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Sprinting Out of 2020…Slowing to Enjoy 2021

January 13, 2021 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Wow, I could go on for…forget it, let’s bid 2020 adieu!

So long and so on to what I hope is a beloved 2021 and what to look forward to here in the Seattle area, the greater PNW and beyond. A decidedly paltry understatement would be there is much anticipation for 2021 on nearly every front…obviously!

I live, guide, photograph and travel from Seattle, WA.  I have broken rods, reels, lines some laws and bones in 40 countries and because of this I have come to greatly appreciate the incredible diversity of our surrounding fisheries. My friends, we have some extraordinary fly angling here and maybe for better than worse, little of it receives much time in any spotlight. Well here is a bit less than 15 minutes for some of them.

First and most immediately we are smack dab in the middle of our winter, wild steelhead season. Within 150 miles of Seattle lie some epic names in steelhead angling such as the Skagit, Sauk, Skykomish, Stillaguamish, Hoh, Queets and Sol Duc but we have others too!

However, this season comes with fishing restrictions unlike we have ever seen before and sadly, for good reason. Numbers of fish on many of these rivers continue to decline, enough so, we should count ourselves lucky to be fishing them at all this year. New restrictions affecting Olympic Peninsula rivers that would impact some fly anglers is no fishing from a floating device and all rivers closing at the end of March. For me and the rest of us here at EWA, this bears little impact as we have always used boats for transport and fishing upon arrival at our next run. 

That said, our rivers here in WA and OR are stunning. Arrival in the rainforest should be cherished for the soulful experience it provides.  Regardless of fish or no fish, we should be grateful for the time spent here.

Following closely and nipping at its heels will be the arrival of Chum salmon fry into the salty waters of Puget Sound. Every year, sometime in late February or early March, these migratory fry exit their birth rivers to enter the dangerous hunting grounds of the Clarki Clarki or sea run, Coastal Cutthroat trout.

Puget Sound has over 2000 miles of shoreline but as luck, or actually nature would have it, their safe haven is very near shore, the shallow water beaches of the Sound attracting our beloved SRC’s within striking distance of us, the overwhelmed by its magnitude but otherwise dauntless fly angler. 

Having toted a fly rod around the world over the past 10 years, I can say with experience and some degree of favoritism that when all 3 of these elements collide it’s just silly.

Small pods of SRC’s from 12-20 inches, aggressively pursue these fry, scattering them with wreckless abandon. Hook ups are often within 20ft and surface flies imitating injured bait draw regular attention. When it really goes off, multiple pods are going about their business all around, you have a fish on and more are jumping around you and at times it feels like a mini Nat Geo episode and you are smack in the middle, shin deep.  Did I mention migratory Coho salmon during the later summer and fall, yeah, that happens too!

Should the Sound be a bit much to wrap the mind around, our one and only year around trout river, the Yakima is awakening as well. BWO’s, Skwala and March Browns will challenge and delight. If flows are down, take the to banks, plenty of walk and wade access on this river and experiencing the high desert from a boat can be equally rewarding so choose your destiny and prepare accordingly for Mother Nature, you never know what’s in store in February, March and April.

As the Yakima moves into May however, still be prepared but have those summer shirts and pant waders available, spring can show its face on occasion and it shouldn’t be missed. Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch is on everyone in this regions calendar and while seasonally it shifts around, just plan on throwing PMD’s and Caddis from mid May through mid July and with luck, for most or all of the day.

When most fly anglers fly into Seattle on a sunny day, the obtuse amount of water visible from the air typically incites childlike anticipation of getting on the ground and stepping in, somewhere, now!

We do have a ton of water here in Washington, no doubt but it is not all created equal. We are not Montana or Colorado on steriods, at least not in the way most would think. Washington’s true treasure trove is our small creeks and streams. Those often times nameless blue lines littered across Google Earth in absurd quantities through the Cascade and Olympic Mountain ranges.

It’s silly. I have lived here for over 20 years and every year I make myself go learn a new blue line. I mean why not? The Yakima garners nearly all the airwaves of attention while many of these small streams boast serenity on a level I have seen people pay many thousands of dollars to experience elsewhere. Crystal clear water, spotting rising or resting native trout, surrounded by old growth forest with few if no other anglers around and within 90 minutes of Seattle…meh, forget I said anything!

