'Swing North' .....new video on Nor Cal winter Steelheading

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

http://vimeo.com/80918816

Mikey Wier with guide Jason Hartwick (Steelhead on the Spey) on Eel River, plus Shane Anderson (Wild Reverence) with Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia) on a misterious river.

I will be getting one of these California Trout sponsored video ASAP.

[Randy B]

So, is the Reno showing going to be the closest to Sacto? Will it be shown somewhere closer during the Pleasanton FF Show?

[left field]

The description:

Hidden behind deep gray fog, California’s North Coast is one of the most pristine habitats in the state. But the thick redwood forests and slate green rivers were almost devastated by the impact of industry. Once hosting runs of more than a million salmon and steelhead, the annual fish counts on the Eel River now often number less than 1,000. Yet, the salmonids persist. In recent years, signs of a recovery ripple through the waters. In Swing North, fishermen Mikey Wier and Jason Hartwick hook into the growing population of wild winter run steelhead on the Eel. With appearances by Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia and Shane Anderson, director of Wild Reverence: The Wild Steelheads’ Last Stand, the two discover a river that holds hope for one of California’s great remaining wild fisheries.

So if this is a barely recovering fishery with "less than 1,000" returning fish, and we accept that under the best conditions there is a mortality rate associated with catch and release, why on earth are these guys fishing the river?

[Ryan e]

The description:

Hidden behind deep gray fog, California’s North Coast is one of the most pristine habitats in the state. But the thick redwood forests and slate green rivers were almost devastated by the impact of industry. Once hosting runs of more than a million salmon and steelhead, the annual fish counts on the Eel River now often number less than 1,000. Yet, the salmonids persist. In recent years, signs of a recovery ripple through the waters. In Swing North, fishermen Mikey Wier and Jason Hartwick hook into the growing population of wild winter run steelhead on the Eel. With appearances by Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia and Shane Anderson, director of Wild Reverence: The Wild Steelheads’ Last Stand, the two discover a river that holds hope for one of California’s great remaining wild fisheries.

So if this is a barely recovering fishery with "less than 1,000" returning fish, and we accept that under the best conditions there is a mortality rate associated with catch and release, why on earth are these guys fishing the river?

Left ,

I would be more concerned with folks fishing the Russian river than the Eel !!!

I'm sure you have heard of the minimal runs on the Russian but people continue to fish it .

The gentleman in the film have done more for our resources than I'm sure 99% of this board including me.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Personally I would love them to stop putting any hatchery salmon or steelhead in these rivers and close them to all fishing for 10 years plus keep working on fixing them and taking dams down.


.

[left field]

Whether they are stand up guys or not is irrelevant. A more powerful statement would have been a refusal to fish that river until the numbers can absorb the impact.

I agree with Kiene - close recovering fisheries until the population rebounds.

[Jed Peters]

Awesome video, and thanks for the share.

[Ben J]

Steel heading and dub step finally collide!

[Ned Morris]

There's an old saying...."Silence is Golden." I think that applies here to all parties on this subject including the creators of this movie and it will benefit these threatened/endangered Steelhead in the end. Cal Trout still baffles the hell out of me after all these years. Seek out more grass roots organizations folks that focus more on the fish restoration and not the publicity or the angling.

[Ryan e]

Whether they are stand up guys or not is irrelevant. A more powerful statement would have been a refusal to fish that river until the numbers can absorb the impact.

I agree with Kiene - close recovering fisheries until the population rebounds.


The sayings I so keenly remember from my childhood .

do as I say not as I do. ( Or is it ) the pot calling the kettle black .

Unbelievable .

[Ryan e]

There's an old saying...."Silence is Golden." I think that applies here to all parties on this subject including the creators of this movie and it will benefit these threatened/endangered Steelhead in the end. Cal Trout still baffles the hell out of me after all these years. Seek out more grass roots organizations folks that focus more on the fish restoration and not the publicity or the angling.
Silence is golden , but you feel the need too toss a rock at Cal Trout .So Ned what angler are you saying is not grass roots ? Mr Patagonia who has obviously done more than any one person I can think of on this planet . Or is it Mr Weir who has significantly helped with restoration projects and saving rivers from being eliminated do to the bay areas thirst for more water . Or is it ?

