancement of the salmonid populations in the Sooke River watershed.
Without the Societies relentless work, Sooke, B.C. would not be the fishing gateway it is for tourists from all over the world. The Consultant's Invitational Fishing Derby and its 2007 special guests (Martech Marketing, City of Victoria, University of Victoria, and Scansa Construction Ltd.) are proud to donate $1,500 to the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society this year.
October 13 2007
We have been in the Sooke River to get our brood stock for Chinooks, but with the early rain and the very low number of
Chinooks returning this year, the collection period is now over. We were able to get only 14 fish which would result in about 35,000 eggs - one tenth of our requirement. This looks like a very bad year for Chinook. Bryan Manning August 4th. 5th Annual SSES Fishing Derby
July 11 2007
This morning we put all the steelhead and the few coho recently rescued from Rocky Creek into the upper Sooke River.
The water temps at the Hatchery had reached nearly 15 deg C. so a decision was made to move all fish out.
Thanks for your help this year and now on to the Derby. Bryan Manning
June 25 2007
The clipped coho (about 25,500) were released into Youngs Lake. Only the Steelhead remain in the hatchery.
June 23 and 24
Derby tickets went on sale this weekend at EagleEye. The Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society are selling the tickets themselves for the next 2 weekends.
Hi Member
We will be releasing the clipped Coho this Monday. We will meet at the gate to the Hatchery (Butler Main Logging rd) at 10am. Thanks for your help with this. Glen Varney
Director of Hatchery Operation
Hi Members/Volunteers Thanks to all your help the is sun light at the end of the tunnel. The seapen chinooks were released last night at 9pm. We had great growth and survival was outstanding. We achieved 12.5grams from 4.5grams on May 16ths. One thing to do is remove the pen. Wed. June 20th at 7pm would work for me. Also I would like to thank all that helped out clipping the Coho. It took 3 days to clip 25562 coho. They will be released to young lake next week.
Please let me know if you can help out Weds night. Thanks again Glen Varney
Director of Hatchery Operations
June 7 2007
The feeding schedule has changed at the hatchery. Today we released all the remaining chinooks from the hatchery and just have coho and steelhead remaining which are on auto feeders. There will be no feeding in the afternoons at the hatchery. there will be regular feeding at the sea pen until the chinook are released ( around June 16th). We will be clipping the Coho June 14,15 at the hatchery starting 8.30am. This will be a two day event. Once this is done, they will be released in to several locations a week later.
June 4 2007
The fish in the sea pen have doubled in size to 8.5gms. in 2 weeks. This is good news but it means they will have to thin them out so on Monday we dropped a corner of the net and allow some to leave. This will allow us to double the size of the remaining fish. There will be regular feeding at the sea pen until the chinook are released (around June 16th).
May 19 2007
Due to low flows in Rocky Creek we released about 150,000 fry into the upper Sooke River and shut down some tanks. Currently there are sufficient flows for the hatchery.
May 16 2007
Received 84,000 Chinook fry from Nit Nat Hatchery. These were placed in our Sea pen at the Government Wharf in Sooke and will be fed daily until their release in late June or early July.
April/May 2007
Routine daily feeding and cleaning of the troughs and tanks
April 12 2007
We began releasing about 25,000 Chinook fry a week into the upper Sooke River. This is a precaution against a warm, dry spring where the water flows would quickly drop and the water temperature increase with a corresponding drop in dissolved oxygen in the water.
April 6 2007
We ponded 30,000 Coho into the troughs.
Early April 2007
We removed about 25,000 eggs from Steelhead that we caught under provincial license. These eggs were fertilized and put into the incubator room. The steelhead were released.
March 2007
Continued to pond alevins/fry into the Capalano troughs and large tanks. By the end of the month we moved over 450,000 alevins/fry from the incubator trays.
Saturday, March 10 2007
Today the Soooke Salmon Enhancement Society began ponding chinook fry. This involves moving the alevins/fry from the trays in the incubator room into the Capalano tanks. About 200,000 alevin/fry were transferred. This will be an on-going process for the next few weeks. Once the chinook are in the tanks they are fed during the day every 20 to 30 minutes. This will continue until June/July when the weather dictates as to when they are released into the upper Sooke River.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
High waters not only wiped out spawning beds, they also left salmon stranded in meadows and cow pastures. Volunteers from the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society rescued over 150 chum left behind in shallow sloughs. The fish were still green and ready to spawn and in good shape when returned to the Sooke.
To what extent this will affect salmon returns three to five years from now is still to be determined. Water levels achieved such heights in the Sooke River that it is possible some coho breached the 40-foot falls that are at the head of the potholes and they may spawn in the upper waters of the Sooke system. Next summer SSES volunteers will monitor the upper waters for fry.Unlike most of the island rivers, where summer droughts prohibited fish from returning, outflows from the reservoir left enough water in the Sooke to enable fish to return to our waters last month. Volunteers from the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society along with some Port Renfrew charter boat operators and local commercial fishers achieved their targets for Chinook salmon eggs mid-October.The Coho picture is not as good. Returns are down and the hatchery was unable to set nets in the river due to high waters. Few coho were taken in the fish trap at the Young Lake Weir and the hatchery will probably obtain only about 30,000 eggs for incubation.Hatchery Director Glen Varney says Jack Brooks Hatchery will probably operate at about 50% capacity this year. Even the possibility of supplementing production with eggs from the federal hatchery at Nitnat is in doubt as the roads to Nitnat have been out and the window for obtaining eggs is closing. The picture has some bright sides Varney stressed. “These occurrences are not unusual and the hatchery has adequate stock to replenish the river system over time. Natural spawning in perfect years is more than enough to maintain our stocks. The hatchery’s value to Sooke comes in years like this. Moreover new pools and spawning beds created by streambed changes will pay benefits in the future and the possibility that fish may have reached the upper Sooke is intriguing.” Varney also said that one of the most serious problems faced in the last few years has been lack of feed in the open ocean. “Winter storms are the engines that stir up nutrients to support bait production in the ocean,” he said. “Salmon cycles are not immediately apparent and it may take years for the overall picture to emerge.”
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