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 …
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 …
TU Chapter Angler Science Assists ODFW
As we all know, shortfalls in funding for our fish and wildlife management agencies are an ongoing concern. Severe budget constraints play out in many ways that impact fisheries management and sometimes angling opportunity. TU and Wild Steelheaders United are working both on-the-ground and in the halls of state legislatures to address these funding challenges. One of the first important …
Stock Recruit Curves And Wild Steelhead, A Good Match?
In several recent posts we have discussed the concept of density dependence and how it is used in fisheries management. Today we dive in deeper and talk about the stock-recruitment relationship, density dependence, and how the results of such models are applied to managing steelhead. First, let’s define some terms. Stock refers to, in this context, a population of …
Science Friday: Why do juvenile steelhead move at the onset of winter?
By John McMillan We are going old school today, Science Friday style. No, we’re not talking about shooting ourselves with a tranquilizer gun, going streaking, or starting a fraternity to compensate for a mid-life crisis. We’ll leave that to Will Ferrell. But we are going back in time, to 1971. Today we revisit one of the foundational pieces of …
Science Friday: Steelhead fry party when the lights go off — but will they wake up high and dry?
In our last Science Friday post we took a look, in part, at the feeding behavior of bass. This week we are moving down in the feeding column to focus on catfish. Just kidding. It’s all steelhead all the time here. Today we review a paper by David Hines and several colleagues. The study focuses on the behavior …
A thorny challenge on the Deschutes River
Trout Unlimited is working to ensure the success of the Pelton-Round Butte Fish Passage Program and conservation of lower River angling opportunity If you’re a trout or steelhead angler in Oregon, you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with issues related to fish passage and native fish on the Deschutes River. Trout Unlimited has been working for the past several …
Science Friday: Are some fish caught more than others, and if so, why?
We’re deep in the heart of winter steelhead season now. But if you’re like us, you are probably suffering from high-wateritis right about now — a common affliction for winter steelheaders. Living on the Olympic Peninsula, I have it bad. Non-stop rain for days. Rivers punched. Headaches due to lack of chrome-ium. Conditions better improve quickly…or I might not …