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: Why is your lateral line different than mine?
Most of us working on behalf of wild steelhead love our jobs. Still, after a long week we are ready to hit the water — and share some more Science Friday steelhead knowledge. This week we touch on a study conducted by Andrew Brown at the University of Washington, along with several co-authors. The paper is here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059162 …
Science Friday: Predictions for Columbia/Snake River summer steelhead and a new study on ocean distribution
Winter steelhead season is winding down, if not over in some rivers. Time to regroup and prepare for summer runs! This Friday we have a science two-pack for you. First, a bit of cautious optimism. More steelhead are predicted to return to the Columbia River basin this year than in the past two years. Last year the upriver …
Science Friday: The latest from the longest running steelhead monitoring project in British Columbia
Thank goodness it’s Friday. Fall is in the air and it’s time to get on the river! But first, let’s give our steelhead IQs another booster shot with a new Science Friday post. This week we have a guest writer and scientist, Colin Bailey, a PhD student studying fisheries science at Simon Fraser University under Jonathan Moore (Moore …
The Last Steelhead
Longtime angling author, steelhead aficionado, TROUT Magazine contributor and musician Chris Santella has created a novel way to publicize the plight of wild steelhead. Santella’s new rock opera, The Last Steelhead, looks at the factors contributing to the decline of wild steelhead runs and “the attitudes surrounding our behaviors and policies that seem to be standing in the …
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 …