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Sky Steelhead

22K views 189 replies 48 participants last post by  Smalma 
#1 · (Edited)
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#48 ·
Pssst...pass the word. Pinneped meat makes you virile and improves your sex life, and as a side benefit brings good luck while fending off demons and evil spirits!
In the words of Blain (Jesse Ventura) from the greatest film of our time, Predator, "this stuff will make you a god-damn sexual tyrannosaurus."

On a side note, I see the hatchery counts mentioned. I always feel like the hatchery counts don't tell the whole story. Hogarty Creek (Reiter's source water and outlet stream) is tiny and from November to January during daylight hours, there's constantly guys standing nearly on the tiny Creek fishing for hatchery fish. That whole run on the Sky is really enticing for holding water and really conducive to effective fishing. I expect a lot of fish are caught in that run before having the gonads to venture up that tiny creek. Also, I've definitely seen the grate closed to prevent upstream travel, though I'm not sure how often and when they do that (after enough is collected for brood needs?)

Basically, I don't think the hatchery run size is as bad as the hatchery escapement let's on.
 
#49 ·
Ive often wondered why Reiter is open in Nov/Dec. In the past, summer season at Reiter didnt open until Aug1, im assuming to give enough time for hatchery fish to accend holding pond without interference from fisherman. The water directly infront of Hogarty is prime holding water for hatchery fish and usually there are several in a slow day to a dozen on a decent day caught right infront of creek. Every season there are closures because of lack of broodstock collected. I wonder what pecentage of the entire catch of winter steelhead in the entire Snohomish system is caught within sight of Hogarty. I would venture a WAG at 90% of run.? So, yes, i agree escapement reports can be misleading
 
#51 ·
One time I saw a guy fishing in Hogarty Creek below the gate. There was a steelhead with a busted nose holding there. He tried to floss it but the fish spooked up the gate. He was disappointed.

Apparently the Sky summer run this year was poor. Of course there was all the whining on the opener from the lack of fish by the nerds on the other site. They were blaming the Memorial Day opener as being "too early". These people are actually pissed when DFW extends a season. But, the trend held through the summer and number were apparently pretty down. Hopefully not indicative of a poor winter/spring run approaching...
 
#54 ·
One time I saw a guy fishing in Hogarty Creek below the gate. There was a steelhead with a busted nose holding there. He tried to floss it but the fish spooked up the gate. He was disappointed.

Apparently the Sky summer run this year was poor. Of course there was all the whining on the opener from the lack of fish by the nerds on the other site. They were blaming the Memorial Day opener as being "too early". These people are actually pissed when DFW extends a season. But, the trend held through the summer and number were apparently pretty down. Hopefully not indicative of a poor winter/spring run approaching...
I believe part of the problem is hatchery released significantly less summer smolts -115,868 to be exact in 2017 (returned the summer of 2019) than in -181,705 2016 (returned in 2018 summer which was phenomenal fishing in my opinion). A 36% decrease. Also they are raising more and more SKYKOMISH summer steelhead at the Wallace hatchery (Wallace river hatchery releases 0 summer steelhead smolts). They then release them in the Skykomish, however, inevitably many of these "Reiter fish" end up returning to the Wallace. For example, the Wallace this summer received 184 Reiter Ponds Hatchery Stock summer steelhead whereas Reiter ponds only received 75 Reiter Ponds Hatchery Stock summer steelhead.

I believe this has to do with the fact that they are simply phasing this fishery out and preparing to broodstock wild tolt steelhead or hybrid native Skykomish steelhead/skamania origin fish.

I'll note that all of these numbers are directly from WDFW website and that the escapement report numbers for summer steelhead in this drainage are very interesting.

At sunset falls Reiter Ponds Hatchery Stock UNCLIPPED steelhead - 84 in count, were shipped to Reiter ponds to be held to spawn. Historically these fish were just trucked over as a safety net or bank of fish should the worst happen to the Reiter hatchery (that is my interpretation of WDFWs goals with continuing to truck fish). Where as the Reiter Ponds Hatchery Stock HATCHERY steelhead 25 in count became simply surplus but the Skykomish Wild stock were just trucked over.

I bring this up because it seems very interesting they are determining what a Skykomish wild steelhead is and an unclipped Reiter Ponds Hatchery Stock steelhead is which is then spawned with other clipped fish.

here is the link to the escapement. This summer it just seems like they did things different. Plus the fact that the Wallace receives more summer runs than Hogarty Creek is something to note and the decrease in smolts release which I mentioned earlier.

I think this is also related to the fact that less and less Wallace winter run smolts are released. Ive heard whispers that both of these fisheries are being phased out.

Jakob
 
#58 ·
Steelhead are way down the list in priority for wdfw.
 
#74 ·
river has dropped below flood stage. Snoq got the worst of it as usual.
This is a yearly normal now because they don’t plant enough fish like they used to. The Trout they plant almost year round now must be way cheaper to raise than Steelhead. Thousands of Trout planted since September but no money for Steelhead ?
 
#76 ·
Need to get libtard inslee out so someone can start shooting the F'ing seals and sea lions. He's obsessed with protecting orcas, guess what animals eat kings as well...not willing to harm some overpopulated animal for the benefit of other endangered ones is moronic.
Seals and sea lions are protected by the federal marine mammal act, states don't have much to say about it.
 
#78 ·
Snoqualmie got 9 back last week during the high water. Not Good!

Reiter hasn't been counted yet this week. Still sitting on 2! Hope its one male and one female :rolleyes: what's the return on that investment?

There is only one public river on the coast with reasonable returns and that's it...

View attachment 221229
But said river with "reasonable returns" isn't even that reasonable. That river should have over a thousand steelhead back already on an average year.

Jakob
 
#82 ·
I haven't followed the returns at the Sky hatchery before. Is this year on pace to be the worst year for returns since they've been keeping records, or have their been years this bad off and on for quite some time? To my eye all of the steelhead returns up and down the state look apocalyptically bad, but it's hard to tell without a bit more perspective.
 
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