Renowned landscape painter, writer and fly fisherman Russell Chatham passed away on November 10 at the age of 80. I never knew Chatham, but his book The Anglers Coast and the film Rivers of a Lost Coast – in which he is a main character – are gospel to northern California fly anglers. He was our prophet, spreading …
Steelhead days
Among the many charms of autumn is the advent of steelhead runs in many rivers. Where I live, on the central California coast, most streams aren’t yet connected to the ocean—until the rainy season begins in earnest, the sandbars that have set up over the summer between their mouths and the salt remain intact. That doesn’t mean there aren’t steelhead …
Science Friday: Survival of hatchery and wild steelhead smolts: lots of mortality, just not always where you think
November has arrived, and here on the Olympic Peninsula, the first frost of the year. Further south in steelhead range, however, things are a lot warmer, and not in a good way. We send our best wishes for everyone affected by the recent wildfires. The impact of the extreme fire events we are experiencing over the past few …
Breaching Lower Snake dams could help water temps, say scientists
We’ve talked a lot about the impact four dams on the Lower Snake River have on dwindling populations of salmon and steelhead as they migrate hundreds of miles to and from their natal streams in Idaho. But last week scientists highlighted one more data point in the argument to further prioritize breaching the four dams: warming water temperatures. …
Science Friday: How do steelhead survive in intermittent streams?
It’s the first Friday in October — officially, “Septober” for us steelheaders. Unfortunately, steelhead runs across much of the West Coast have been down this year, and now there is another blob of warm water in the North Pacific. Things don’t look good right now, but wild steelhead have withstood these types of conditions before. As long as we …
Idaho needs your help on steelhead catch and release study
I’ve never given much thought to what happens to a steelhead after a successful release. I guess, Iike most anglers I assumed it ran upriver to spawn and die. Or if it’s one of the very lucky few, it might pull off a second spawn. For those of you that have been losing sleep over the years, worrying about what …
The Choice for Hatchery Residual Steelhead
Do you know that not all hatchery steelhead smolts actually migrate to the ocean? Some remain in freshwater. Either way, these O. mykiss face a future that could be heroic (survive long enough to mate with a wild steelhead adult female) — or not-so-heroic (survive the summer in freshwater but perish during the difficult conditions of the winter). We …
A Genetic Basis for Summer and Winter Steelhead – a follow up
By Charlie Schneider We’re going to bring things full circle this week, with a look at how emerging science can meld with policy and restoration efforts to help reach our ultimate goal of improving steelhead runs. A previous SF post (http://www.wildsteelheaders.org/much-at-stake-in-listing-decision-on-northern-california-summer-steelhead/ ) highlighted the petition to list summer steelhead on the Eel River in Northern California, and discussed …
Oregon Board of Forestry moves in right direction for coho
Earlier this week, the Oregon Board of Forestry voted to embark on a process to develop resource sites for coho salmon on private and state-owned land. The action took place after 22 conservation and fishing groups, including Trout Unlimited, petitioned the board under laws established by the Oregon Forest Practices Act. The Act requires the Board to develop resource …
Homewater Guardians and a Chance to Win Free Stuff!
Every steelheader has one place they consider “their own”. It’s the river or stream that he or she spends the bulk of their time on. If it has both a summer and winter run component, they’ll fish it year round. They intimately know every nook, cranny, riffle, tailout and bucket. They’ll likely have “secret” parking spots where the presence of …