As we all know, shortfalls in funding for our fish and wildlife management agencies are an ongoing concern. Severe budget constraints play out in many ways that impact fisheries management and sometimes angling opportunity. TU and Wild Steelheaders United are working both on-the-ground and in the halls of state legislatures to address these funding challenges. One of the first important …
Science Friday: The habitat that steelhead prefer, and how we use it to estimate capacity of rivers
By John McMillan How many steelhead can you fit into a given watershed? Put another way, what is the carrying capacity of a given watershed for steelhead? This question, and its answer, are important for steelhead fishery managers, and anglers, as we collectively try to rebuild wild fish runs up and down the West Coast. To be clear, we …
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: Steelhead in hot water, and what it means for catch-and-release
As predicted for summer steelhead in the Columbia River and many other watersheds in Washington and Oregon, something has happened to the fish. There are precious few of them this season. But it’s important to remember that ebb and flow in population size is part-and-parcel with these fish — and for all salmon in general. We likely pay more …
How to rig a spoon
By Bill Herzog Casting and retrieving/swinging spoons for steelhead has made a bit of a comeback the last ten years. Nice to see the oldest technique for steelhead experience a bit of career resurgence. Rigging our spoons- that is the configuration of swivels and hooks- has to not only be the right size and style but also serve a …
Anglers ask NOAA to expedite Skagit decision
Hundreds of anglers, industry representatives and community businesses all signed on to a letter urging the National Oceananic and Atmospheric Adminstration to expedite a review that would re-open the Skagit River for the 2018 winter/spring steelhead season. The following letter was recently submitted: Barry Thom West Coast Administrator Peter Dygert Branch Chief Anadromous Harvest Management National Marine Fisheries Service …
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 …
Science Friday: The different life histories of adult steelhead
Last week we reviewed the terms used to define different stages of the juvenile steelhead life cycle. This week we break down the life stages of adults and describe their different life histories, which are remarkably diverse. The adult steelhead life stage may be delineated into two categories: adults and kelts. Adults are fish that are mature or preparing …
Science Friday: The life stages of juvenile steelhead
We have spent the last several weeks introducing and defining a variety of terms used in steelhead management. This week, we shift to looking at terms related to steelhead biology, specifically terms used to describe different life stages of juvenile steelhead. Let’s start with eggs. These are the little round suckers that produce the fish. Seriously, everyone understands the …
Science Friday: What the heck do all those acronyms mean?
Science Friday! Another chance to dive into the weeds and define some of the jargon used when discussing, studying and evaluating hatchery steelhead. This week we focus on acronyms commonly used in hatchery management plans. Anyone who has read through a Hatchery Scientific Review Group plan or review, or most any resource management plan for that matter, has probably …