Do you know that not all hatchery steelhead smolts actually migrate to the ocean? Some remain in freshwater. Either way, these O. mykiss face a future that could be heroic (survive long enough to mate with a wild steelhead adult female) — or not-so-heroic (survive the summer in freshwater but perish during the difficult conditions of the winter). We …
Science Friday: How does catch and release affect steelhead?
Today we review a study on the impacts of catch and release angling on wild steelhead in the Bulkley River, the largest tributary to British Columbia’s legendary Skeena system. Conducted by Will Twardek and several others, this study looked into the effects of catch and release, air exposure and fight time on behavior and survival to spawning. The study …
Science Friday: Behavioral Thermoregulation
Most steelhead anglers know that the family of fishes called salmonidae (trout, char, salmon and whitefish) are highly sensitive to water temperature and quality. These fishes require cold, clean water to thrive. But what happens to them when water temps become unfavorable? As you might expect, they seek out places in the river that regain cool water — now often …
Science Friday: Warm water’s influence on the speed of upstream migrating steelhead
The dog days of summer are fully upon us. The predicted forecast for adult summer steelhead returning to the Columbia and Snake River basins is now, unfortunately, shaping up to be worse than expected (and it was already very low). However, it can be difficult to determine how accurate this forecast actually is because at this point in time the …
Science Friday: Hitch-Hiking Smolts
Last week we talked about the importance of spill for out-migrating kelts and smolts in the Columbia Basin. Increasing spill is only one method employed to enhance downstream survival of smolts. As early as the mid-1950s smolts were loaded onto barges and moved downstream past the dams through the lock system. While fisheries managers experimented with this tactic early on …
What is a B-run steelhead?
Fisheries managers predict this will be a very bad year for returning B-run steelhead in the Snake River. The Snake, with its headwaters straddling the Teton Range on the Idaho-Wyoming border, is the largest tributary to the Columbia and its intact habitat and steelhead runs are vital to the overall health of Columbia River steelhead populations. Despite the high quality …