[left field]

You're missing the point.

No one is denying that these fellows do good work, but to fish that river when a) they know the population is so low that every single fish matters; and b) there is an acknowledged mortality rate associated with catch-and-release - is a little mind-boggling to me.

The dirty little not-so-secret about catch-and-release is that fish die despite our best efforts. It bothers the hell out of me when I keep a fish in the water, take my time to revive it and watch it swim away only to find it belly up an hour later down river. More often than not it is a fish I could have legally kept which would have been a better ending than dinner for crayfish. But I accept that result as I know there's a healthy self-sustaining population of trout in the rivers I fish.

You want to help a recovering river - stay out of it.
You want to really help a recovering river - encourage others to stay out of it.
You want to market your efforts come up with a "rivers I don't fish" campaign that raises awareness and puts pressure on other anglers to let the fishery recover.

What I wouldn't do is create the same old ff video that shows guys who should be stewards of that river having a great time tieing into big steelhead. My guess is that this will encourage others to fish the river.

[Ryan e]

So Left Field ,

You publicly discus fishing the Russian river on this forum . Please tell all of us how that is different ?
Sounds like we are back to pot and the kettle . Or is it the Do as I say not as I do mentality of many folks ?
I will say I haven't seen the film and sounds like you and Ned maybe have,so you must have some inside info on what it truly is about .

[Siskiyoublues]

The dirty little not-so-secret about catch-and-release is that fish die despite our best efforts. It bothers the hell out of me when I keep a fish in the water, take my time to revive it and watch it swim away only to find it belly up an hour later down river. More often than not it is a fish I could have legally kept which would have been a better ending than dinner for crayfish. But I accept that result as I know there's a healthy self-sustaining population of trout in the rivers I fish.

How often does this happen to you??

[left field]

When I searched for planted fish on a trib last year? Is that what you're referring to? Oy vey.

I have no dog in this fight and have not seen the full video. I was just surprised by their description and that number - which may or may not be accurate. I don't really care who they are or what they've done. If there are truly less than 1,000 returning sh in that river, stay out of it.

[left field]

How often does this happen to you??

Once this season. Maybe twice.

The certain one was on a river with a lot of floating algae. Once I hooked up the algae snagged on the line at the hook and a 14" brown suddenly weighed 5 lbs. I got him into the net and just cut the tippet and removed the hook from his end instead of trying to unravel it from the mess. Spent some time reviving him until he could swim off, but found him later.

So it goes.

[JasonB]

The dirty little not-so-secret about catch-and-release is that fish die despite our best efforts. It bothers the hell out of me when I keep a fish in the water, take my time to revive it and watch it swim away only to find it belly up an hour later down river. More often than not it is a fish I could have legally kept which would have been a better ending than dinner for crayfish. But I accept that result as I know there's a healthy self-sustaining population of trout in the rivers I fish.



I too am a bit surprised to read that. It's worded in such a way that implies it's happened at least a few times to you? I'm thinking of all the fish I've caught and released and I have never experienced 1 mortality, including trout that would be a lot of fish. Perhaps a few have died despite my efforts that I am not aware of, and perhaps a few may have been weakened in some way... still a VERY low percentile. I do think that "catch and release" can have some higher mortality rates depending on how one plays and handles the fish, but somehow I get the feeling that those guys in the video in question are extremely savvy in minimizing their impacts on those few fish they connect with.

The only reason I even care to address this concern is that I do think that there is some good that comes from spreading awareness of just how special these streams and their fish are. If we care to protect and promote healthy recoveries in these fisheries we will need ALL the help we can get. These guys didn't exactly out some super secret stream either; I hardly could call the Eel, or it's tribs "secret" fisheries in any way shape or form. Judging by the steady flow of boats that I usually encounter there, I'd say it's "on the map" already.
just my 2cents,
JB

[Ben J]

I'm guessing that number 1,000 fish is a count from the Van Arsdale Dam at some point. Trust me, anyone who fishes the eel drainage knows there are many more than 1,000 fish that enter that system. Van Arsdale is at the top of the Main Stem; the amount of spawning habitat and streams within the entire watershed of the Eel River is huge. Not a personal slight, but maybe you made some comments before fully informing yourself? As pointed out above, everyone is in on the secret that is the Eel. I wouldn't call out people swinging flies when people still pound this river with roe.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I did not think that 1000 fish is was a realistic number of steelhead that enter the Eel River drainage.

