Good point but that's part of the fun/challenge. They still are a better fight and table fare. One thing I have noticed that most summer steelhead returns, return timing has changed? Used to catch lots more end of May into June when water flows were higher. Especially on the Kalama. I think the Skamania strain comes in early and the Kalama changed it's program away from them, to nurture original wild summers. Figures, they mostly wreck a good thing by changing what is working. Now, few start showing until the end of July into August when flows are low and fishing is tough? Some wait clear into Sept. when kings start showing and regulations change.
The Cowlitz just needs to put more numbers in. I'm talkin 1mil. TP to cheap to raise them anymore.
Not fishing for winters this season has given me time to tie more trout flys. I have been getting into the spring trout stillwater fisheries on the E. side flyfishing the last few years. Chironomids and balanced leeches are the ticket. Some big trout are around and a gas on a 3 or 5wt and they plant good numbers. Looking to get into trout stream flyfishing next. Bummer is it's all in ID and MT and mostly a summer/ fall fishery.

As the late Coho wind down last weeks 2022 rack report was Bingham H5481 W241 and Skookumchuck was H1242 W27. Same week last year was Bingham H1310 W35 and Skookumchuck H113 and W27. Since the Dec shutdown for fishing the jump in numbers we have been seeing with out harvest is holding up. It is an interesting pattern to be sure.

Interesting. Can’t say it’s all that surprising. Looking forward to seeing the Steelhead numbers come May. Would be extra ammunition for the argument of switching more effort to a Summer Steelhead fishery, IF the Winter fish follow suit.

Don't expect a change in summer and winter steelhead plants any time soon.

Yeah, I’m not. Have to start the conversation somewhere. I’ll be emailing James Losee soon as I still haven’t heard back from Larry Phillips. If anything, I’m just trying to notify them of the fair level of support for this idea.

02/02/2022

Rivrguy and myself have had MANY discussions on summer run steelhead. Wynoochee River has had summer run steelhead since about 1979. The general public really didn't take part, until the 90's. As a public school teacher, living just 7 miles away, this fishery was perfect for me.

Early years, eggs, prawns, sand shrimp, spinners and a very small group of fly fishers. No bobber and jigs until the 90's, they completely changed this fishery.

Early years also had land owners that allowed access to prime waters, that included the large timber companies.

The 90's to present day, jigs and bait divers, took the largest percentage of caught SR fish.

The fishery was from late May, into September......then my fishing for SR went to the Chehalis and silver jacks, adult salmon.

Like many rivers, I5 population found Grays Harbor and the OP, more guides, drift boats, jet boats, and bank fishers.......trash, cut trees, led to many areas shut down to bank fishers.

Summer run steelhead DO EAT BETTER than winter run.....

In the more than 40 years since the introduction of the summer run steelhead there must be almost no effective spawning, un marked fish are few, on the Wynoochee River.

Absolutely right on them tasting better.

I’ve heard of ONE unmarked summer fish among my circle. Apparently it had a wild-type dorsal fin to match. Whether it was a stray, progeny of hatchery fish, or otherwise would be interesting to know. Have doubts there’d be enough wild fish to sustain even a SMALL wild population in that river.

I caught one unmarked summer out of the Nooch about 6 years ago. it was about 5 lbs.

Just to throw a wrench into the SR/WR discussion. Down on some Oregon river where they trapped upstream migrants 365 days a year they had winter steelhead returning in all 12 months. Maybe only 1 or 2 in late summer/fall. I think Smalma mentioned that some Skagit Winters spawn in July and maybe even early August so just because it was a wild fish in the summer doesn't make it a summer.

True. I guess that’s definitely possible. Only way to tell would be to find out if it’s got that adaption gene, correct? The one they share with spring chinook?

Don't know for sure. Another possibility is a recovering kelt. While trapping a couple creeks we routinely got rather chrome bright female kelts who were gorging on Carpenter Ants. They were recovering condition fast. In fact, the one I remember best had a belly that almost felt like a male; it was already tight. We saw kelts in the creeks in August so that becomes another possibility if there was a lot of food around. And they would be aggressively feeding.

A summer that is not clipped could just be a hatchery that wasn't clipped .

Also known as a "drop" but there should be some erosional evidence on the fins.

Yes CM, I remember the days when we had the little plastic card to measure the height of the dorsal to determine if the steelie was a hatchery or a wild fish. I think I still have one of those cards around the house . Maybe a collector's item.

On the traps I worked on we examined every steelhead closely. Fortunately, we had scales to confirm H/W. This was before ad-clipping so you had to look at the fins. Most, raised in concrete, were obvious. We had a few, though, raised in dirt ponds, that maybe had one or two broken rays in the dorsal. You had to feel for the break. What was impressive to us was that the visual quality of the dirt-pond fish.

Anyone know where to find the current or historic Hatchery Escapement Reports for Skookumchuck Winter Steelhead. All I am able to find are smolt plant and harvest numbers. Do they only collect Salmon and not collect Steelhead from that hatchery? Thanks.

This is the hatchery and you can pull up by years.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/hatcheries/escapement

Also I can send you a spread sheet that has wild Steelhead escapement by trib for GH. Just PM a e mail address.

Hatchery escapement of "winter-late" steelhead to the Skookumchuck is reported in these escapement reports in this link. In 2021, the first report for Skookumchuck was on Feb 10. Apparently they haven't started trapping yet this year but should show in the next couple weekly reports.

02/05/2022

Wynoochee Mitigation Fund, money total question answered, finally!!!!!!!

I sent a email to Region 6 Director, got the following:


Hi Larry,

The current balance of the account is: $2,759,318.13

Travis

So now we know a couple of things:

1. Tacoma City Light has the fund

2. The money is still there.

30+ years since this fund was established, Coho and winter run Steelhead were to be raised and put in the Wynoochee......still have not been done.....grrrrrrrrr

TCL does not have the funds but they are in an account set aside that they do not control expenditures, that is WDFW.