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View Full Version : Summer Run Steelhead start around the 4th of July



Bill Kiene semi-retired
07-28-2005, 09:20 AM
Tradtionally Summer Runs start to enter many Northwest rivers in July.

The Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua, Deschutes and others get schools of fresh Steelhead from early July on.

Locals and serious Steelheaders fish for them in the early AM in this hot weather.

I believe we have some that come into the Lower American River as well. They planted WA State Washougal River Summer Run Steehead in the American back in the '70s when they had more funding. These fish have showed up for years in the summer running 6-8 pounds.

There are Summer Steelhead in some Nor Cal Rivers. The Middle Fork of the Eel River, the North Fork and South Fork of the Trinity River, the Salmon River, Scott River and Wooley Creek I think are a few mentioned in DF&G reports and in an article in 'Salmon, Trout Steelhead' magazine years ago. I don't know if any of these rivers are open to fishing as the protection of these special rare fish is very important.

I have had reports over the past 30 years of people seeing the fish sitting in schools in the deeper holes in these rivers.

I believe they come into those smaller rivers in the high water of spring and then sit all summer up river in the deeper shady holes and then spawn the following fall/winter?

The most noteable run or population has always been in the Middle Fork of the Eel River near Clovelo. It was reported that there can be as many as 1500 fish running 8-12 pounds. About 10 years ago a friened working with the CA DF&G floated that stretch of river with another employee in snorkel gear with counters to check the population one summer. Her said it was exciting to see these wild rare beauties.

Probably 50 years ago Oregon Salmon's (Galen Geller) father use to belong to a group of serious steelheaders who owned a piece of land along the Middle Fork of the Eel River. Mr. Geller told me that they legally fished those Summer Runs with old bait casting outfitts with small pieces of cured salmon roe. He said they would chase after it and fight over it. Now that was the good old days. I believe the river has been closed for the passed 30 years now because we tried to go over there after hearing those stories.

Covelo
07-28-2005, 10:09 AM
My parents have property on the upper Middle Fork Eel River and twice I did the snorkel survey of the upper river with the DFG. I highly recommend hiking into parts of the upper river in the summer and quietly diving one of the large pools where these fish are literaly land locked. It is quite a treat to view them under water as they estevate through the hot summer, waiting to spawn out the next winter. Some of the fish will go to 14-15 lbs, but most are 8-10 lbs like the winter runs in that system. I have seen as many as 68 fish in one pool, sitting quietly like cord wood at the bottom.

Most of the upper river where the fish hold over is closed all year, but there is a lower section where fishing is allowed until May 31. They have left a big "river closed to all fishing" sign along the road to the lower canyon above Covelo and this scares away most fishermen, but that stretch of the river can be legally fished before June 1.

I do not know what the counts have been the last couple years, but the run has been below 1000 fish for over a decade previously. I think it was over 20 years ago when the count exceeded 1500 fish. From there it dropped to around 300 fish which prompted the DFG to close the river for a number of years before hook and release fishing was finally allowed again. Historically, the run was believed to have exceeded 5000 fish. The 1964 flood did a lot of damage to the upper river, destroying a lot of the riparian shade cover. Major landslides filled in the upper canyon and it took many years to for the river to dig back out the deeper pools. This increased the summer water temps so now there is not as many river miles where the fish can escape the summer heat. Then there are the introduced squaw fish....

The reports are true about how aggressive these fish are. They remind me a lot of the Deschutes River summer runs in that regard except they are concentrated into a much smaller stream.

Jeff F.
07-28-2005, 10:47 AM
Hey Bill.......has there been any official study to see if there are still WA fish coming up the American? I heard somewhere that they've all but disappeared.........

Jasonh
07-28-2005, 05:10 PM
There is nothing better than summer stealheading. This fish seem to be more aggressive to a fly and fight a lot harder than most winter fish. Plus there is no better feeling than that tug on the end of your line when you hook a fish on the swing! Its too bad that we have lost many of the summer runs due to warm water temps, loggin, and dams. Oh well at least we still get decent winter runs in most rivers.

Jason Hartwick

Bill Kiene semi-retired
07-28-2005, 11:54 PM
I think there are Steelhead in the Lower American most of the year now.

I really don't know about the Washougals.

I did learn there is a serious study going on in the Sailor Bar to Sunrise Bridge area on wild Spring Run Steelhead that are spawning in the river in April/May/June.

I have a young friend who is a serious conventional angler who uses a drift boat and catches big Steelhead in the late summer pulling plugs for fresh King Salmon below Goethe Park.

I will have to check with Bob Sparre who is one of the most successful conventional guides in the area.

Jasonh
07-29-2005, 05:14 AM
Bill, i agree that there are steelhead in the river pretty much year around. While they are not there in huge number, they can be had. Before i moved here to texas, i fished the american a lot in the summers and had some good days catching fish from 18-27". I wish the DFG would also do a study on these fish in the river in the summer because i dont believe that they are resident fish. Who knows, maybe if they put that cold water shunt in nimbus like they have on the lower sac we could see a sustained summer run in following years?

Jason Hartwick