Some of these river are recoving a bit but still need lots of help.

**I think we need to start designating a few wild Nor Cal rivers, with no dams and no hatcheries, as "wild only, catch-n-release, artificial only, single barbless hook. This is a way to get a few river to support only wild steelhead and wild salmon.

[Rick J]

left field - you can legitimately say that every water body on the north coast is "recovering" or perhaps declining so is your recommendation to just stop fishing for steelhead if there are wild fish in the system?

[Mark Kranhold]

Once this season. Maybe twice.

The certain one was on a river with a lot of floating algae. Once I hooked up the algae snagged on the line at the hook and a 14" brown suddenly weighed 5 lbs. I got him into the net and just cut the tippet and removed the hook from his end instead of trying to unravel it from the mess. Spent some time reviving him until he could swim off, but found him later.


So it goes.
Steelhead are a lot tougher than trout! Yes I could see that happening to a trout, especially one being suffocated by algae! A ocean going trout that has been out to sea and back can handle much more stress, however treat these treasures with respect and care and get them revived and back to there lye as soon as possible! I'm not saying it cannot happen to a steelhead because it can. I have a friend that was running a stinger hook pointed up and hooked a big ol' hen in the top of the mouth, snapped a photo and something didn't look right in the fishes eyes. He tried reviving it with no success... belly up! The guide said he had seen this happen before ,the hook penetrated up through the brain. Sad to see a chrome wild BC Steelhead float away.

[TonyMuljat]

I have caught and released a number of fish. Probably not as many as some of you. I'm just getting back into the game after a long layoff. I have caught several fish that I doubted actually survived. Particularly at Lake Crowley, where even with a 6 weight rod, the fish can take a long time to land, and they are exhausted. I don't think anyone knows for sure what happens to the fish after we release them. I have caught a lot of very small rainbows on mountain streams that were so spunky it seems predictable that they survived, but I practically lifted them straight out of the water they were so small.

Steelhead are large fish. They take a long time to land (provided they don't break off). I have to imagine that those steelhead are now completely exhausted, despite swimming away.

There is a subculture of dry fly fisherman that use flies tied on a hook with no bend or point. The sport being just to get the fish to hit the fly.

We as fisherman are seemingly most happy when we land the fish and then perhaps subsequently photograph it. I have read on this forum of well respected fisherman that are no longer taking the time to photograph the fish.

It is a personal preference. We're not talking about breaking the law. Everyone has their own version of ethics in this case.

One of the known threats to Steelhead is fishing pressure. To what "percentage of the total threat" is up for debate. But if we acknowledge that fishing pressure is one of the threats, there is no argument that eliminating the fishing pressure would only be good for the fish.

[Mark Kranhold]

[QUOTE=Dustin Revel;141182]

y'all smoke too much dope!

I wish I could!!

8094

[Walter]

Personally I would love them to stop putting any hatchery salmon or steelhead in these rivers and close them to all fishing for 10 years plus keep working on fixing them and taking dams down.


.

Bill you spent the latter half of your life profiting from these rivers and now you want them closed down? Isn't that a little late change of heart?

The "Greatest Generation" couldn't control the wrath of mankind and now my generation is supposed to not fish? That's messed up. Show me a study that says angler impact outweighs everybodys apathy? That taking guys off the river will help the fish when none of the things that count are being done. Where are the wardens to enforce the rules? How does the Klamath bag limit go up to 4, just to support a fishery centered around people snagging overtly at the mouth? Close that mouth. It's rediculuous.

How about we get miminum flows out of Lakes Pillsbury, Mendocino and Sonoma? That will help fish. Oh wait, they cant manage those dams, the water or the sedimentation filling them in. Oh wait, the backdoor wheeling and deelings keeps anybody from establishing a real reparian buffer zone to agricultural encroachment. Oh wait, they protect the seals and sea lions as they come off the ESA list but nobody can seem to fight for minimum flows out of the dams they claim help fish. Minimum flows would keep the mouth of the Russian open enough for the coho to come in the river. The fish they now want to start closing the whole river for in the fall/early winter, cant even come in this year because they dumped 62% of the capacity of the Russian Dams in 6 days last winter, for a storm that never came. All SCWA had to do was read the freaking Farmers Almanac.

