Rogue River Steelhead Count

[Langenbeck]

Here is the data from 1994 - 2009 on both summer and winter run. Just ended a poor summer run of 6602 fish.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/gordonl/GoldRaySteelheadCount1994-2009.jpg

[Scott V]

If the chart stays the same as previous years it looks like 2011 should be a stellar year. But that is just a hopeful guess.

[Tony Buzolich]

Maybe if they put a bounty on sea lions instead of protecting them our fisheries would sky-rocket. Every time I pass by the mouth of the Russian and see all of those fat things sleeping there, I wonder how the Russian even has ANY steelhead or salmon in it.

I'm sure some of you "older" guys (Lee Soares) remember wading at Austin Creek, Rio Nido, and Johnson's Beach.

Man, I miss that. It was like out of the movie River of a Lost Coast. You'd see the same guys week after week. The Gualala was the same, and the guys would bounce back and forth between the two rivers, sometimes even the Garcia. And what about Paper Mill?

As we all get older, reminiscing seems come around more often,
TONY

[Darian]

Interesting info. I wonder what happened to enable the spike during the period from 2000 thru 2004 :?: :?: Out of 16 years of counts, only those years exceeded 15,000 in volume.... in this case, the average doesn't appear to be meaningful as it takes that spike into account. Without the spike, the average would be lower.... :confused: We need to see a chart with a longer duration. :nod:

[Langenbeck]

Darin, I have the data going back 61 years and the average winter run for that period is 9772 and the average summer run is 7102. So much about you should have been here in the 40's and the 50's as the records runs on the Rogue occurred in early 2000's.

[Darian]

Hi Gordon,.... I kinda thought you might have the info. I'm curious about the spike mentioned. Does the spike occur at regular intervals :?: From your comment, the magnitude of this spike was a record (....an anomoly :?: It's so far above the average :confused:).

I hope Scott's correct and a spike will occur again.... :nod:

[Langenbeck]

Darian-Prior to 2001 the only year's that that the runs exceeded 15,000 were: Winter 1943, 1945, 1972, 1986, 1987 & 1988.

For summer fish above 15,000: 1987, 1988. All after Lost Creek Dam put in.

Typically about 85% of the winter run are wild fish and about 50% of the summer run are wild fish. Having said that after about 15 Oct almost 95% of the summer fish I catch are wild. My guess is that up to 15 Oct the water is fairly warm and the hatchery fish fly through the Grants Pass section to get to the cooler waters of the upper Rogue.

[OceanSunfish]

Out of curiosity, and not trying to stir any pots, etc., has the LC Dam helped or hurt the Rogue fishery?

The area just below where the dams sits today was my Grandparent's favorite fishing destination back in the 50's and 60's prior to the dam. They used to sit me atop a big rock at age 2 with my parents nearby, while they fished, etc. Based on their accounts, the dam actually helped as it stopped the flooding?

I haven't been back to that area since right after the dam was completed. I toured the hatchery, etc.

Thanks for sharing.

[Darian]

Thanks for the info Gordon. It's nice to have someone to ask about this stuff....

OS,.... Sounds like a lot of good memories for you. 8-) You should go back and visit again.... :nod:

[Langenbeck]

OceanSunfish: Here is my take on Lost Creek Dam. Virtually no effect on fall chinook salmon, silver salmon and winter steelhead. I think the steady stream of cooler water in the summer and fall has been a plus for the summer steelhead. Initially think Lost Creek Dam hurt the spring salmon very badly but in recent years they have been trying to fine tune both flows and temperature to make it better for the spring salmon. Obviously the loss of spawning habitat above Lost Creek hurt all the species.

[OceanSunfish]

For a minute there, I forgot about the loss of natural spawning habitat, so that's obviously not a good thing, however, it's great to see that Water/Dam Operations is willing to time water releases to mimic 'mother nature' or do what is best for the FISH whereas here in CA, that is obviously not the case......

Thanks again for the info.