My colleagues who have been looking at the ocean off of AK are seeing coho and Chinook that are smaller at age. It looks to them like the quality of what they eat is way down; lots fewer calories/item. In the dim past the late-returning fish were larger as they stayed out and ate more.

A % of normal timed Coho come back late and a % of Late Coho come back early. Bingham has a modest Late Coho smolt release and the 300K Skookumchuck mitigation are late timed. Week or so back fish caught mostly were unclipped and up to size. Last few days mostly clipped Coho but most the normal size. Early Coho this year were a tad small but they came in a month early and that makes a big difference. November Coho have been about what one would expect so far in size from what I can tell.

Numbers that is a different thing all together. I imagine things will stay open until December 1st.

The coho returns to Puget Sound rivers have been excellent.

Most of the hatcheries have surplused 1,000s of fish lead by the Marblemount hatchery on the Skagit. The hatch run was forecasted to be 21,000 fish. To date that hatchery has surplused 22,000 fish. Looking at the count of wild coho at Sunset Falls on the Skykomish it looks like the wild coho escapement is on track to potentially exceed 150,000 which would be the highest escapement since 2004.

While Puget Sound and Grays harbor coho may not exactly track at least in some areas of the state there were lots of coho.

Curt

Nice numbers. What's the size?

Looks like WDFW is indeed holding firm, despite the Tribe's pressure. I just read a KIRO article that seems to confirm that. Of course, the article goes into no detail about the real reasons the QIN suffered an economic hardship (the bottomed-out ex-vessel value that made it economically unfeasible to fish). That's unfortunate, because that's something the public should understand. Absent that, people are left to think WDFW is being reckless and irresponsible by letting us keep fishing, and that's simply not the truth. Oh, well. Good news is good news....

WDFW refuses to close fisheries despite Quinault Nation citing ‘alarmingly low returns’ of salmon

By KIRO 7 News Staff
November 18, 2023 at 5:35 pm PST


TAHOLAH, Wash. — The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) has sent a second letter to the Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to close fall Coho salmon fisheries in Grays Harbor and the Queets River due to “alarmingly low returns” of wild adult Coho salmon.

The letter sent to the WDFW stated:

“We are disappointed at WDFW’s ‘wait and see’ attitude and reluctance to take precautionary actions to protect the resources entrusted to our stewardship in the face of uncertainty.” -QIN

Quinault Indian Nation President Guy Capoeman had sent an earlier letter dated October 30, 2023, asking WDFW to close the hatcheries immediately. In that letter, QIN urged WDFW to close Coho fisheries under its jurisdiction early in the Queets River and Grays Harbor.

WDFW has since decided to keep the fisheries open.

The later reply from WDFW reads:

“We agree that the limited information so far this year, suggests that the coho return is likely below pre-season expectations, but there is still a great deal of uncertainty.” - WDFW

“We understand this closure has brought hardship to our tribal fishermen and their families, but as stewards of our salmon for today and future generations, it’s the right thing to do,” said Quinault Fisheries Policy Spokesperson Cleve Jackson. “Our shared responsibility to be good stewards of our sacred salmon requires us to be cautious and proactive before it’s too late.”

QIN decided in October to close its fisheries early after seeing far lower catch numbers than were anticipated by the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s preseason projections.

©2023 Cox Media Group

The KIRO release made no sense. If you read it on the internet, it's even more confusing. They quote the tribe as asking WDFW to close the hatcheries?

I think it was more the case of an error in the reporting.

Yeah. I noticed that, too, but the bigger miss was leaving out the real reasons the QIN had poor catch numbers this year. Makes WDFW and their closed hatcheries look like monsters for letting us keep fishing...

I fished a couple Chehalis tribs this weekend, and can verify that the wild fish are on the march,
fb

Some nice fish in the system. The wild coho return to Wynooche Dam has been good. That is one indicator that WDFW uses to estimate the wild return. I have friends who are doing well on bright coho in the Chehalis.

Double post making sure I have all the bases covered!!!

Heads up on the weather and fishing. Around Dec 2nd a storm is forecast and in 4 days we are going to flood stage. There are four flood levels from action to major and it looks to be just flood level which is the second stage. Somewhere arounf 23,000 CFS at Porter and 17,000 CFS on the Satsop. In other words the river is going to blow out big time! At present December looks to be a mixed bag as to rain so we will have to wait and see but the great inland fishing water that started in September is about to come to an end.

One thing is for sure I have never seen WDFW hold their ground when the QIN do not fish before. There is a world of difference between a net fishery and Rec fishery in November. To say I have been a critic of WDFW over the years is an understatement but this time I think staff got it right. It was never fair for the commercial fisheries to hammer the crap out of the fish then opps the recs have to conserve. If we do not make escapement for Coho the Nov caught Rec fish will not be the cause.

I'm with you, it was fantastic to see WDFW stand their ground. Still seeing nice fish caught in tidewater. QIN is making a money play, economic hardship because "there aren't enough fish", which translates in real talk to "lots of complaining about rock bottom prices they were getting" so an opportunity to manipulate the situation for a big check from Uncle Sam.

so an opportunity to manipulate the situation for a big check from Uncle Sam. [/quote]

RIGHT ON ...RIGHT ON...RIGHT ON !!!

In conversation about the Coho fishery some questioned the Rec oportunity of one fish bag. I took a peak at the Chehalis Basin hatchery Coho returns as of Nov 22 for all Chehalis hatchery Coho. They totaled 29,222 adults and after harvest the modeled return was 40,563. There will still be more fish showing but not enough to drastically alter things. So we should end up near 10k (25%) short of what was anticipated. Keep in mind that both the QIN and NT commercials did poorly due to the early rain and low prices and inland Rec did rather well.