The Press Democrat recently touted the existance of Lake Sonoma saying there would be no fish in a dried up Dry Creek. There might be 50,000 steelhead still without those dams. Steelhead are different than trout because they either choose to or are forced to go to sea to thrive or survive. Fish dont need water in Dry Creek year round, Sonoma and Marin County water users do. Steelhead NEED the spawning ground they have lost to those godforesaken dams, to survive as a species!!

Angler impact is nothing compared to the apathy of people in the fly fishing industry and our government. Ban me again for saying this, but I wont spend my money to watch these guys catch fish. Yvone can bring down a dam in Sonoma or Mendocino County and then he will have more of my respect. He is the only guy from the "industry" actually doing anything.

Minimum Flows coming out of the damns on the Trinity and Stanislaus Rivers have done wonders to help anadromous fish. They might have gone extinct in those places without them, some think. They came in the nick of time. I strongly urge you to create the conversation demanding minimum flows for anadromous fish in tailwater fisheries. Force them to properly manage the water. Lobbyists get water, not fish.

[Walter]

....and exploiting Redwood Creek like that they should be ashamed. The last idiots that went in there and video taped got fly guys rigs messed with for a couple years. The locals were nasty enough already. Thanks fly-fools. Lets hope the movie makes them enough cash to go fish the tropics this winter, so only I will end up with my tires slashed and my windows graffiti-d.

[BobT]

For those of you who think that the fishermen are the primary cause for the declining steelhead populations in the Russian River are most likely misinformed. The fishermen are down on the list of problems with the river. The most significant problem is water. Water usage from the reservoirs, water diversion for agriculture, pesticides from agriculture and then County agency with their need to furnish water to a growing population along with a profit motive. This does not even take into play the politics in the watershed.

Look at the causes: The Russian River has been impacted by gravel mining, channelization due to agriculture of the middle reach from Healdsburg to Jenner that is now mostly devoid of habitat for survival of smolts and sanctuary for fish on their upstream journey. When the river hits a flow of almost 12,000 cfs in this region, the sediment load is almost one foot as recently been uncovered by recent geomorphic studies. These are the killers.

Closing the river for 10 years will do nothing in returning fish to this watershed, without major changes in the water delivery methods and water quality in this region. De-watering of creeks by agriculture and the marijuana trade kills countless juveniles in the upper reaches of the watershed. All these factors need to be addressed. No one is willing to take on the agriculture industry due to huge lobbying in Washington.
The problems to this watershed are very complex, but fishermen are not the cause that will return this fishery to it glory of yesteryear. The watershed will most likely never return without major habitat restoration and water policy changes.

The Sunday edition of the Press Democrat has a lead article that 10 owners control more that a quarter of Sonoma County vineyard holdings. Tell me these owners do not have undue influence in politics in the watershed.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131207/articles/131209693?title=Big-players-dominate-Sonoma-County-vineyard-holdings

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131207/articles/131209692?title=Vineyard-owners-shape-environmental-policy

If people really want to get involved, groups such as the Russian River Wild Steelhead Society, Russian Riverkeepers, Russian River Watershed Association and others need funds to combat these problems. These grass root organizations are fighting the fight for the watershed. Donate if you are concerned and care.

Oh Yea….the fishermen are the problem!

[Ryan e]

I have spent time in DC lobbying certain elected senators and congressman for an industry I'm not going to bring up on this forum . The only way to get things to change .

#1 money in the right politicians campaign .
#2 a significant amount of votes or support toward that politicians campaign and this person knowing you can get them .
#3 similar to number two but a formal indorsment from a very respected professional group .

Politics are dirty but they drive the only change this nation and state every see .

[STEELIES/26c3]

As most of us know... The politics of water and watersheds is only as complex as it is corrupt.

The solution is simple but not so easily attainable.

I have a shirt I bought from CSBA at a CDFW public meeting on proposed striper regs...

It reads;

"Instant fish... just add WATER"

Fishing pressure has little impact on most of our (steelhead) fisheries when compared to the impact of habitat loss from dams and de-watering.

