State of the Steelhead

[Walter]

This is an excellent article. Please take the time to read it all, well.


http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=32069



“In our fathers’ generation, they witnessed the complete collapse of the California steelhead fishery. In our generation, it was the famed rivers of Puget Sound. What’s next? We’re currently standing on the edge of the cliff and time is running out. If we’re going to do anything to save wild steelhead, we have to do it now.” – Dr. Nathan Mantua, Research Professor, University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences

[hwchubb]

Interesting - and tough - read. Just seeing the decline in the steelhead fishery on the American since they reopened the winter fishery in 1999 after only a few years of a Nov-April closure showed both how quickly a fishery can rebound and fall. The simple solutions he talks about at the end aren't all that simple either. A "simple" fix to the American, for example, would be to close the area upstream of the Sunrise Bridge until at least March 1 to protect all the new spawning areas that your license fees and mine paid for, but good luck getting that past this board, much less our new Dept of Fish and Wildlife.

Thanks for posting it.

[JasonB]

Walter, thanks for sharing that. An important read for sure, although not exactly pleasant. It's pretty frustrating to read some of the specific anecdotes about the backwards "management" philosophies at work on these fish.
JB

[mr. 3 wt.]

Very informative. Sometimes reality sucks as it does on this issue. When I head to the Smith in a couple of weeks I will treat any fish (if I am lucky enough to catch one) with the utmost respect. Thanks Walter.

[LostCoast]

This should be required reading for anyone chasing steelhead. Thanks for posting it here.