So the forecasted Coho return to the Chehalis Basin hatcheries is off about 25% & change, both commercial fisheries were a bust, inland Rec fsheries were outstanding and fishing is presently doing well from what I am told. After harvest the 2023 Wild Coho escapement was expected to be 15,595 above the escapement goal of 28,506. The math says if wild Coho perform as the hatchery Coho 25% short of modeled returns it is likely wild Coho make escapement.

With how dry it has been this year I would nor be surprised to see 10k more coho show up. Maybe I'm overly optimistic though.

Looking to the numbers game the number of Chum was just amazing but how amazing? So some of us looked to the Satsop hatchery returns. 2023 Bingham and the Springs had 4942 in 2022 2070 and in 2021 2900 and Bimgham passed 1395 upstream in 2023. So it appears that on the Satsop the Chum return was rather large.

I just saw the emergency closure rules that just came out for WDFW. Looks like all the Chehalis system and tribs and other rivers are closed to all fishing Nov. 30. Kind of late with the announcement. I was planning on fish The Nooch or the Satsop tomorrow and Saturday for coho. I had all my gear ready to go. Did other people see the closure announcement? Looks like a lot of rivers are closing today. I wonder how many recs will not see the closure? Did I miss something?

This came from Region 6 and a press release from Olympia. The portions I highlighted in red is about all the information available. The December late Coho fishery is always tangled up with the tribal Steelhead fishery and there are almost no wild December Steelhead. Late Coho runs are in poor shape we could C&R for wild Late Coho as Bingham and Skookumchuck have hatchery releases for late timed Coho. This is one of the disagreements or agreements between the comanagers that is seldom if ever explained. I was told years back coming after the tribal court decisions it was understood both state and tribe fish or nobody fishes. Over the years I tried to get the numbers of tribal harvest of Late Coho caught as incidental in the so called December Steelhead fishery and was told it was not available.

NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Nov. 30, 2023
Contact: Coastal Region – Montesano, 360-249-4628
Media contact: Bridget Mire, 564-224-0845


WDFW announces 2023-2024 coastal steelhead season
Department to test fishing from a floating device in some waters
OLYMPIA – Fishery managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced this week regulations for the state’s 2023-2024 coastal steelhead fishing season. Included are special rules allowing fishing from a floating device on two sections of the Hoh River during certain days of the week to help determine impacts to wild steelhead.

“With a focus on the long-term decline of coastal steelhead, especially in the Queets and Quinault watersheds, the Region 6 team has designed recreational fishery regulations that support WDFW’s conservation goals while integrating what we’ve heard from the public,” said James Losee, WDFW Coastal Region fish program manager. “With this in mind, we are implementing a one-year study in the Hoh River to determine the wild steelhead impacts from fishing from a floating device to better inform future rule making.”

Fishing is scheduled to be open from Dec. 1 through March 31 with some opportunities to fish from a floating device. Selective gear rules and single point barbless hooks will be required on all systems open to fishing. These include:
• Quillayute River System
• Hoh River
• Willapa Bay River System (select tributaries will close Feb. 28)

WDFW fishery managers are continuing discussions with Quinault Indian Nation to secure agreements on fishery plans in Grays Harbor rivers and tributaries.

In waters open to fishing, the bag limit is two hatchery steelhead, and anglers must release wild steelhead and rainbow trout. All anglers are advised that additional emergency Fishing Rule Changes could occur throughout the season.

The Quillayute River System will follow similar rules as last year’s emergency regulations with some expanded boat fishing on the Sol Duc River. Fishing from a floating device will be allowed in the mainstem Quillayute, downstream of the concrete pump station at the Sol Duc Hatchery, below the Highway 101 bridge on the Calawah River, and downstream of the mouth of Mill Creek on the Bogachiel River (approximately 3/4 mile above the Bogachiel Hatchery).

In the Hoh River, fishing from a floating device will be allowed Sunday through Tuesday only from the Morgan’s Crossing boat launch downstream to the Washington Department of Natural Resources Hoh Oxbow Campground boat launch, and Wednesday through Saturday only from the Hoh Oxbow boat launch downstream to the Olympic National Park boundary near the mouth.

Fishing from a floating device will also be allowed in rivers that flow into Willapa Bay throughout the scheduled season (Dec. 1 through March 31).

State-managed recreational fishing closes Nov. 30 in the Chehalis, Humptulips, Quinault, and Queets rivers due to chronic low wild steelhead abundance. WDFW is still pursuing agreement with tribal co-managers through signed fishery management plans in these systems.

For more information on the Quinault and Queets fisheries, see the Olympic National Park news release. More on fishing in Olympic National Park can be found on the park’s fishing webpage.

Final fishing regulations followed an extensive public engagement process, which included a two-part virtual town hall series this past fall and several WDFW staff updates to the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

WDFW continues to operate under its Statewide Steelhead Management Plan, which requires the Department to prioritize the sustainability of wild coastal steelhead runs by focusing on healthy levels of abundance, productivity, diversity, and distribution.

For more information about coastal steelhead management, the pre-season planning process, and recordings of prior public meetings, please visit WDFW’s website.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife works to preserve, protect, and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.

###

Individuals who need to receive this information in an alternative format, language, or who need reasonable accommodations to participate in WDFW-sponsored public meetings or other activities may contact the Title VI/ADA Compliance Coordinator by phone at 360-902-2349, TTY (711), or email (Title6@dfw.wa.gov). For more information, see https://wdfw.wa.gov/accessibility/requests-accommodation

I still wonder how many recs will be fishing the Chehalis and tribs tomorrow not knowing of the closure. WDFW came out way too late with the announcement. Typical WDFW screwing things up. Will LE be running around to all the rivers tomorrow telling recs that fishing is closed and to get off the rivers?