Big wild winter run Steelhead near the hatchery

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Got this email from a good buddy who loves Steelhead too:

__________________________________________________ _______

Bill:

There's been a big Steelhead holding in the upper end of the hatchery ladder pool. I saw him first last Monday. He's only moved ten feet since then. He seems leery of moving through the steel bars which prevent back tracking.

This fish is a huge male. Nice long snout, hooked jaw, big rainbow stripe and not a single mark on him.

I estimate him to be between 34" and 36" and his girth is spectacular.

And he's WILD! Adipose fin intact. I think he's the biggest Steelhead I've ever seen in the American in 40 years.

He might actually push twenty pounds. At the very least he's in the high teens. He's stunning to see.

When he finally goes in, the hatchery guys are going to be really excited to add him to the gene pool. He'll make big, strong babies.

If you get a chance go check him out. He likes to lay against the far side (west). And he's pretty active so he's not hard to find.

Merry Christmas to you and Marilyn.

Cheers,
BP

[Finsane]

I saw a buck in the ladder 2-3 weeks ago that was in the 20 lb class. I believe he was hatchery, but cannot confirm.

[nrthcsteel]

Now Im not at all familiar with how the hatchery runs on the American. So feel free to bash me on this. BUT it seems to me that if there is any way that this fish can be released back into its natural environment and left alone to do its natural spawning cycle wouldnt that be a better thing for the WILD steelhead of the American??? Why are the hatchery people so excited to add its genes to the hatchery population and TAKE AWAY its genes from the wild population??? Let this guy go on about his business. Hes beat the odds and is the at the prime of his life. Obviously he knows something is not right as he wont go up the ladder. I think he deserves to do what he came back to the river for in the first place, meet some sweet looking hen and get his groove on. Not be jack offed by a hatchery! Hes trying to do his part to ensure the survival of his natural wild species. Let him do it NATURALLY@! Kevin

[easymends]

I was thinking the same thing.

[mr. 3 wt.]

more than likely one of them scumbag poachers who lurk the american will snag him up and eat him or stick him in the freezer for a year or two.

[Jasonh]

If it was indeed a wild fish, the hatchery will put it back in the river to hopefully spawn naturally. They will not spawn a wild fish at the hatchery even though many come up the ladders. Supposedly the numbers of fish is not great so far this season but they have seen some really big fish so far.

[nrthcsteel]

Thanks Jason. The email that was sent to Bill was a little confusing word wise when it said "the hatchery guys are really excited to add him to the gene pool" I guess I interpreted it as meaning to the hatchery gene pool, Hopefully it meant releasing it back into its natural environment. My bad. This big guy has literally worked his tail off in his lifetime and definatly earned his red stripe, I hope he succeeds in putting it to its intended use. Kevin

[Covelo]

Sorry to beat the same old drum but I just bristle when I hear terms like "natural environment" and "natural wild species" when refering to the American. There is nothing natural about it. Stealhead never spawned naturally in this section of the river and the fish that are there are Eel River stock.

So much emotion over one fish. Yes he is large, but the significance of his genes to the population is not any greater than any other fish. This is simple population dynamics and statistics. Genetic diversity should be the main goal. To this end, spawning a variety of fish across the entire season (Nov-April) is much more important than any one fish. Since the American is mainly a hatchery run, adding unclipped spawners into the hatchery gene pool would be a good thing. Most hatcheries in Oregon will spawn only wild fish. This helps prevent selection of weaker genes by the hatchery system.

[Mike Stroud]

thanks for the education, I think i'll go fishing now...