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Support the John Day Steelhead Project

In Columbia River, Oregon, Snake River by Kyle Smith

The John Day Steelhead Project is raising funds for a collaborative research project between the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, graduate students at Oregon State University, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and other partners seeking to better understand John Day steelhead migration patterns and how Columbia River dams may be impacting the health and abundance of these fish.

Commission denies petition to prohibit wild steelhead harvest in SW Oregon

In Oregon, Steelhead Files by Kyle Smith

By Kyle Smith, Oregon Field Coordinator Over 50 wild steelhead advocates turned out last Friday for a meeting of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in support of a petition that would have enacted emergency rules to prohibit harvest of wild steelhead in the southwest corner of the state. After almost five hours of public testimony, with the majority in …

Science Friday: How do steelhead survive in intermittent streams?

In Science Friday by Nick Chambers

It’s the first Friday in October — officially, “Septober” for us steelheaders.   Unfortunately, steelhead runs across much of the West Coast have been down this year, and now there is another blob of warm water in the North Pacific. Things don’t look good right now, but wild steelhead have withstood these types of conditions before. As long as we …

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Science Friday: The value of new technology: eDNA and O. mykiss

In Science Friday by steelheaders

By Natalie Stauffer-Olsen   It is always exciting when new technology becomes available that can help us understand, manage and protect wild steelhead, the mavericks of the Pacific salmonids.   Steelhead and rainbow trout populations can be difficult to predict, model and understand because of their very plastic (scientific term for highly variable) life histories, from juveniles to adults. What’s …

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In Support of a Hatchery Steelhead Program in the Upper Willamette

In Oregon, Steelhead Files by steelheaders

  By Dean Finnerty, Wild Steelhead Initiative Director Trout Unlimited’s Wild Steelhead Initiative is all about increasing populations of wild steelhead across their native range. Why should we care so much about wild steelhead? There are several reasons, among them the fact that wild steelhead cost nothing to produce, they can be more aggressive towards the gear anglers use to …

Lessons from a steelhead rescue and captive rearing program on California’s Carmel River

In Oregon by Nick Chambers

By: Natalie Stauffer-Olsen, Staff Scientist, TU’s California Science Program   One of the things that I have always admired most about O. mykiss is how adaptable and resilient they are. The rainbow trout, in both its resident and anadromous forms, evolved to take advantage of the most abundant habitats for their different life history stages as well as the genetic …

The General Practitioner

In Oregon by Nick Chambers

  By: Sean Dahlquist   Today’s post was graciously provided by Sean Dahlquist. Sean lives on the Olympic Peninsula, where he loves fishing for steelhead and trout, and of course, tying flies. Not only is Sean a fine tier, but he is also a historian on the topic.  Check out Sean’s Instagram @sean_dahlquist page for more great patterns and examples.  …