Upper Columbia and some Tributaries to Open for Steelhead

Upper Columbia, several other rivers
to open for hatchery steelhead fishing

OLYMPIA - Starting tomorrow (Sept. 29), hatchery steelhead fisheries will open on the upper Columbia, Wenatchee, Icicle, Entiat, Methow and Okanogan rivers, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

In addition, the Similkameen River will open to hatchery steelhead retention beginning Nov. 1.

On all rivers, anglers will have a daily limit of four adipose-fin-clipped hatchery steelhead, which must measure at least 20 inches in length. Steelhead with an intact adipose fin must be immediately released unharmed without being removed from the water. Anglers also will be required to release any steelhead with one or more round holes punched in the tail fin.

Anglers on all rivers will be required to retain any legal hatchery steelhead they catch until the daily limit of four fish is reached. After they have retained four fish, anglers must stop fishing for hatchery steelhead.

 

time to head back over them 'thar hills....

they almost make it sound like you HAVE to catch 4 fish... thats awesome.

they almost make it sound like you HAVE to catch 4 fish... thats awesome.

I read it as no Catch and Release.  I think they don't want people throwing them back until they have 4 big ones.

they almost make it sound like you HAVE to catch 4 fish... thats awesome.

I read it as no Catch and Release.  I think they don't want people throwing them back until they have 4 big ones.

What they really want are the hatchery fish out of the system so as not to interfere with the wild ones.  Catch 'em up if you want to keep this fishery going.  I can see a path in which hatchery output gets reduces if the fishermen can't catch them all.  Pisco, you know this fishery as well as anyone, am I off base with this comment?

-Allen

Sounds good.  What would it take to gear up for the Upper Columbia early fall?  I assume the water is still warm?

they almost make it sound like you HAVE to catch 4 fish... thats awesome.

I read it as no Catch and Release.  I think they don't want people throwing them back until they have 4 big ones.

What they really want are the hatchery fish out of the system so as not to interfere with the wild ones.  Catch 'em up if you want to keep this fishery going.  I can see a path in which hatchery output gets reduces if the fishermen can't catch them all.  Pisco, you know this fishery as well as anyone, am I off base with this comment?

-Allen

The word I received at a meeting with WDFW, last Friday, is that reduction of hatchery production is not too likely, because many of those fish are part of mitigation plans for the hydro operations. What's more likely is interception of the hatchery fish at the ladders at the dams. The local WDFW crew knows that would be a PR disaster. It sure hasn't been going well for them along the Kalama!!

Here's what I posted for our http://www.methowfishing.com/ reports page-

Methowfishing.com Report
Sept. 26, 2009
The big news is about steelhead and the upcoming season. It looks like we will have the
best run recorded in the 32 years that counts have been made for steelhead over Wells
Dam!
First, the numbers: As of 9/25/09 at Bonneville Dam, over 577,000 summerrun steelhead
had crossed the dam. At Wells Dam, the first dam below the mouth of the Methow, over
19,300 steelhead had crossed by Thursday, 9/24/09. That’s a lot of fish! It’s more than
triple the 10 year average for Wells (6026) and almost triples what we saw at this time,
last year (7011). This is more than we saw in the banner year of 2001, when we had a
total return of 18,483 and is likely to break the record from 1985, when the total run hit
19,757.
On Friday 9/25/09, Greg, Brandon, and I attended a meeting called by WDFW regional
and local staff, where they updated us about the close of the trout fishery and their
proposed plans for the upcoming steelhead season. (WDFW has applied to NOAA
Fisheries for a steelhead season, but hasn’t yet received approval.) What it is vital to
understand, is that WDFW is asking for this fishery as a management tool, in order to
control the number of hatchery steelhead that could potentially interbreed with wild fish,
this spring, on the spawning beds. Both WDFW and NOAA Fisheries are concerned
about hatchery fish on spawning beds because recent studies have shown that not only do
hatchery fish produce progeny that are less viable (their descendents produce fewer
descendents than wild fish), but so do subsequent generations produced from hatchery
parents. For more information you can read a report about the most recent study athttp://
oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2009/jun/new-study-hatchery-fish-may-hurtefforts-
sustain-wild-salmon-runs
Because of the huge run of steelhead, which they estimate to be 90% hatchery, WDFW is
looking for a 4 fish limit on hatchery steelhead. The most unusual aspect of the proposed
fishery is that retention of all hatchery fish caught would be mandatory! This is
because WDFW is selling the idea of the fishery, to NOAA Fisheries, as a management
tool to decrease the number of hatchery fish on the spawning beds. If fisherman don’t
do the job (of removing hatchery fish from the river), we run the risk that NOAA
Fisheries may tell the state to come up with an alternative plan to remove hatchery
fish, that doesn’t involve fisherman. One alternative would be to remove hatchery fish
at the fish ladders along the Columbia. To their credit, our local and regional WDFW
staff recognizes that this would be a disaster for their fishing constituency, and a public
relations nightmare. They also understand that if there are fewer fishermen, there will be
fewer advocates for the fish. For the last 100 years the general public has been told that
we can produce hatchery to make up for environmental degradation and heavy harvests.
It will take a while for the news, that hatchery fish are not a panacea, to sink in to the
public’s consciousness. To encourage, and enforce, the mandatory retention WDFW is
planning on having enforcement on the river, including the possibility of under cover
agents. (We like the idea that WDFW may end up paying us to take them fishing!)
Both we and WDFW staff recognize that not every client is going to be willing or ready
to take home all the hatchery fish they might catch. To that end, we are planning to be
organized to either take excess fish to the local food bank, or use the carcasses for
nutrient enhancement. In this way we can be sure that all fish will be put to a beneficial
use.
We, and WDFW, are still waiting for the final approval of the fishery. We have been led
to expect that it is most likely to occur sometime this upcoming week. The details may
change, so stay tuned! In the mean time, we’re checking our gear and getting prepared!
Bill