We won the lottery in this respect, we really did. I always tell people around here, if you are looking for an excuse to buy a new rod, here go, you NEED a 2-3wt.

Some of the water we consider “creeks” would be in the top 10 rivers size wise in other states so you should see them regularly or you could feel out of sorts from one month to the next, as if it is new water each time, which is wonderful too!

And there it is, the excuse to go fish, often.

Mid summer here is ridiculous. All the creeks, Puget Sound, summer steelhead, carp in a myriad of lakes, bass in the same, high alpine lakes, pike, muskie and should you really desire it, let’s toss in a bit a Pacific Albacore of our coast. Have a 12wt with some dust on it? Bring it!

Tuna is the epitome of putting your skills to the test. Balance while casting a 12wt with 500 grain sinking head and big fly, playing a 20lb fish trying to swim to China through the bottom of the Pacific without ripping the fly out of its mouth and keeping your lunch down while 3-5 others do the same around you keeping in mind, none of you actually have control over your fish for the first 10 minutes or so…it’s good practice!

All the above stay with us into fall until we reach November when creeks close, cold precip returns and my mind circles back to winter steelhead.
Sprinting Out of 2020…Slowing to Enjoy 2021!

Somewhere in that crazy schedule of changing tactics, location, species and equipment I usually slip away to somewhere new. This is the tick in my brain I am unable shake…new water!

This past year has been rough to say the least on all of us. Looking ahead I can see NZ, Seychelles, Costa Rica, BC, AK and Russia doing their little dance in front of me like a tease. My hope for everyone in this sport is they find a way to fuel their engine to get on the water and if there is a way to do so without the liability of whether or not a fish is caught making the experience, then you have truly succeeded.

It is the adventure, the road, all the sideways occurrences from flat tires to no plug in the boat, diverted airplanes, bears/cats/elephants/shark, broken rods, lost passports, language barriers, hurricanes and the lot that are going to make up the bulk of any fish story. Think about it…

Here’s to a safe and vibrant fishing year in 2021!





Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers, Reports Tagged With: Cascade Mountains, Dave McCoy Photography, Emerald Water Anglers, Fly Fishing, Olympic Peninsula, Pacific Albacore, Puget Sound, Puget sound fly fishing, Sea Run Cutthroat, Seattle Fly Fishing, Seattle fly fishing guides, Seattle fly fishing reports, spey casting, trout, tuna, tuna fly fishing, washington fly fishing, Washington fly fishing reports, Wild Steelhead, Yakima River

Upcoming Fly Fishing Events – February 2020

February 1, 2020 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Sauk Magic steelhead fly by Nathan Keen.

Bienvenidos, willkomen, benvenuta, ようこそ and welcome…to winter steelhead season! We are writing this as nearly every river on the coastal side of the mountains is at or near flood stage, a momentary refuge for our andadromous friends making their way into the local rivers!

We just finished up our 4th annual EWA Spey Day and the buzz coming out of that was incredible. Maybe one of the biggest highlights was the time spent throwing the new long belly lines from Bridge Fly Fishing and having Tim Arsenault on hand to help take away some of the anxiety. Seems like another life when we were using rods longer than 13 feet and heads were longer than 25ft. With some Canadian encouragement, we watched as many got after the 60+ foot heads, we all felt like little kids again. Fabulous to see that level of enthusiasm on the water. Thank you to everyone who came out, sales reps, FFI instructors, friends and new spey casters, it was a blast.

Some great events still to come with us here at EWA and our surrounding area and we hope to see you at one or all of them, scroll on down and have a terrific February!

Upcoming Intro to Fly Fishing Schools – Coed – 3 students per teacher. We cover essential knots, fly selection based on entomology, casting skills, reading water, approach and line management. Equipment happily provided.
April 18
May 23
June 20

Women Intro to Fly Fishing Schools – 3 students per teacher
March 21
April 11
April 25
May 9
May 16
June 6
June 20

Women’s Intro to Fly Casting – 5 students per teacher
March 6
March 7
April 5
April 19
May 3
May 17
May 31
June 7
June 21
July 12
July 26
August 9
August 23

Tie One On – Coed Fly Tying
February 6 – Nathan Keen and Bill Marts – Steelhead and Salt
February 20 – Saltwater
March 3 – Tying Party!

