I don't get it.

Westside rivers: Trout June 1-Feb 28 Min. size 14" Daily limit 2.

Resident trout are basically non existent in our westside rivers. Every June we open up the rivers to trout fishing ie. Dad and kids with their bucket of worms and corn. Aren't they really targeting steelhead smolts? Why are we shooting ourselves in the foot? Should't we be a little more protective of our future returns?

PFunk

My understanding is that most steelhead smolts are at most 6 to 7 inches in length when they begin their out-migration. Although this varies from river to river I do not believe that a 14 inch fish would be a smolting juvenal. Further, here in Oregon waters, by the time of the opening of the rivers in late May, nearly all of any smolts that are heading to the ocean are long gone. The later opening dates are designed to protect migrating smolts.


POS Clerk

Are you forgeting that steelhead are trout?

I don't think it's the harvesting that's the problem; it's the hooking mortality of those little smolts. True, a steelhead smolt will be in the 6 to 7 inch range, AND very aggressive to bait. Therein lies the problem.

I agree that having a resident trout season during the out migration of smolts is not a good idea. Perhaps they don't coincide, however. I'm not as informed in that subject as the "-ologist" guys here.

POS is pretty much correct. Most steelhead outmigrate and smolt as two year olds with some residual 3 and 4 year olds. Just about all less than a foot in length, most less then 8 inches. A 14 inch resident trout has got to be an oldster that has spawned several times.

Also many streams have river specific regs that supercede the general regs where further protection is necessary (e.g., Yakima R; other streams with sea-run cutt populations). Bottom line, if you're not going to restrict steelheaders from incidentally catching smolts, you can't restrict trout anglers. Size and seasonal restrictions are the best things that can be done.

Obsessed is truly the one to listen to regarding smolt timing.
He has managed a juvenile salmon monitoring program in south Puget Sound as part of a Biological Opinion issued by NMFS to determine the migratory timing juvenile Chinook salmon as well as studying and electronically monitoring the movements of anadromous bull trout in tidal freshwater and marine environments.

Obsessed, thank you for the confirmation…

Regards

POS Clerk

PFunk -
Actually there are several cases of "trout" being in west side rivers. There are sea-run cutthroat in most streams (in north Puget Sound lots of them), in the upper reaches there seems to be overlaps between steelhead and resident rainbows, and there are the Dolly Varden/bull trout. In addition there are a number streams with beaver ponds with resident trout that are included in the westside regs as streams.

Technically the folks fishing during the summer are not catching smolts - steelhead, cutthroat or char - but rather parr (next year's smolts). As pointed out by Obsessed the smolts are 6 to 8 inches long with a peak outmigration occurring in May - the vast majority are out of the stream by the first of June - thus the June 1 opening.

The minimum size limit of 14 inches was designed to protect the various parr and to protect cutthroat and resident rainbows until the majority have had a chance to spawn.

If there is concern is about protecting the parr than in addition to season and size restriction that were suggested by Obsessed the prohibition of the use of bait would be helpful. The reason bait bans are nor more commonly seen is due to the active opposition to such rules by steelhead/salmon anglers.

Tight lines
Smalma

I definately would be all for a statewide year round bait ban in our rivers. It would save lotts of juvenile fish as well as our resident trout and sea run cutts.

Agreed, Rich!!

Rich,
I dont think that is the answer. MAYBE certain streams at certain times of year, but certainly not all, all the time. I will frequent a small stream around the June opener every year, targeting resident trout. Almost all the fatalities that I have witnessed have been from small trout taking spinners too deep that were rigged with trebles. Those little guys inhale mostly anything with a vengence not just bait.
I will utilize any tech that is producing fish, be it bait, fly, hardware and just about anything else, so I am no "bait thug". To ask the super geniuses of the state further limit our options on a given river would seem to me like shooting ourselves in the foot.

Tight lines
RL

Rich, wouldn't a year around bait ban put a dent in the Indians egg revenue? Do they have other buyers for there eggs? I would really hate to see the economic incentives taken away from stripping fish just for their eggs.

Pfunk,
I dont think it would hurt the indians that much. Most of their market for the egg take is over seas, mostly the Japanese.
The only thing a year round bait ban would put a dent in is my (and others) ability to experience the rush induced by a big King smaking a golf ball sized egg cluster.
If you guys are seriously concerned about hurting smolts with bait, dont use it. Or better yet dont fish the river in question and encourage others as well.

Tight Lines
RL

RL. Wasn't sure if Asians were buying. Thanks for info.

This won't make an impact but one year on the N/F Stilly they released a big bunch of smolts out of WfiteHorse Hatchery that were too big. 8" to 12". After being in the river for a few weeks they all started to die. I think it was in May. It was about 5 to 6 years ago. What would cause the fish to die off like this. The water was not warm and it had good flow to it. It was strange to see the fish gasping for breath like that and there is nothing you can do but watch them die. I alined one up and put it in the fast water but it still went belly up. Why?