with the steelhead they get at the barrier dam separator that have adipose fins? recycle?

i was always told there is no wild run on the cowlitz?? can you keep an "un-cut" steelhead?

Max

No, they do not recycle any steelhead that have there adipose fins in tack.

They clipped the right ventral fin on hatchery steelheads smolts that were raised in the upper Cowlitz. For the most part, I believe that they also clipped the adipose fin too. Once these adult fish have returned and spawned, the new smolts will have all of there fins attached, and they will be treated as "wild" fish. When they return as adults, they will also be passed up into the upper Cowlitz by their return timing.

You were correct, that there is almost no "native" wild steelhead left on the Cowlitz. WDFW is trying to create a new "wild stock" of winter run steelhead that used to be here, by useing the latest return timed "hatchery" stock of Cowlitz winter run steelhead as their brood stock.

The whole program is nothing more then a fricken joke, because any of the Cowlitz stocks of steelhead would have worked just as well! I could go on and on, but most of the board already knows about this issue. I hope this answerers your question.

Cowlitzfisherman