Drool-  Jig and a (sliding) bobber is the standard terminal tackle along the Big C; at the mouths of the tributaries. I'm usually flyfishing the Methow, myself. Time to check for leaks in my inflatable!

YM and PS..... sounds like we need to get a weekend of fishing planned for over your way PS. i Know if Wenatchee isnt to far from the fishing Grounds.. My parents have opened up there house and my mom says she can hold up to 6 tents in her back yard. and theres floor space for sleeping bags and kids and family are welcomed to.

Marilyn

Squidgirl,

You mean Squidmom would really do that for us?  Okay, I'm interested.  It's been a really long time since I've last fished with Pisco.  I'm ready for a run over to the desert side provided I feel like I have the right gear figured out before I go all that way.

So a lot of the true salmons turn kinda yucky (metamorphose) once they get into the fresh water or even once they just begin to smell it.  How do the steelheads taste once they've gotten that far up the river?  And, by the way, what the heck is used to catch them?

Fishin-T

Fishin-T, it has been too long since we've fished together. Here's a link to a Dave Graybill article (The "Fishin' Magician") that has pretty good info about the basic bobber and jig set-up. http://www.fishingmagician.com/Stories/New-to-Steelheading--Here%E2%80%99s-Some-Basics.aspx The only thing I would add to it is to recommend going with light (weight) jigs and adding splitshot to get it down. The more movement, the better. Basic black is the color to start with, followed by purple, red, orange and blue. A spinning rod with 6-10 test mono is fine for starters. A longish rod can aid in "mending" line. Some of the experienced bobber fisherman prefer to use heavy braid because it floats better than mono and can make mending easier. 40-60# test is not unheard of- too light and the braid has an annoying habit of wrapping around the rod tip. Beware of leaving too much slack, as you want to be able to set the hook when it's "bobber down".

On the Methow, I usually carry 2 fly rods, one with a floating line for either dries (if it's warm enough for hatches, especially the October caddis) or nymphing with an indicator. The other rod has a sinktip for swinging streamers and wet flies. Nymphing with an indicator is the flyrod equivalent of the jig and bobber. With it I usually use one heavy fly with a bead or egg fly dropper.

The easiest areas to fish from a kayak, at this point, are in the Columbia near the tributary mouths. The area near the mouth of the Methow has the least amount of current. There's more current near the mouth of the Wenatchee. The tribs are really low right now, and are likely to require some dragging to get through some of the shallows and riffles. There are some "interesting" rock gardens, too, especially down low on the Methow, with another between Twisp and Carlton.

Wenatchee is almost 2 hours from my place in Twisp, on the upper Methow. Pateros, at the mouth of the Methow, is about a half hour away (towards Wenatchee).

Numbers of fish: The Methow is predicted to receive over 17,000  steelhead this year. The Wenatchee prediction is for around 7000. Guess where I'll be fishing.

My schedule is really wacky these days. I'm on too many boards (including the Methow Restoration Council and the Upper Columbia Recreational Fisheries Enhancement Group), plus I'm running for another elected office. Some where in there I'm supposed to earn a wage and finish off the degree I started almost thirty years ago. Still, if you think you'll be in my neighborhood, it wouldn't hurt to contact me, if only for fresh information. Or to make a campaign contribution.

Anyone going to be heading out there the 9/10/11th of October?  I'd love to tag along with someone and learn some steelhead fishing.

You wouldn't learn much from me since I've never caught a Steelhead, but I may give it a shot.  I think weekend of Oct. 9 would work for me and I'll talk to my DW this afternoon.  Anybody else?

Mainstem Columbia River: From Rock Island Dam to 400 feet below Chief Joseph Dam. Night closure and selective gear rules apply, except fishing from a motorized vessel and bait are allowed.

That would include Lake Entiat right?

Mainstem Columbia River: From Rock Island Dam to 400 feet below Chief Joseph Dam. Night closure and selective gear rules apply, except fishing from a motorized vessel and bait are allowed.

That would include Lake Entiat right?

Correct. I don't know much about it, but have heard there is a fishery just above the Rocky Reach dam. Pateros is about an hour north of Entiat. Camping is available at Lake Alta State Park, less than 5 miles from Pateros, until Oct.31st. http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Alta%20Lake&subject=camping

I'm going to try and head out tomorrow morning!