After reading the a little about mortality rates of c&R fish i was wondering if they differ between summer and winter runs. In the summer you have to scale down which means using smaller gear and lighter lines. This usually increases the time that you have to play the fish. So now the question: since the fish is played longer in the summer do more of them die as opposed to winter fishing when heavier gear is used? Do other factors such as water temp and current speed also play into survival? Just wondering.

rcl,

Generally speaking, C&R is harder on summer runs than winter runs. The warmer temps increase the stress put upon the fish, and this is compounded by the increased metabolism in summer runs. Someone else (Salmo G?) can probably help you out with more info if you need it.

Fish on........

A steelhead is a steelhead no matter what it is. There would be noticable difference in mortality rates between winter steelhead and summer steelhead if tests were conducted in a controlled environment.
There may be a hirher rate of mortality in the summer due to warmer water conditions and the higher metabolisms that come with warmer temps.
There are too many different variables to consider to make a accurate estimate.

I don't fish summer fish much since I'm salmon fishing most of the summer, but, from what I've read, the water temp does play a big factor in the survival rates of the fish ... I believe there was some info out of STS some years back on this very subject, but I may be mistaken.

UMMMMM summer runs....every time I go through a crappy winter fishery like this year I wonder why I fish the winter at all. Then I remember - big chrome native fish. Summer is way more fun in ALOT of ways.

I'm not sure the aforementioned STS article discussed mortality rates on released fish, I'd have to go back and look. They did discuss interception rates however, on both hatchery and native fish, summer and winter. What I do remember was the 90 something % summer interception versus the less than 5% winter interception.

This kind of falls in line with my summer vs. winter catch rates, kinda funny.

You B'ham boys will learn your lesson once the army of Puget Sound anglers shows up on your river this weekend, the only one open for 150 miles.

TK

It is the water temperature that affects survival after stress (C&R), not whether the fish is a summer or winter run. Since we don't find winter steelhead in warm water, temperature stress only applies to some summer run fish. There isn't a lot of good information on C&R survival on steelhead in the first place, and you can be sure there is less that is specific to summer runs. (BTW, I was gratified to observe than the consensus of expert opinion placed C&R mortality no higher than 5% at the WSC meeting Wednesday night.) Having said there isn't a lot of good information, I'm going to venture that the temperature problem doesn't develop with stream temperatures below 65 degrees F. I've never fished warmer water than that for steelhead, but I have found that steelhead become quite dour in warm water and more reluctant to strike.

I did fish for cutthroat once and found it very difficult to revive the fish for release. Took the water temp and it was 72 degrees. We clipped our flies at the hook bend and counted strikes for awhile. I've decided not to fish when conditions are that stressful to trout.

Hope that helps.

A few years back there was a series of studies conducted in New England streams on Atlantic salmon. The short-version is yes, temperature is the primary factor regarding hooking mortality for Atlantics. In water temperatures of upper 40s/mid-50s, hooking mortality was quite low, between 3 and 6 percent. Above 60 degrees, mortality increasd substantially; one trial at 62 degrees found over 20 percent mortality after release. On the Skykomish, I have yet to encounter temperatures above 60 degrees in August/September, but I haven't taken too many measurements.