The Fly Fishing Show – Lynnwood
February 15 – 16
EWA will not be in attendance with a booth this year but two of our Women’s Program leaders Jenn Fluke and Bethany will be at the Women’s Meet and Greet. But if you find something you really NEED, come on in and let us know and we will get it in your hands.

TreFin Seafood’s Tuna Pick Up – 3pm – 7pm
March 1
Come by the store and get the skinny on fishing for Albacore off the Washington and Oregon coast and pick up fresh tuna from the guys who line caught it and processed it in Ilwaco. Pre Order and Pick Up HERE

Montana Fly Fishing Film Festival – Admiral Theater – 7pm
March 20

Come see some regionally focused fly fishing films to help kick off the spring season. Always a fun evening.

Art on the Water – Mercer Island Community Center – 7pm – 9pm – $25
March 27

A spectacular event joining all th elements we love…fly fishing, water and art. Join our very good friends and fellow Patagonia Ambassadors Dylan Tomine and Riverhorse Nakadate and former editor of The Flyfish Journal Steve Duda for a reading and fundraiser for The Red Badge Project supporting veterans.

Movie Night @ EWA – Tomorrow’s Fish – Hosted by AFFTA 7pm – 9pm
April 1

Come join us for a private screening of Tomorrow’s Fish, a great new film on fly fishing off the coast of New York City.

FFI Casting and Education Fair – 9am – 5pm – Mercer Island
May 2

Dave McCoy will be teaching an introduction to fly casting class at this event and there will be plenty of other instructors working on everything from beginning to advanced techniques.

EWA Fly Fest – 9am – 3pm @ Seattle Community College
May 9
Our annual event to try all the latest fly rods and lines, get personal instruction, attend seminars, ask questions and meet other local anglers. Patagonia, Thomas and Thomas, Scott, Sage, Redington, Echo, Winston, Gloomis, Hardy, Scientific Anglers, Airflo, Rio and Bridge Fly Fishing will all be on hand.

EWA Youth Fly Fishing Camp – 8 Youth Max – 8am – 5pm – $650
August 10 – 14

Finally, we are putting together a camp experience for mid teen youth to experience how we view the sport through the lens of education, stewardship and conservation while exploring and enjoying our outdoor world.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers, Events Tagged With: 5050 on the water, AFFTA, casting instruction, Emerald Water Anglers, FFI, fly fishing events, Fly Fishing Seattle, fly tying, Meet and Greet, Olympic Peninsula, Pacific Albacore, spey casting, steelhead, swinging flies, Trefin Tuna, washington fly fishing, Wild Steelhead, women's fly fishing

Value of a Wild Steelhead

January 10, 2014 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Imagine if we were to have wild steelhead, our Washington state fish back to sustainable numbers around the state to allow 6 months a year of guiding for them, here is what we would put as a monetary value of that said commodity as a basis for advertising our business:

1 angler from out of state could spend approximately this while in WA for a single day of fishing with the idea that just 1 of these wild fish had the potential to be caught, admired and released…

Air Fare:  $500

Gas:  $100-$250

Hotel: $100 per night

Guide:  $550 per day

Food and Beverage:  $40 per day

Fishing License:  $20

Rental Car:  $200

Ferry Fees:  $40

Daily Shuttle Fee:  $30

Incidentals:  $150 or more

So on a single day, 1 angler could account for this much to the local economy on a single day:

$1630 for 1 angler

We have a staff and connection of 10 licensed and insured fly fishing guides that with a higher percentage of “wild” steelhead we could book ever single week.  Take this number above and multiply that by 10 and this is what the number looks like:

$16,300

Now if you take the notion that well managed fisheries for the survival and sustainability of these wild steelhead, our Washington state fish, could have a dual season between summer and winter where for 180 days of the year, we had a good shot at these fish, enough to keep our entire staff busy for 180 day a year, this is what that number looks like:

$2,934,000

This is 180 days or 25 weeks of the year, keeping 10 local Washington residents employed, paying sales tax on nearly 100% of this figure, supporting other local Washington businesses and several Washington state agencies in the process both directly and indirectly (guide license fees, special use permits on Premier Watersheds, insurance, CPR/First Aid).

