If only it was as simple as an adipose fin. The presence of an adipose fin is universally recognized as the mark. An individual with an adipose fin is, with a few exceptions, considered a wild steelhead. On the other hand, those marked, clipped, or ad-intact fish, they are the hatchery ones. Although it is but a small mark, the …
Of chukar and steelhead in the Snake River country
By Michael Gibson Nothing clears the mind like a good chukar hike. So, when the boss called for a work/chukar retreat in lower Snake River Country, I got excited. Late-season chukar in some of the best, and most rugged, chukar country the planet has to offer. About now, you are probably wondering, what’s this got to do with fish? We’ll get to that. Our new North Idaho …
Commission denies petition to prohibit wild steelhead harvest in SW Oregon
By Kyle Smith, Oregon Field Coordinator Over 50 wild steelhead advocates turned out last Friday for a meeting of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in support of a petition that would have enacted emergency rules to prohibit harvest of wild steelhead in the southwest corner of the state. After almost five hours of public testimony, with the majority in …
ODFW Commission to vote on harvest of wild steelhead in Southwest Zone
By Kyle Smith For almost all steelhead waters up and down the West Coast, harvest of wild steelhead is not permitted. This policy is longstanding for many rivers and is based on a combination of factors (primarily the depletion of many wild stocks). And the prohibition of sport harvest of wild steelhead in Washington, Idaho, California, and much of Oregon …
Science Friday- What Have We Lost?
Imagine going back in time 100 years to the Columbia River. What do you think the steelhead looked like then? How long were they? How much did they weigh? In the early 1900s scientists working with the federal Bureau of Fisheries visited the Columbia River, which was considered the center of steelhead abundance for the Lower 48 – and frankly, …
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. …
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 …