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About keeping Methow River hatchery steelhead

7K views 58 replies 32 participants last post by  Ryan Nathe 
#1 ·
I have just returned from three days fishing the Methow River with a group. We used guides for two days. There was a lot of talk, even among some of the guides, regarding seemingly conflicting rules for the upcoming steelhead season on the Methow.

The Washington Fish and Game has said that it will be very important for anglers to keep hatchery steelhead caught on the Methow this year. It is likely they will increase the limit from 2 to 4 fish. Moreover they have said that if we anglers, as a group, do not keep hatchery steelhead the Methow will likely be closed to all steelhead fishing in future years. On their face, these policies seem to be inconsistent.

So, when we got off the river yesterday a Fish and Game guy came by our group to check with the guides on how our fishing day went. When he has free I asked him about the seemingly confliction positions regarding hatchery steelhead.

Here is what the Fish and Game guy said:

• Wild Methow River steelhead are on the endangered species list
• Control over management of the wild steelhead rests with NOAA
• The state must apply to NOAA to get a permit to open the river to steelhead fishing.
• There is ample scientific evidence that the release of hatchery fingerlings is a great benefit to the survival rate of wild fingerlings when the fish migrate together down the river to the ocean, because hatchery fish are more vulnerable than wild fish to various predators. In short, hatchery fish are sacrificed to protect wild fish on their run down the river.
• But, it is not good policy to have a large return of mature hatchery fish.
• NOAA could remove the returning hatchery fish at dams below the Methow and not allow a fishing season.
• But the state has asked NOAA to open the river to a steelhead season -- but the permit request is based upon the responsibility of anglers to remove the unwanted excess hatchery steelhead population.
• As a group, if we anglers do not remove enough hatchery fish this season, in future seasons NOAA will do it for us at the dams and they will deny the state a permit to open a steelhead season on the Methow.

In my experience, most of us fly fishing anglers practice catch and release. At our core, we generally believe it is best to release what we catch.

Fair warning. We will need to act contrary to our natural instincts on the Methow during the upcoming steelhead season. We need, in our own interest, to help the state remove hatchery steelhead to protect the wild run and to preserve our right to fish steelhead on the Methow in future years.

I am no expert regarding these matters. I decided to make this post based upon the general confusion expressed by those in my group some of whom have a lot of experience in fishery management matters. Clearly the reasoning behind the policies of the Fish and Game were not clearly understood by most of those in my group. .

I encourage those who know more than I to correct any errors I may have made and to expand this thread.
 
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#33 ·
Well i one day i hope to take up one of those gravel spots with my car and fish that river and catch a steelhead...but i gotta get my car here first and grande rhonde is closer lol. I love going to the OP with the hatchback focus on the shitty mud roads and seeing only big rigs. It so badly wants to be a rally machine. I dont know about the ferarris for fishing, this is what i wish i could take fishing but storage is an issue and theft probability is HIGH.

http://cid-9f69e5c27366a363.skydrive.live.com/embedphoto.aspx/.Public/My%20Bike/101^_0572.JPG
 
#42 ·
Brazda, I am really surprised you say "we are lucky that the FED"S have done what they have to restore what they can". In my opinion the Feds have come up with half-assed restoration plans that continue to rely on hatchery plants even though it has been shown that hatchery fish negatively impact wild steelhead. This allows for business as usual. Dams stay in place, shipping stays open and we pay millions upon millions to pump smolts into the system that die in huge proportions. Just look at the new BioOP from the Obama administration that is based off the Bush administration BioOP... It fails to use sound science to protect these ESA listed animals. Steelhead are at less than 5% historical abundance! For Christ sake how much further are we going to let it slide?

Klickman and CLO: I stand by my statement. For clarification I would not feel so strongly about this if we were talking about a strong wild run that was intelligently co-managed with a hatchery for sport, but that is not what we have. They are opening the Methow to get rid of the hatchery fish. That is the point. You can argue about length of season or whatever but the point is every hatchery fish you remove from that river is a gift you are giving to the wild steelhead that remain.
 
#44 ·
Brazda, I am really surprised you say "we are lucky that the FED"S have done what they have to restore what they can". In my opinion the Feds have come up with half-assed restoration plans that continue to rely on hatchery plants even though it has been shown that hatchery fish negatively impact wild steelhead. This allows for business as usual. Dams stay in place, shipping stays open and we pay millions upon millions to pump smolts into the system that die in huge proportions. Just look at the new BioOP from the Obama administration that is based off the Bush administration BioOP... It fails to use sound science to protect these ESA listed animals. Steelhead are at less than 5% historical abundance! For Christ sake how much further are we going to let it slide?
Ryan
Sorry to sound like a sell out, but things could be worse,,,,,much worse!!!

