As predicted for summer steelhead in the Columbia River and many other watersheds in Washington and Oregon, something has happened to the fish. There are precious few of them this season. But it’s important to remember that ebb and flow in population size is part-and-parcel with these fish — and for all salmon in general. We likely pay more …
Science Friday: Turn up the A/C
Summer-time is here. That means hot weather and hot water, two things that don’t mix well with a cold-water fish like steelhead. As we suffer through the largest heat wave of the summer, we wanted to review a piece of research that looked at how adult steelhead alter their behavior and use micro-habitats to cope with warm weather and …
Steelhead 101: Defining types of steelhead hatcheries
Every steelhead angler is probably somewhat familiar with hatcheries. As we discussed last week, deciphering the jargon associated with hatcheries is important, but can also be difficult. This week’s terminology is more common-place, and many of you may be familiar with it already. But, just in case, let’s look at the terms used to broadly classify hatchery programs: segregated and …
Bill to honor WWII Veteran and steelhead advocates advances
Sportsmen and women stand behind protections for North Umpqua Washington D.C. — The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee marked up a bill that would protect more than 100,000 acres of habitat important to North Umpqua steelhead in Oregon. The Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Bill, S. 513, honors World War II Veteran, Frank Moore and …
Steelhead 101: Using snorkel surveys to estimate adult steelhead escapement
Another week, another post on how scientists and fisheries managers measure steelhead escapement. Last week, we described redd counts and why they are an important tool. This week, we review snorkel surveys. Snorkel surveys entail divers swimming in the river and visually counting adult steelhead. Like redd counts, snorkel surveys do not cover an entire river, but rather break …
How many steelhead can you fit into a school?
It depends on how old and big they are. Over the past year we have talked extensively about the value of life history diversity in steelhead, and in particular, that a broader range in spawn timing – which results in a broader range of emergence for juveniles – can help ameliorate density-related impacts by spreading steelhead of various ages …
Steelhead biology for anglers
One thing you will notice about anglers who have spent a lot of time on the water, and I mean a potentially unhealthy amount of time on the water, is they catch fish. This can be frustrating to new anglers who are just learning to steelhead fish and spend many fishless days casting. There is no substitute for time …
ACTION ALERT: Support the Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Sanctuary
Through the great work and support of numerous partners, Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have introduced S. 1448 to designate the Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Sanctuary. The Sanctuary would protect an area of 104,000 acres in the headwaters of the North Umpqua River in Oregon – one of the best wild steelhead rivers in the Lower 48 – …
Frank and I
By Dean Finnerty I met Frank Moore fifteen years ago. I had a booth at the Roseburg, Oregon Sportsmen Show to promote my guide business. At the time, my two older sons were 8 and 6 years old and they were learning to fly fish and tie their own flies. In front of our booth was an indoor fly casting …
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