Reading about wild steelhead and C&R posts made me think about the Cedar River and the strength of those fish. I only a caught a couple in there before it was closed but my dad sure knew how good it was. That river got me hooked on steelheading.
I remember taking my 4 year old son with me on a trip when fish in the upper teens were known to be in the river. I was in the process of telling him that fish don't always lay behind rocks and stumps, but sometimes right in front. About that time,my line was in front of a snag, and I told him right "there, there, there". That big ol' fish did nothing but take off down river. That's when I had to tell him the definition of being "spooled". Two lessons in under a minute, one of the best minutes of my life.
Anyone else ever fished the Cedar River before it closed or have a kid story?

I'm with ya...a friend and I used to fish it back in the 70's, I wasn't as good as he as he routinely pulled 20 lb. fish from the Cedar. Would love to have those days back! Also wish the Sammamish Slough was back as plenty of nice fish in there too (though not as big) until all the seals ate them :-(. Wish I knew about bobbers and jigs for the slough...would be killer!

Ya, i remember the cedar, it was my favorite trout fishing stream, and still would be if it were open. they say they shut it down to protect the salmon, what a load of crap!!! most of the fish i caught there were cut, and rainbows, not salmon. can't see why there can't be a summer trout fishery on it??? i grew up on that river, and miss fishing it. the last year it was open to artificial lure regs i caught around 20 trout mostly cuts. NOW THEY ARE GOING TO CUT HATCHERIES?? this river should have had a large hatchery on it years ago.

last year for steelhead caught two, and a buddy caught a large rainbow, around 5 lbs, bummer it's closed.

chumster

Got my first steelhead out of the Cedar back in '59 or '60. Lots after that. Dad used to take my little brother and I out and drop us by the golf course, we'd fish upstream from there and then walk back to North Renton. Those were the days. After high school, there was work, college, wife, and Viet-Nam. Missed the last of the glory years.

I used to fish the Cedar during lunch in a suit and tie. What a great little river full of big fish. I can remember a day I caught and release 2 natives just above the 405 bridge, behind the theater. Both those fish were landed in the kiddy pool their at Carco. One of the fish I held up to the 4 points of the compass and gave thanks. I can just emagine what the drivers on 405 thought looking down at me. May the Cedar be reopend to C&R soon, even with a selective fishery restriction.

Hey AKFloater, hooked you into replying when I told you I made this Cedar post, kinda like the time I got you good. Remember the great fishing report I gave you <img border="0" alt="[santa]" title="" src="graemlins/santa.gif" /> from the last day of the season? It went something like "Dad and I caught like 9 and 13 fish each below the Boeing bridge, one after another". I kept adding to the story and you got further on the edge of your chair (in suit and tie) when I finally had to let you off the hook and say APRIL FOOLS. Pretty rotten to do to my best fishing bud but you and I know that it could have really happened. Too bad, its closed cause we both know that we have that river mastered by now. You've got some pretty good stories from that river, how about the time you went swimming to catch that fish and you even had your wife with you? Merry Christmas (Thanks for stopping by at Dad's today). <img border="0" alt="[santa]" title="" src="graemlins/santa.gif" />

Reading this post made me dig thru my fishing log, found a copy of my 1981 punch card, 9 fish in march on the Cedar, 5 fish on the pill ,I rember one buck that I thought would go 20 ,after it was cleaned it was 19&half lbs

I can remember looking over the Well's street bridge at night and watching those pig's cruise by.Only caught a couple before it was all over.
I lived on that river in the summer,trout fishin and swimming.What I would give to drift it in a one man pontoon boat in the early eighties.
Maybe some day it could support some type of fishery.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE
P.S. Thanks for the child hood memories!!!!!

SteelyDon, You did get me and thanks (I think). I guess the Cedar is where you and I started our fishing partnership and friendship. We've had some great times over the last 18 years, and still have lots of river miles to go, not to mention chasing a deer or two. Now get to work, and thanks for memories!

Very fond memories of the Cedar. Like the fish that took my shrimp louie and proceded to run down river like a train out of control. Ran straight under some limbs sticking out in the river and got off. Or the hen caught down at the concrete plant, nice native hooked right next to the bank. The Cedar was a great fishery. Maybe some day it will be back.

Chumster,

You say it’s a bummer the Cedar is closed. So what does a constructive solution look like? The native steelhead and chinook salmon (ESA listed as a threatened species) runs are in the tank, and certainly among the worst of the Puget Sound tributaries. How would a summer trout fishery benefit the steelhead run? Summer trout fisheries routinely result in the mortality of numerous steelhead and cutthroat parr and pre-smolts. I agree that the complete closure doesn’t protect chinook during the months they are not present, but I think we both know that if the river was open to fishing during September and October any adult chinook present would be at risk to poaching. And how would a large hatchery on the Cedar River benefit the long term existence of the wild steelhead and chinook populations? It seems to be that at best it would be neutral, and more likely it would further contribute to the losses of the wild steelhead and chinook. It’s easy to criticize, but what would a constructive solution look like?

