By Bill Herzog Anger. Steelheading brings on many emotions- pure joy, anticipation, frustration, wonder, disappointment for sure. But anger, now, that should never manifest itself at any time during an anglers’ day. Unfortunately, most of my days after wandering the banks of my beloved Olympic Peninsula winter rivers the last half dozen winter seasons have ended with an …
When worlds collide
By Gary Strassburg Back in the early 90’s I was drift fishing the upper reaches of the Skagit River above Rockport for winter steelhead. It was nearing the end of February and soon the river would close to the killing of steelhead and the use of bait, and give way to an army of fly anglers that cared less about …
Meadows: Survey results not suprising
By Dwayne Meadows Some folks might be surprised at the results of a recent poll of steelhead anglers commissioned by Trout Unlimited. The survey of more than 600 anglers from Oregon, Washington, and California found a strong majority of anglers in favor of both protecting wild steelhead runs and a balanced management approach, with some rivers managed for hatchery …
The Data: Steelhead Angler Poll Full Report
Get the Full Report
Go Wild: Poll shows support for conservation
It turns out that most steelhead anglers, despite our reputation, actually agree on a lot of things. Today, Trout Unlimited released the results of an extensive poll of more than 630 active steelhead anglers in California, Oregon and Washington that reveals broad support for wild steelhead conservation and for managing fisheries to sustain wild steelhead populations. Indeed, this …
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 …
Wild vs Hatchery in WA: A followup
This week, Trout Unlimited’s John McMillan got a chance to talk steelhead with Seattle’s King 5 network this week. At the top of his list was the debate over wild steelhead and hatchery plants and the proposal that will designate certain rivers in the Puget Sound area as gene banks. Gene banks are rivers managed for wild fish …
Update: Smith River mine withdrawal
By Dean Finnerty, photo by Ken Morrish Back to back public meetings in Gold Beach, Oregon and Grants Pass, Oregon (Sept. 9th and 10th respectively) made history for Southwest Oregon conservation efforts. “In 30 years of conservation work in Southwest Oregon, we’ve never seen this kind of support for protection of our drinking water and salmon and steelhead streams. …
Two minutes, 14,000 miles of Oregon streams
Two minutes can help protect 14,000 miles of Oregon streams. The Oregon Board of Forestry (BOF) will soon decide whether to increase Oregon’s riparian buffers. These buffers supply cool water in the heat of summer, water necessary for steelhead, trout, salmon and other organisms important to Oregon rivers and streams. Currently, Oregon requires only a 20 foot buffer — far smaller …
California water supply takes hit from marijuana
Photo: California Department of Fish and Wildlife By Brian Johnson, Curtis Knight and Mike Sweeney Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle California, the nation’s top agricultural producer, also is the source of up to 70 percent of the marijuana consumed in the United States. The marijuana industry is largely unregulated and there are few protections to ensure illegal water …