ODFW yesterday announced it would drop plans to harvest wild winter steelhead on the North Umpqua! Thank you to everyone who signed the petition. Stay vigilant because the greedy bait guides on that river will not give up and will no doubt mount a big push in 2012

Good news!

Fish on...

Todd

Victory again, you would think the state would catch a clue this thing has been shot down so many times.

This isn't over but at least this battle is won

Greedy bait guys??

Keith

That is bull$hit right there. That proposal had little support from local fishing guides. Every guide I know would not endorce any kill fishery on steelhead in Oregon rivers. There is no need.

It is widely supported from local sportfisherman who have always been able to keep a wild fish on that river and are now being told no. Try and take away something you've always been able to do and see how happy you are. I think it is a great thing and those fish should be protected.

That is great news! Now if we can make the Olympic Peninsula rivers follow suit before it's too late.

+100, there is no reason that any river in WA/OR should be open for wild steelhead retention....

Well Lund if you would ever bother to show up at ODFW meetings you wouldn't say such stupid $hit! The only guides that were against the harvest were fly guides and the bait guides in that region were for it.
I was there and I heard them. It's a matter of public record.

Read it again Keith...bait guides is what it says you know
like the ones who support the steelhead broodstock programs on the north Oregon coast.

Although I do not support killing wild steelhead, I certainly support bait fishing.....

What's wrong with the broodstock steelhead programs on the north coast?

Keith

You mean besides taking the eggs from wild steelhead and making them hatchery fish?

Thats so we can keep Stew. Its a conversion program! Convert the wild fish to hatchery fish and we are good to harvest with no sweat.

If we stop killing wild steelhead there its just more for the commercials! They will get our share. Wheres boater I am sure he will explain everything...
I like bait too, its easier to drag them wild fish up the bank when there hooked in the gills.

Sheer brilliance
You sure you aren't a Tillamook guide?

Double roll eyes. You must be to the right of me buddy.

I would just be happy catch and releasing wild fish for the rest of my days and eat salmon when they are abundant However, I always hear about hatchery fish having a negative affect on wild populations. While I'm sure this is true especially when a foreign strain is planted, it seems to me that when wild broodstock is planted then the progeny from those wild fish fair much better in their native basin. I can see how true wild juveniles born in the gravel would have to compete with planted juveniles for food and genetic diversity would weaken with every generation but there is one river I have to point out that when this subject comes up I have mentioned a couple of times but no one has responded. I have fished the Vedder R. for years and can honestly say that despite the fact that they have a broodstock program in place (and have for many moons) and despite the worst crowding you will ever see (except the cowlitz) Iv'e witnessed some of the healthiest wild steelhead populations year in and year out. They must be doing something right, something that we in the states are not. The wild population up there far outnumbers the hatchery component, as a matter of fact I would venture to say that for every 10 wild steelhead you catch you may get only 1 hatchery fish some seasons. For every brood year wild fish are caught by hatchery personell and used for spawn. Never do they use hatchery fish for broodstock.

Anywho.... I'm not advocating infiltering all of our rivers with broodstock programs but I thought I would hopefully get someones attention as to why the Canadians can pull this off and we haven't been as successfull. Oh yeah, it's a foregone conclusion that no one is allowed to kill wild fish in Canada except for first nations ofcourse.


Crap... I just realized I wrote this whole damn response on the wrong thread. Supposed to be on the wild steelhead petition thread. I'm too tired to rewrite everything. Maybe one of the mods can move my post over to the right one. Good night.

Yes, Stew it seems pathetic to take eggs from wild fish to make another fish to kill. It's not good practice on a run of fish that is in trouble. The good thing is that the Siletz, Wilson, and Nestucca rivers are not in trouble with wild steelhead populations. Yes, they have been better, but the populations are steady.
Once again someone is leaving out all the infromation. These wild fish are not killed, and many of them return to spawn again. I know this becasue I have caugth them in the Wison. They have a little wire tag in their dorsal fin. Pretty neat if you think about it. 100 pair of steelhead and you can have several thousand adults return from them.
Will you show us how they kill wild steelhead to do it? I have fished wild steelhead in every river in Oregon that has a broodstock program and most that don't. The hatchery rivers without broodstock programs are worthless. The ones with BS fish have just as healthy of wild runs as before the programs. The ones with 100% wild fish are the same today as they were 10 years ago. Show me how broodstock is bad.

Broodstock good. Live spawn is just that. The fish live to spawn again. If you have ever fished the wilson you would see why it works. Now only if washington would follow oregon and stop letting sporties kill wilds

What about the OTHER user groups? There is more to the equation than just us blood thirsty sporties..


Fishy

Kevin have you ever done a redd survey in the winter? If you did you would know that the wild populations are in decline. Don't listen to the BS ODFW and Jack Smith, Scott Amerman and all the other bait guides are perpetuating. ODFW dumps voraciously hungry over sized broodstock smolt on top of wild smolt and are in direct competition for what little food is available. That is bound to have an effect on the wild smolt wouldn't you say?
That is why I make it a point to "remove" any broodstock smolt that I inadvertently hook on my fly rod from the system all legal of course.
No they do not kill the wild parents but what they do kill is the chance for those wild parents progeny to develop naturally. Multiply that over the many seasons of the broodstock programs and the wild eggs sacrificed for what basically boils down to a bait guide welfare program. If that description seems harsh think about who the BS program benefits the most.
The loss and the potential of those "borrowed" eggs is staggering!