The northwest corner of California, between the Russian and Klamath Rivers, is home to some of the best remaining salmon and steelhead streams in the West. This region boasts some of the most famous steelhead fisheries in the world, including the Trinity, Mad, Mattole, and Eel River systems. Trout Unlimited’s North Coast Coho Project has been working for …
Science Friday: Surviving heat, drought and ponded streams
It is that time of year again. Heat wave after heat wave. As summer progresses stream flows will continue to decline all across steelhead country, and in some cases, smaller tributaries will go dry. In other cases, streams won’t be completely dewatered; instead, they will become ponded. This occurs when flows diminish so much that the only remaining surface …
Summer 2018: Time to make new Rules for suction dredge mining in Washington
Washington’s salmon, steelhead, and other native fish are critical to our state’s economy, way of life, and identity. Many of our most prized fish populations are struggling, with some on the brink of extinction, and we are spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on recovery efforts to try to save them. Suction Dredge Mining is a problem on Washington’s …
The Salmon Coast
The Olympic Peninsula is home to some of the last great places for wild salmon and steelhead in the Lower 48. Of course, it’s the wild steelhead that draw many of us to the OP. But it’s also the huge trees and beautiful brawling rivers that make the OP a destination for fish and anglers alike. While much of …
Science Friday: How does catch and release affect steelhead?
Today we review a study on the impacts of catch and release angling on wild steelhead in the Bulkley River, the largest tributary to British Columbia’s legendary Skeena system. Conducted by Will Twardek and several others, this study looked into the effects of catch and release, air exposure and fight time on behavior and survival to spawning. The study …
Science Friday: Big fish, big streams; little fish, little streams
A holiday weekend deserves a new Science Friday post. So here we go. This week we focus on summer steelhead in the John Day River, a large tributary that drains into the middle Columbia River on the Oregon side. The John Day is a big watershed, covering 8,000 square miles, although the river itself is not that large. To …
Science Friday: Do these lipids make me look fat?
For most anglers who have encountered both winter and summer steelhead, it’s abundantly clear there are differences between the two races of fish. For one, they enter freshwater at different times of the year, although there is some overlap. In addition, there are physical differences. Summer steelhead tend to be more fusiform — sleeker and more firm bodied …
Science Friday: Certain genetic families survive better in hatcheries and might help explain why hatchery steelhead do poorly in nature
Spring is here and we’ve got a real shot of warm weather on the West Coast. Certainly, spawning steelhead appreciate the ecological effects of this boost in thermal energy. Last week we reviewed a recent paper on repeat spawning in steelhead in the Hood River, Oregon. This week, we return to the Hood to look at another paper out …
Science Friday: Do it once, do it twice. The tradeoffs of repeat spawning in steelhead
We are back after a short break, after coming through a heavy dose of conservation work. That work, in part, helped convince the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries Service to re-open the iconic Skagit River for a catch-and-release season for wild steelhead. It feels like a new day has dawned for steelheaders in Puget …
Skagit to Open to Steelhead Fishing Once Again
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2018 Contact: Rob Masonis, VP for Western Conservation, Trout Unlimited, rmasonis@tu.org, 206-491-9016 Nick Chambers, Wild Steelhead Initiative Organizer, nchambers@tu.org, 541-908-1329 Trout Unlimited and Wild Steelheaders United applaud decision to re-open Skagit River wild steelhead fishery, call for additional analysis of fishery impact limits to ensure consistency with recovery SEATTLE—Trout Unlimited (TU) and …