[Coho]

A rumor has been circulating that the state plans to open the Cedar River next year. Can anyone confirm that?

If that is true - it would be a good time for anyone interested to make their voice heard.

The Cedar River is a lovely little stream, almost a creek really that runs through Maple Valley and Renton. In the past it had a winter SH run that commonly produced fish over 30lbs. In addition it had a decent native rainbow population and a run of good size cutts and RB from Lake Washington. It has some public access and is easily wadeable and floatable by raft.

The problem with the Cedar is that because of it's size, a good bait or gear fisherman could easily clean out the entire population of any given pool or riffle within a couple of days. A bait/gear fishery coupled with any kind of kill limit would turn this river into a barren wasteland supporting only a temporary put and take hatchery trout.

This would be a great close-in stream to designate as Flyfishing Only. What a treasure to be able to have another wonderful little trout stream within a few minutes of Seattle and Bellevue! And, because of the size and fragility of the stream, it is ideally suited to be preserved as flyfishing only.

If this rumor is true, we may want to make ourselves heard and contact the state to try and preserve this little gem!

Coho






Hope you will have a fishing experience like the one in Luke Chapter 5:6-11 !

 

[Jay Allyn]

The newist Fishing and Hunting News: Washington, had an artical on this. The WDFW plans on onening this river to trout fishing. The temperary sockeye hatchery, soon to be perminent, that was put in a few years ago has brought many salmon into this river. Some of these salmon don't make it to the hatchery and their eggs and themselves are eaten by the trout. Plus the millions of seckeye fry released from the hatchery are easy prey for hungary trout. So as an unseen effect of the hatchery, the trout population had boomed in numbers and size. I really hope that the Cedar River would become a flyfishing only river and that someday we will be able to fish for salmon and steelhead as well as the trout.

Dose anybody know how we could make this a flyfishing only river? We should push as hard s we can to make it one!

Some people constently look like they are in dire need of help, winter steelhead fishermen are some of these people.

 

[Steelheadjunky]

One issue I would have with this is the impact on the small and fragile Steelhead run that is left here. I think that though the impact may be small my understanding is that this run can't handle any impact. If people are ready to write off the run then Ok but my understanding is that this used to be a great stream for steelhead and if there is a chance in getting this back it is better to error on the side of caution.

JJ

 

[Nailknot]

There was a long and interesting discussion about the Cedar opening a couple weeks back. You can access it here:
http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com...ic_id=30158&mesg_id=30158&listing_type=search

 

[wetline dave]

As a person who fished the Cedar a LOT in the 60's and 70's think I will shed some light on what that fshery used to be.
The River always closed Sept 1. This pretty much eliminated fishng for the sea runs. Yes there was a good populaton of rainbows, most ranging up to 10 or 12 inches, steelhead smolt! There was a nice winter run of steelhead but not great numbers as compared to the Green at the same time period. Maybe in a GOOD winter season 4 to 5 thousand would be taken. At that time the Green was putting out 17,000 a year! 30 pounders were NOT common. I doubt if there was ever a 30 caught in the Cedar. I saw one almost 20 caught once! The usual big fish would be around 12 pounds! Fishing hard all winter you might if you were lucky bang into a 15. There were lots of fish taken in the 8 to 10 pound range. I fished that river a lot in the winter, maybe 3 times a week on a conservative average, for at least 16 years. I took these numbers and fgures out of my old logs that I have always kept. Yes I did catch a lot of fish in that river but never over my limit and always legal.
The river will never be able to recover. There is way to much fishing by landowners and that can not be controlled! Sorry to say it but that is how it is!
It wasn't the fishing per say that killed the river. Though there was some poaching it was the sea lions at the locks that did it in. Today it is the fishing that is keeping it from recovering. The state cann't stop the poaching now so I think the state is giving up!
Dave

 

[Coho]

Cedar River - rumors and alert! What about Flyfishi...

Maybe in a GOOD winter
>season 4 to 5 thousand would be taken. At that time
>the Green was putting out 17,000 a year! 30 pounders
>were NOT common. I doubt if there was ever a 30 caught
>in the Cedar.

Oh how far we have come... think about your sentence for a minute - 4000 Steelhead out of a river the size of the Cedar. That is a spectacular run for a river that size my friend.

I grew up near and fished the Cedar too, and personally saw quite a few 30 plus (that others had caught). The largest two I can remember were over 33#. Those were back in the catch and kill days of the 60's and 70's so the proof was positive. For some reason that little river seemed to occasionally grow some exceptionally large fish.

Coho

 

[wetline dave]

Cedar River - rumors and alert! What about Flyfishi...

Coho
I wonder how many times we crossed paths on that once great river? Think about my statement?, I am saddened by it! Yes it was a great local stream, not on the caliber as the Green of the Puyalup, but quite remarkable. I won't disagree with what YOU saw, I only posted from my journals what I experienced and maybe some 30's were caught. I personally never saw or heard a verifiable report of one.
Dave

 

[Greg]

>Dose anybody know how we could make this a flyfishing
>only river?

Pressure your state Representative as well as the WDFW Commission. Gather as much public support through a mail/email campaign. Then, get down on your knees and pray.

Greg