This is just our business.  Imagine if all fly fishing businesses in Washington of similar size did the same thing? Imagine all FISHING businesses in Washington could do the same thing?  Imagine if that season of only 6 months was extended for another 2-3 month period as it once was?  Imagine if we valued these fish as a symbol of this awesome state. If we made sure not only our residents but every sport angler from surrounding states and provinces put this same value on them and in return gave same consideration to them, our water,  state and successful management of these fish as one of the single greatest game fish on the planet.

We should be embarrassed about how much better the wild steelhead fishing is once we leave our state in any direction but use that as fuel to turn the table and set the tone for change, to return our state fish to glory and stature it once possessed and deserves.

Imagine…

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Conservation, Emerald Water Anglers, fish management, flyfishing, guiding, native species, Washington, WDFW, Wild Steelhead

Yakima Steelhead…Ponder This!

October 15, 2013 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Bob Margulis of the Wild Steelhead Coalition just passed along a note from someone that I thought might be of interest to those in the anadromous world regarding steelhead in the Columbia Basin in particular the Yakima River region:

The 6,000 steelhead returning to the Yakima has to be put into the perspective that most of the present production is coming out of Satus Creek and Toppenish Creek.  There remains an immense amount of fine habitat in the Yakima outside those two streams.  The Naches River alone should be having returns of over 6,000 steelhead, Satus and Toppenish each 2,000 and the upper mainstem Yakima and many of its tributaries such as Big Creek, Cabin Creek, Teanaway River, and many others should have at least another 6,000-10,000 … even under present conditions.  Given the good passage conditions in the Columbia in recent years and the good overall ocean conditions, the Yakima should be having wild steelhead returns of 15,000-20,000.

During the early to mid 1980s when the then NW Power Planning Council (now NW Power and Conservation Council) began to have discussions about making the Yakima the poster child for Columbia Basin recovery, it was estimated that the Yakima Basin was second only to the Snake Basin in numbers of returning salmon and steelhead.  It was estimated that it’s historic returns were 600,000 combined total with 100,000 of those being steelhead.

However, our present work on the Columbia using amount of available gravel as found in the 1930s to estimate salmon returns suggest that there was sufficient gravel available for about 1.5-2 million spring Chinook alone in the Yakima basin … and that was the most conservative estimate.  If we had used what is a more probable redd area per spawning pair of Chinook it would have been more on the order of 3-5 million.  We have not completed our mathematical runs per gravel available for all the species, but the Yakima had large runs of coho, steelhead, fall Chinook, and sockeye — the latter having 3 large lakes available (Kachess, Keechelus, and Cle Elum) and one smaller lake (Bumping).  In 1916 there was a count made of the number of salmonid juveniles killed in one irrigation field watering of some 200 acres near Yakima.  From that count expanded to the total irrigation acreage at the time, it was computed that about 4.5 million outmigrating smolts were being killed with each watering in the Yakima basin.  Subsequently in the 1920s it was better determined how many waterings occurred per year and the final estimate was that some 20 million outmigrating salmonids were annually killed via diversion onto irrigation fields where they died.  This did not include how many juveniles were killed in the irrigation canals each year when annually dewatered each fall.  It was only a count of those that went out onto the fields being irrigated when diverted from the canals.  This was long after the sockeye runs had already been wiped out in the very early 1900s by construction of dams at the outlets of each of the lakes already mentioned that had no passage systems.  And salmon runs overall were known to have severely declined in the Columbia basin from 1883 onward.  By the 1916-1920 period of time salmon numbers (adult and juvenile) were a fraction of that when Lewis and Clark Expedition occurred.

Just for a couple comparative examples, Osoyoos Lake on the upper Okanagan this year will have a run-size of wild sockeye of about 450,000 (515,000+ have thus far passed Bonneville most of which are destined there).  That is only one lake and Osoyoos is still in recent process of recovery.  Lake Quinault historically had an estimated wild sockeye run-size of one million as late as 1941 (tribal harvest of 500,000 that year).  Obviously, the NWPPC Yakima basin estimate back in the 1980s was a lowball estimate at 600,000 total salmon and steelhead along with the historic estimate of 100,000 steelhead.  I do not have a present estimate we will eventually have for historic Yakima steelhead based on spawning gravel, but I can guarantee it will be well above 100,000.  The Yakima is an immense basin and steelhead historically used nearly all of it.

