There is no worse feeling than bringing a steelhead to hand and seeing the gills pumping blood. Such experiences are one of the reasons that anglers have created flies that reduce deep hookings. Still, fishing is a blood sport, and despite our best efforts, we ultimately cannot eliminate the potential for some mortality. While we can’t control where the …
New Conservation Atlas and Trip Planner: Custom maps with the click of a mouse.
The mapping applications available on wildsteelheaders.org have just been updated and now include two new cutting-edge map viewers – a wild steelhead Conservation Atlas and a steelhead fishing trip planner. Both maps are presented in an interactive format, allowing users to select layers to show on the map, pan and zoom to an area of interest, click on layers …
Oooh-Ooh, That Smell…
By Bill Herzog Can’t you smell that smell? It starts with the first real spring day, usually in early March. It rises to a crescendo in mid April, when hard rains or even a trip to midtown cannot dampen the olfactory onslaught. I’m talking about the tree bloom scent from alder, cottonwood, just the wild flowers in general that produce …
Oregon HGMP scoping comments
March 17, 2016 Sent via email to: OregonCoastHatcheryEIS.wcr@noaa.gov National Marine Fisheries Service Sustainable Fisheries Division 2900 NW Stewart Parkway Roseburg, OR 97471 RE: Oregon Coast Hatchery EIS Scoping Comments To Whom It May Concern: Trout Unlimited (TU), the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring our nation’s trout and …
Catch and Release is not a Crime
Occupy Skagit April 30, 2016 Howard Miller Steelhead Park Rockport, WA Drift boats full of steelhead anglers plying emerald green waters are a common fixture of Northwest Rivers in late winter and spring. However this is no longer the case in Puget Sound where spring steelhead seasons have been closed for nearly a decade.The Skagit River was arguably …
Proposed Mine Threatens Methow Headwaters
The Methow River is one of Washington’s most iconic rivers for steelhead fishing and other outdoor pursuits, and it continues to be a Pacific Northwest mecca for anglers, hunters, recreationists, and conservationists alike. But proposed large-scale copper mining on Flagg Mountain, within the headwaters of the Methow River, directly threatens this investment and poses a serious threat to these fish …
Comment on Lower Columbia Wild Steelhead Gene Bank
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking comment on its most recent round of Wild Steelhead Gene Bank designations. Wild Steelhead Gene Banks are mandated by WDFW in their 2008 Statewide Steelhead Management Plan. Submit your comments at TeamVancouver@dfw.wa.gov by this Friday, February 5th. Per the Department, stocks selected as Gene Banks must be sufficiently abundant and …
Are there any wild steelhead left? Yes, there is no doubt. But it is up to us to ensure their future and the fisheries they provide.
A topic that is commonly raised in the steelhead conservation world is whether there are any “pure” wild steelhead left. Before I answer, I want to take a step back first. There are two types of hatcheries. We have integrated hatcheries, where fish used for broodstock are taken from the same population in which they are planted. These are …
Show me the science
Editors Note: We’re all about sound science here at Wild Steelheaders United. But we’re also about education and respectful dialogue (see credo number 5). Recently we heard from an angler on the topic of setting some rivers aside for wild fish only (as the state of Washington is looking to do with their gene bank proposal). The angler argued that instead …