It matters not how many fish you catch and release or simply opt to not fish for if the fish have nowhere to spawn and no water for their progeny to develop and succeed in.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I guess wine grapes and dope farms use up a lot of coastal water.

[STEELIES/26c3]

Water use is perhaps the slighter, top-end problem... heavy pesticides, nitrate fertilizers, and myriad other chemical and toxic runoff into the watershed is likely even more devastating to the riparian habitat and all flora and fauna within~;(

I know quite a few pot smokers and growers who steelhead fish...

The world is full of irony 'aint it?

[matt johnson]

Since they neeed to spend two years as juveniles in freshwater, rearing capacity in the upper watershed can be a major limiting production factor for CA's wild steelhead populations on the North Coast.

The number of pot grows in our North Coast watersheds has grown exponentially in just the last few years. These grows are putting a serious hurt on the amount of water left for fish in these these streams as water is being diverted to grow weed over a long dry summer in the heart of CA steelhead country.

The other serious issue with the grows on the North Coast is all the illegal grading taking place (see Dustins Youtube link--shocking). The soils in the North Coast watersheds are natuarlly highly erosive. Grading on steep slopes in these upper watersheds is seriously bad news when torrential winter rains inevitably come and whole hill-sides slough off filling in summer holding pools with sediment-- resulting in elevated water temperatures which reduces the available habitat for rearing juveniles.

Add in pesticides, and over use of fertilizers and you've got one alarming situation....

I happen to work in the same office building with a CDFW Game Warden so I get an insiders take-- What has happened in CA over the last few years is a big shift in how pot is illegally grown as a result of Prop 215. Used to be that cartels would stick to the deep back country (mostly on public land) and "gamble" with trying to pull off a big grow. These big grows were often busted but enough of them remained hidden until harvest time to make them profitable. Back country grows are still happening-- and still a big problem for fish and wildlife-- but now with the ease California's can get a precription for "medical" marijuana, these cartels (and other criminal organizations or simply folks trying to make a living on the North Coast) are buying up private property within the "Emerald Triangle" of CA where some of the killerest bud in the world can be grown ( warm days, cool nights, and no rain for months makes some happy weed plants)-- No more hiding out in the bushes all summer long then getting busted in October right before harvest.

Problem is with more and more folks getting in on the weed market, the price has gone down a bunch (supply and demand). To make up for it people are growing more weed-- right in our North Coast watersheds where the climate developes top dollar bud-- and in the process screwing those watersheds up royally for salmonids.

I believe the only way out of this mess is to legalize weed across the board in CA and the rest of the states. The only way to get these guys out of the upper watersheds is to make their business unprofitable. The only way to make weed unprofitable is to grow it on an industrial scale (in an environmentally sound way of course). The river bottoms in Humbolt should not be cow pastures they should be weed fields...

Increased angling pressure for declining numbers of returning adults really only has a negative impact on the quality of our days afield-- the impacts of C&R angling cannot compare to the impacts logging have had, and now pot growing is having, at the watershed level on the North Coast. See you on a North Coast river this winter. They are magical places. Matt

[STEELIES/26c3]

Well put Matt and I agree on all counts.

I had to laugh when i read this...


The river bottoms in Humbolt should not be cow pastures they should be weed fields...

only because me and my HSU buds used to pick daffodils for slave wages out there in the 80's... Now if weed-a-been-pickin green bud, we'd never have graduated and the growers woulda' been bankrupt~;)

I no longer partake but I sure wish it were legalized for this and many other social and economic reasons.

I'd rather have TUGS than DRUGS and THUGS ~<(((><

[Walter]

I guess wine grapes and dope farms use up a lot of coastal water.

The irony is that the govt is moving toward legalizing pot and ILLEGALIZING fishing for anadromous fish.

Anybody notice certain rivers take language changed in the fishing regs?

The Eel went from "0," to "2 Hatchery Steelhead."

There are no hatchery steelhead in the Eel. But now if you C&R fish for salmon the Wardens will give you a ticket.


They keep saying its illegal to fish for Salmon on other rivers when there are no regulations written about it im the laws.

A de facto closure of our anadromous waters is underway, slowly but surely. Be forewarned.