King salmon run through McKuster Ranch

Stardate 08/20-26/07

This morning after breakfast Kittee and I went out to the river to sit and watch the salmon coming through our place on their 2007 run. We did spot two beautiful green backed King Chinook swimming the current and porpoise-ing in front of us on their way to their upriver spawning grounds. Talking with fishery biologist they tell us we have some very likely spawning habitat in our pristine stretch of the river of well oxygenated gin clear waters. We also watch a number of redband trout and salmon smolts attacking flies and parachute seeds on the surface of the river.

Last Monday morning we received a phone call from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), saying "we will be on your place Tuesday at 7:30 am to go to work on the river." Later that afternoon the excavator came onto the property. First thing Tuesday morning we heard the mighty machine at work. Quite amazing to watch this machine going almost anywhere they want to go, and make the changes in the river it did. The excavator’s operator name is Marvin and we give him and the CTUIR personnel a grand round of applause for the work they did here at the ranch.
Marvin worked here from early Tuesday through early Saturday morning to build a beautiful fish habitat and holding waters for salmon, steelhead, trout, the Pacific Northwest and McKuster Ranch. This project has been in the works for about 3 years, and had to be signed off by five different government agencies to proceed with the work of this past week. We feel it was a job well done, thank you BPA and the Treaty of 1855.

Amazing what this machine can do in the hands of a professional,
with a panel of joysticks and pedals.

I feel the beauty of this project is that it was done during low water conditions of the year. Most of the structures that were placed in the river are at or below the low water level and the results were immediate. We had salmon pulling into holes to rest/hide under the root wads that had just put in a few hours before. Also by placing these structures during this low water time of the year, we hope they are built low enough not to create too much resistance during high water events. Hopefully with winter runoff all the chinks will fill before a major water event. In the process of working in the river this past week, we spotted 7 Chinook working their way upstream.

Monday afternoon after getting the message of the excavator coming to the ranch, I went out and starting taking “before” pictures of the river scape. While in the river I ran into a couple of CTUIR tribal members conducting a salmon telemetry search for fish that were radio tagged at Bonneville Dam. After talking with them for awhile I was invited to join them at the South Fork Walla Walla fish hatchery on Wednesday morning to watch the man-made spawning procedure of the salmon that were being held at the hatchery.
A few shots inside the hatchery of CTUIR and Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) with personnel working some Chinook catch & release, some stripping the row from the female salmon, and the catch of the day (about 48 salmon).

















The fish carcasses were also tested/ inspected for disease and virus that could damage/ destroy the roe and milt just taken. Pretty interesting operation with some of these fish being 30-36” in length. Yep, this is the land where many of the fish are as long as your leg.

Even though I have seen this work before at Three Mile Dam on the Umatilla River, it was still interesting to watch the process again, and think that in 4-6 years this prodigy would be adult salmon traveling thousands of miles returning to McKuster Ranch/ the Walla Walla River.

~~~~~~~~~

Other happenings of this week around the ranch is Kittee rode Shaiela, her Arabian princess for the first time bareback.

Shaiela was very easy and smooth with Kittee while working in the round pen.
Shaiela is now better than 3 months pregnant.












Yes we are looking forward to her and her foal’s big day.



Saturday, Kittee did a trail ride with Nugget and her women’s horse club that she parades with. Sorry, no photos as husbands are not allowed to participate in most of these women only events. This next weekend -Labor Day- Kittee works the Walla Walla County Fair with this same group. I will be working the same Fair schedule with the Walla Walla Wagon Wheeler's at the beer booth. No horseback riding this week for Dale, as working around the ranch I found I was having too much pain in my back to want to jump on a horse. Went to have my back X-rayed Friday and we found two broken ribs from my bucking ride of Friday, July 13th.

~ Sunday Photo Session ~

Well, today one of our hay burners – Nugget – started earning his keep. He is now being paid to be a magazine/ journal model. He is a handsome horse and this afternoon we had a photo opt session with a publishing company out of College Place, WA. So after the first of the year 2008, you might begin to look for Kittee and Nugget to show up at your home or place of business in health and hospital journals.





































To get the feel of the day you might wish to play the short 11 second video clip of Kittee and Nugget at the bottom of this blog's posting.

Recapping the week’s news from around the world…
1) I received an email from my friend/fishing pal Dr. Bob living on the east coast that he and his wife had celebrated the one-and-a-half decade wedding anniversary this past spring. They have been vacationing in Europe this year, and life was good for them. They are also about to begin a new episode in their lives of working in Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, and elsewhere as Dr. Bob sits up his retirement ER orthopedic medical practice. Many of you met Dr. Bob at mine and Kittee's wedding 6 years ago on the Breaks of the South Fork, or our reception thereafter at the flyshop.
2) We received another email this week from my baby sister Mary Beth and she states that she and my brother-in-law David are about to celebrate their quarter-of-a-century wedding anniversary soon. WOW!!! That's my baby sister.

As the sun sank slowly in the west Kittee and I spent our evening watching the light/ shadows cross that portion of the river and bluff that is now our two-boulder Contemplation Station on the Walla Walla River.

Kittee also picked out another location on the river that is now our one-boulder Solitary Sanctuary. A beautiful place to be zen.

Leaving the river and bluff this evening, our plans for tomorrow evening after our work is done is to go fishing... in the new and improved fishery habitat, with about a dozen new fishing holes.
Hip-Hip-Hooray, this is going to be fun... trout, white fish, steelhead, and salmon... in the backyard.
Anybody out there wanna go fishing??
Kittee and I have declared McKuster Ranch to be a no kill fish zone, so we get to fight/ play with these wild fish again and again another day, unless they are heading for the Pacific Ocean or upriver spawning grounds. ODFW discontinued the Walla Walla River trout stocking program about 8-10 years ago, all Oregon trout and steelhead are wild, but we can fish for Washington stocked steelhead strays on the ranch.

Please NOTE - the Walla Walla River is not a salmon sport fishery, but it is inevitable, that fishing in these waters, King Chinook can be hooked. Likewise during autumn and winter fishing Dolly Vardens (bull trout) can be hooked when fishing our steelhead season. Catch & Release --- Short rodeo when fishing with a 1wt. or 2wt. or 4wt. fly rod!!!

Dale - a week in the life at McKuster Ranch