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo,
I don't know what the answer is but it would sure be nice to fish for steelhead in there again. I talked with a fish counter one day on the Snoqualmie about re-opening the Cedar. He suggested or was already being talked about, a lottery type system where you had to be drawn to get a license to fish the river. This would limit the amount of pressure. It is such a small river that something had to be done to limit the amount of people. Don't know how that would really work, maybe a system like drawing a tag for deer or elk with points system. I k ow this doesn't answer the endangered salmon species, unless the season for steelhead was well beyond the salmon run. All I know is when it re-opens, I'll be first in line to fish it.

salmo,

most probally won't like my answer, but here it goes. first, i think the damage to salmon species in general should have been, and could have been prevented years ago. you say you are worried about someone catching fry in a river that has been depleted of most of its natural cover for fish, not to speak of the chemicals that go down the river to keep peoples lawns green! natives are great, and i'm all for them(including salmon) but, i'm realistic, and believe natives one day will be a thing of the past. (just my opinion)

Hatcheries i do believe will be the future of fishing like it , or not.(i don't) I once had a conversation with a fish bioligist, and told him i thought it was better to have people fishing for hatchery fish than no fish at all, don't you? if there was a hachery on the cedar would there be a trout summer season? i think there would, there is on the green, and there is no natives in the green?or fry? why isn't the green shut down to summer trout fishing? most of what i catch in the green in the summer ARE steelhead fry, of course i release all but a few unharmed. it to me comes down to $$$$$$$$$$ for a hatchery, i think no hatcheries on rivers like the cedar is bad business, and a pipe dream for those that think the damage to the river is will be fixed with JUST time. urban rivers need hatcheries, my opinion.

chumster

Chumster,

It's not important that I like your answer; I just want to understand your opinion, and you made it clearer to me. Thanks. Writing off the natural production potential of urban/suburban streams is an alternative. It might be the default choice if deliberate actions to reverse fish population trends are not made. Or it could be an informed choice if fishery biologists conclude that no natural fishery of consequence is possible, given the condition of the river's habitat. I'm not a fan of that alternative, but I can understand how and why some people might choose it.

If society gives up on the river and decides to go the hatchery route, given what we now know about hatchery pros and cons, who will pay for it and who will absorb the negative consequences?

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

I have asked before, and tried to research on the WEB but have not found out why the Cedar River went downhill so fast and why it was closed. I know that it is closed because the runs are in danger, but what caused it? It seems like the fishery closed 'almost over night'. Was this just before people started paying attention to what was going on? I really don't know what the real reasons are.

Any feedback?

Chumster,

This is what I did after I read your post.

Im not familiar with the Cedar but I have heard storys of the plentiful large fish and I have seen the rivers size and closeness to the metro area.

Even if the river had a healthy population of wild steelhead or salmon it would be rediculas to open it to the public. And it should remain a miracle untouched by anglers because if anglers were aloud to fish it even CNR anglers with the amount of traffice that stream would have it would be destroyed in no time at all.

People need to understand that the public in most cases is ignorant and dont know how to treat a river or the fish in it.

What year was it when Hershel and his cronies decimated the Steelie run headed for the Cedar?
I still to this day think they should have just shot them $%#@(*

rich,

not sure i understand you, please explain a little more???????????

I'm sure jet sleds on rivers other than the cedar is great for them, or how about river rafters, summer swimmers?????? or like i said fertilizers to keep grass green. hell, why not kill all species other than steelhead , or salmon to protect any precious eggs from being eaten??? maybe i'm not following you, but if you, and others think that steelhead, and salmon are the only species worth fishing i strongly disagree!!!

salmo,

you are right there is great cost to a hatchery, but hell if i have to pay for TWO seattle stadiums i could give a SH$T about, then more money tward a license fee would be a small price to pay for more fishng water. of course that extra money would end up in the general fund, instead of for fish.

chumster

Busy, here's my thoughts on what happened to the Cedar and almost every other one of the the metro area rivers, more fisherman back then didn't care if it was a wild fish, for example my dad and uncle and several of their buddys always say the same ol line man I remember how good the puyallup used to be or how the nisqually was the greatest native steelhead river they've ever fished, but in the same sentence "brag" about how many punch cards they used to fill on these rivers. My math isn't the greatest, but add up the fisherman per season on any one of these streams and multiply this by an average 5 to 10 maybe even more wild fish per season and the number of harvested fish adds up fast. I am 24 years old now and for the first 10 years of my fishing I was taught to kill regardless, releasing fish was unheard of to my dad or uncle or their friends therefore I thought that this was O.K. The last 5 or so years after my first trip to the o.p. I have learned how precious these fish are and how wonderful it is to still be able to experience this. I think we need to take the initiative to preserve what we still have, and only time will repair the damage that so many caused in the past. Yeah it's legal to fill your punch cards and it's legal to kill 5 wild fish on certain streams but ask ourselves "do we really need to?" I think this is the mentality of most younger fisherman.