Column by Richard DeChambeau

If you’re trying to figure out what to do with all those Thanksgiving dinner leftovers, make some sandwiches, round up the kids and head for the Bandon Pier or over to Charleston, as the crabbing is very good. With a lead story of how good the crabbing is in both Charleston and Bandon, you can imagine how slow the rest of our outdoor activities are right now.

The recent good weather made for a very slow ending to our elk seasons. Many hunters reported finding a few cows after many hours in the field, but bulls of any size were few and very far between. Personally I could find the cows, but the bulls managed to elude me. I’ve talked to many hunters and they all reported seeing some very fine black tail bucks. So we can look forward to next season for our deer hunting. With elk season closing, be sure to file your Hunter Harvest Report. You can file your report on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife site by going to www.dfw.state.or.us and under “Useful Links” click on Hunter Harvest Reporting. Once there, click on “Report Now” and follow the instructions. Again, this is voluntary this year but will become mandatory starting next season. Now is a good time to get used to this system.

The lack of rain has caused the Elk and Sixes rivers to fall to very low flows. A few salmon are still being caught at the mouth of the Elk River, but overall we need rain to get these runs started once more.