Home town: Cottage Grove, Oregon. It’s a perfect location to launch steelhead trips from. The upper Willamette and its tribs are minutes away as is the McKenzie. The Umpqua and tons of coastal rivers are 45 minutes to an hour away. The N.U. is about an hour away as well. Home waters: The North Umpqua and mainstem Umpqua are my …
Last Chance to Support the John Day Steelhead Project
We’ve seen unbelievable support from the Wild Steelheaders United community for our John Day Steelhead Project fundraiser over the past three weeks. We blew past our $10,000 goal in the first two weeks of the campaign and we’re well on our way to $15,000. All funds raised above our $10,000 goal will help our research partners purchase more acoustic tags, …
The Science Behind John Day Steelhead Migration
On Monday, we launched the John Day Steelhead Project raising funds for a study being conducted by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and a number of other partners. We’ve been impressed with the response to the crowdfunding campaign, with friends of Wild Steelheaders United coming together to fund $3400 towards our $10,000 …
Support the John Day Steelhead Project
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.
Wild steelhead harvest in Oregon
Southwest Oregon is one of the only places in the United States where you can legally kill a wild steelhead. Regulations used to allow for one wild steelhead harvest per day, up to five per year, but in 2018 bag limits were reduced to one per day and three per year following a petition from a group of southern Oregon …
Meet the team: Kyle Smith
Next up in our Meet the Team series is Oregon Field Coordinator, Kyle Smith. Kyle works to protect public lands and advocates for policies that ensure a bright future for wild steelhead. Home town: Corvallis, OR Home waters: McKenzie, Willamette Favorite way to catch steelhead (gear, fly, etc.)? Mostly fly rods. Boat or hike? Why? If I had to choose one, …
Meet the team: Jenny Weis
We’re still riding high from the incredible story of recovery told by Shane Anderson in last week’s premier of Rising from the Ashes. Today, we’ve got another in our Meet the Team blog series and this week the spotlight is on Jenny Weis, Alaska Communications Manager for TU. Jenny is part of the team that put together content for Elwha …
ODFW proposes thermal angling sanctuaries for endangered Columbia River steelhead
Late last month, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife held a public meeting on YouTube regarding thermal angling sanctuaries for Columbia River summer steelhead. Wild Steelheaders United covered the importance of thermal angling sanctuaries, also known as cold water refugia, on the blog just before ODFW held their meeting. ODFW’s proposals include thermal angling sanctuaries – limited closures to …
Meet the Team: Eric Crawford
Home town: Moscow, Idaho Home waters: Living in very close proximity to both the Clearwater and Snake Rivers it’d be hard to show anything but equal deference for the two. Favorite way to catch steelhead (gear, fly, etc.)? I’ve got to be honest, I’m an equal opportunity angler. Whatever technique is going to catch fish on that river system I’m doing …
Sea lion strategy helping Willamette winter steelhead
By Dean Finnerty In these hard times, it’s uplifting to see a little good news like this morning’s article in The Statesman Journal detailing Willamette winter steelhead returns. Willamette River wild winter steelhead numbers—once as many as 20,000 fish—fell to just over 800 individual fish a few seasons ago. It appeared this once robust run was about to go the …