I do agree that there are other solutions, and I reiterate the Tribal issue that we are bound by, I grew up watching the outcome of such a social and personal issue, I have seen the habitat issue get better, I have seen the catch and release issue get accepted, if I see the UC issue get resolved it may be the greatest fishery action known in the history of the US.
I also like the fact that there are people such as yourself to carry a very heavy torch, one that I carried for a very long time and have no more energy to do so. There are younger more educated idividuals possably such as yourself. Keep the passion you are the future of making a difference! For now I wish to rest on my experiences and catch as many damn steelhead as possable wile we can.

By the way in my experience the best way for steelhead runs to survive is to allow them to!
They will take care of themselves if they survive the treck to and from the ocean,,,period!

Fight the wars we could possably win: gill nets, predation,(bass, walley, overpopulated birds),common sense,,well,,, that may be the toughest of them all.

Thanks Ryan and send me that Bio-OP.
 
#43 ·
Lifted from the closing paragraph of a wild salmon center paper:

"The Columbia River may singularly be the greatest, and certainly the most
expensive, failure in the history of fish and wildlife restoration that has ever occurred."

Yeah I am not as appreciative as some about what the feds have succeeded with in this case.
 
#52 ·
Thank you for clarifying CLO. You are right; one must release all those other fish that you have listed if there is no current fishery (no open season) for these fish on these rivers. I was referring to the clipped hatchery steelhead fishery (read season) that has just opened and that was under discussion. With regard to the recently opened adipose-clipped hatchery steelhead (clipped rainbow over 20") fishery on the UC and tribs, it is a kill fishery, not a C&R fishery (except as noted in the rule change).

All other fish fall under the rules pamphlet; if there is no open fishery for them, of course they must be released if hooked accidentally and I wouldn’t suggest targeting them. I believe one must stop fishing altogether once the limit of 4 hatchery steelhead is retained if there is no other open fishery on those waters. Make sure you are clear on the rules (both the pamphlet and emergency opening) before you go as the rules may be different on different rivers.
 
#53 ·
Well years ago we humans messed with the ecosystem. Now we get to be the "stewards". There just isn't anything quite like an oxymoronic situation for humor and reflection. "C & R" is possibly illegal if you choose to fish these waters. Face it we disturb the fish just by fishing. That's just the way it is.

I'll enjoy some excellent fish fare in this case if all goes as planned.
 
#54 ·
I saw a program on Seasons on the Fly over the weekend. It was on the Methow and featured Mark Few, Gonzaga basketball coach and one of his former players. They spoke directly to the point of taking out the hatchery fish. Let's not get too hasty about upping the limit or that beautiful river will look some of our westside ones after a hard day of pink salmon fishing by anyone who can afford a Zebco combo at WalMart. Though I have never fished it, it looks like a truly beautiful river and I'd hate to see it trashed like the Skokomoish this year.
 
#57 ·
Of all things to happen here is an interesting dilema. A willing fish came to hand that had a mostly missing/healed adipose and damaged/healed dorsal. Hatchery damage or natural damage? It fought and jumped "like" a wild fish. So if you are on the specified water which would you rather face, a fine for taking a wild fish or releasing a hatchery fish mandated for harvest. Personally I have no problems releasing a fish but I understand the intent of the policy. Like the regulations, it isn't completely clear at a glance. Like life, unplanned situations occur and you have to make decisions based on the best available information.

FYI, It was busy. Almost everyone we encountered was pleasant or gave a 100 yd berth. Biologists/WDFW were racing up and down the highway trying to get a handle on harvest by asking "have any luck?" Water temps were good and it was crystal clear. Most people attempt to color between the lines and there was evidence others were not. There seems to be a fair amount of wild fish (but my experience is usually 50/50 on rivers I fish). We picked up garbage. It was a beautiful day on a pretty river that is getting crowded just like everywhere else. If you go may you find some room to remember...it isn't really about the fish.

Cheers
 
G
#58 ·
Regardless of where you stand on the whole "Native vs Hatchery" ordeal, let's agree on this - we all love the Great Steelie. However, if we don't play by their rules on this, our days fishing for steelies on the Methow will be shortened. How? Say one of those "purists" releases a hatchery fish and later is questioned by an official about the fish they released, what do you think the reply will be? Yep! "Oh, that was a native." Unless that official is right there, I can all but guarantee you that's what will be said! That little white lie will only add to the tally of natives allowed to be caught. Though it may be an estimate, once that number is reached (whatever it may be) the river will be closed. Look it up, it's true.

Please, please swallow your pride on this matter, look the other way and bonk it on the head. Put it in a black bag so you don't have to look at it, then give it to that Zebco carring Wal-Mart guy. I know it's hard...
 
#59 ·
Klickman, I am not trying to advocate wasting fish. I LOVE smoked steelhead, some of the best tasting stuff on earth, BUT if I caught a real boot of a HATCHERY fish and I knew I would not enjoy eating it, then YES I may consider bonking it and donating it to the fingerling salmonids in the river.

Taking it home and not consuming it would be wasteful, returning precious nutrients to a river, not so much in my opinion.

But then again, I dont often catch boots because I dont fish for summer-runs in the winter and early spring.
 
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