For instance, we estimated that the Snohomish basin in 1895 had steelhead runs of about 160,000 and the Nooksack 140,000 or more (Skagit about 105,000 and Stillaguamish about 75,000).  None of the Puget Sound rivers had the available basin area the Yakima historically had, and no Puget Sound river had the productivity of the Yakima.  The Clearwater River of Idaho had a count of 46,000 steelhead past Lewiston Dam in the early 1960s (before any hatchery program there) and that was after many were harvested in lower Columbia commercial and sport fisheries as well as in Snake River sport fisheries prior to Clearwater River entry (this was after The Dalles Dam inundated Celilo Falls in 1957 and tribal fisheries had yet shifted to gill netting as the former dip net fishery was eliminated).  Again, the Yakima basin size is larger than the Clearwater and greater productivity per mile of available stream.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Bill McMillan, Columbia River Basin, dams, Oregon, returning numbers, Washington, Wild Steelhead, WSC, Yakima River

Just How Stupid Can We Be….

February 23, 2012 by adminewa

This will be a short post as it should speak for itself. After a week in California I was lucky enough to return to the cyber world and find this:

You can now (since Feb. 16 and through Apr. 30) catch and keep a wild steelhead on one of eight rivers on the Olympic Peninsula. The Bogachiel, Calawah, Clearwater, Dickey, Hoh, Quillayute, Quinault and Sol Duc rivers are the only rivers in Washington where wild steelhead may be retained. See rules on page 27 of fishing regs pamphlet available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/

After all the f–king work that has gone into various aspects of wild steelhead protection not only on the Olympic Peninsula but elsewhere in this state, just when we feel as though the tide might have just come to a slack and begin to turn, WDFW goes and makes one of the dumbest decisions I have EVER seen in my life. Jesus Christ, even Californian’s get it more than we do, I think I want to move back to Oregon, done calling myself a Washingtonian, at least in the fishing world, it is embarrassing.

I don’t care what kind of gear you throw at steelhead or how you do it but to make every effort to kill off these fish in the name of “listening to our constituents” is a crock. Listen to the larger constituent base, the rest of the business owners in Washington who will feel the impact of a state with no wild steelhead and therefore zero tourism dollars coming here in an effort to catch one. I honestly didn’t think this was rocket science but apparently it is.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: catch and release, Emerald Water Anglers, Washington, Wild Steelhead

Ghost Run: “How the Whole Shitaroo is Bound Together….”

November 17, 2011 by adminewa

This mini-documentary from Fitz Cahall and Brian Smith hit home for me in a number of ways.  Brian uses the venue of California’s mighty Klamath to discuss the modern state of wild steelhead along with the tragedies of baseline shift, or losing perspective between generations.  Take a few minutes to watch his film, it is very well made and I think you will enjoy it.

Ghost Run

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: baseline shift, Conservation, Emerald Water Anglers, klamath river, shitaroo, Wild Steelhead

More on the Elwha River

August 26, 2011 by adminewa

I have my own personal feelings on this matter but will let you read through and see where you end up. From the Seattle Times:

Elwha River hatchery to hurt recovery, critics say

A $16 million hatchery will pump fish into the Elwha River after the dams come down – including nonnative steelhead – to the dismay of scientists who warn it will hurt wild fish the $325 million recovery program is supposed to help.

By Lynda V. Mapes

Seattle Times staff reporter

Recovering salmon on the Elwha will involve more than just letting nature take its course. Fish managers are planning what they call a “jump-start” for the river, which will include planting hatchery fish. Some will be choppered upriver into the backcountry, brought in on horseback, by truck, boat and lugged on foot in backpacks.

Nonnative Chambers Creek steelhead also will be planted by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in an effort to ensure a harvest for their fishermen. Releases of the Chamber Creek steelhead to the Elwha will begin in the river in May or June 2012. The fish are being grown now at the tribe’s old hatchery, and will soon be moved to the new facility.

The new hatchery was completed in May and is about three times the size of the tribe’s old hatchery – which will be rendered inoperable by dam removal. The tribe is negotiating with the park service sharing the cost for operation and maintenance of the hatchery, estimated at $800,000 a year. The tribe will pay the full cost of the Chambers Creek steelhead stocking program.

