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The enhancement project is based on a tributary to the upper Sol Duc named Snider Creek. This project has become an important part of the rebuilding and continued maintenance of the early-run native steelhead stocks on the Sol Duc River.

Run by the Olympic Peninsula Guides' Association, we hope to expand this program into other area rivers in the next few years.

A success story from the program ... notice that the fish only has one ventral fin.

You can help us by letting the Washington Department of Fish and Game know that you might support such an idea!

Many of the area's guides and businesses, as well as many of our customers have played a very important role in making the program a success.

A little different than a standard hatchery program, this project uses wild steelhead rather than returning hatchery fish for the parent stock of the young. Sol Duc River steelhead fishing

 

Somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 smolts are planted into the Sol Duc river each year as part of this program ... providing more opportunity for all Sol Duc anglers.
A simple overview of the program:

1) Wild steelhead are caught via hook and line by local residents, guides, and their customers.

2) These steelhead are tethered alive to the boat and transported downstream to an area where a transport truck can retrieve the live fish.

Snider Creek's confluence with the Sol Duc River

Snider Creek as it enters the Sol Duc River

3) The steelhead are transported to the hatchery facility where they are held until they are ripe enough to spawn.

4) Eggs are taken from the females and fertilized from hand-stripped males.

5) The State of Washington Sol Duc Salmon Hatchery incubates the eggs until they hatch.

6) Steelhead parr are transported back to the Snider Creek facility to be reared until release age.

A tethered Sol Duc River hen steelhead.

One tethered up and ready for transport!

7) Steelhead smolt are released into the Sol Duc River

8) Smolt migrate to the sea to feed for a few years.

9) Adult steelhead return to the Sol Duc River to spawn in / near the Snider Creek area!! Some others return to a trap facility on Snider Creek and these fish are also artificially spawned.

Although technically hatchery fish (they are marked by a clipped ventral fin), we look at these fish as natives and release all that we can back into the river in hopes that they will spawn naturally in the Snider Creek region ... many pairs have been doing so over the last few years.

The holding area for returning adults

Raceway at the Snider Creek Facility


Our Opinion: Please help us by letting Snider Creek fish go after they are caught ... each fish released helps preserve our future angling opportunities!!


If you would be interested in making a donation to this program to help pay for food costs for the smolt, maintenance of transport truck, salary of caretaker of the facility, and upkeep of the facility, please contact us, we can make arrangements for a donation.

The Snider Creek project rearing pond

The Rearing Pond at the Snider Creek Hatchery.

 

 

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