You might think Elwha River recovery is going to be a simple matter of taking two dams out of a largely pristine watershed, beginning next month, and letting nature take its course. But you would be wrong.

The fish-restoration plan for the Elwha includes planting hatchery fish in the middle and upper river – fish raised at a new, $16 million hatchery built by taxpayers for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe as part of the recovery effort.

A nonnative run of steelhead will be planted in the Elwha by the tribe, too. Not as part of the recovery plan, but out of concern that otherwise, there won’t be enough fish soon enough for tribal members to catch.

The hatchery programs are controversial. Wild-fish advocates say they are sick over the use of a hatchery on the Elwha at all, let alone the stocking of a nonnative fish. They grieve the loss of what they see as a unique opportunity to watch a wild river recover on its own.

Some, such as Jim Lichatowich, author of “Salmon Without Rivers,” also see a bigger, fundamental wrongheadedness: Even using the language of “jump-start,” he said, betrays a mechanistic view of what is actually a complex, resilient natural system, capable of recovery all on its own.

“The Elwha is not a dead battery,” Lichatowich said.

Jack Stanford of the Flathead Lake Biological Station in Montana agreed that the Elwha and its wild fish aren’t getting the respect they deserve. “Dams come out, the salmon respond. Simple as that,” Stanford said.

He and other scientists note research again and again has shown hatchery fish depress the performance of wild fish. They warn that hatchery fish will hurt native runs struggling to recover – and create the rationale for keeping the hatchery going.

“If you put what I call ‘zoo fish’ in there to compete with those that would make new habitat their home,” Stanford said, “how can that be anything but counterproductive?”

Plenty of defenders

To be sure, the hatchery has plenty of defenders. The restoration plan also states that hatchery programs should be designed to reach recovery goals, with measurable benchmarks and annual reviews to modify or curtail hatchery production according to the ecosystem’s response – and avoid “operational institutionalization.”

But critics warn of reluctance to ever close a hatchery – and the challenge of funding the long-term monitoring on which scrutiny of hatchery operations depends. The tribe’s decision to release nonnative steelhead in the lower river also has raised grave concern, unusual in its unanimity, in scientific circles.

Scientists at every agency the tribe asked to comment on the program – from the National Park Service to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to the National Marine Fisheries Service – advised against it. They argued that nonnative fish have no role to play in restoring native stocks in the Elwha; they could hurt native steelhead and interbreed with resident fish above the dams.

Genetically related to wild winter-run Washington steelhead, those trout may be a descendant of native Elwha River steelhead, locked up behind the dams like jewels in a box, waiting now more than a century for a chance to once more express their genetic capacity to go to sea as steelhead.

That flexibility to survive either as a landlocked or oceangoing fish helps them persist in the Northwest, where landslides, avalanches, volcanic eruptions and more often change the habitat for fish.

It’s just that ability to take what nature throws at them that makes some scientists believe the hatchery isn’t needed – and will even suppress the adaptive genius of native runs, overwhelming them before they have time to recover and thrive.

Some scientists are so concerned about hatchery fish – and especially nonnative stock – harming wild fish in the river that they would rather leave the dams in.

“There could be real genetic compromise,” said Bill McMillan, a retired fish biologist and passionate wild-fish advocate. “For my part, the dams are probably better left in, protecting what remains of a wild ecosystem.”

Endangered species

Will Stelle is a self-proclaimed “salmon head” who runs the Northwest Region of the National Marine Fisheries Service. A lawyer long steeped in the politics of both Washingtons, he’s neither a scientist, a fisherman nor an Indian. But the work he oversees under way in the Elwha from an endangered-species perspective has had to accommodate all three.

Since construction began in 1910, Elwha Dam, five miles from the river mouth, has blocked fish passage to more than 70 miles of mainstem and tributary habitat. A second dam, Glines Canyon, also without fish passage, is 8.5 miles more upriver.

Together, they have over the course of a century so altered the river that today three runs of fish in the Elwha are listed by the federal government as threatened with extinction: chinook, steelhead and bull trout. And once the dams come down, scientists warn the river won’t at first be healthy.

For about 10 years, scientists predict, the river will be carrying abnormally high sediment loads: slugs of gravel and fines that could cause fish to stop feeding, suffer gill abrasion, experience loss of fitness due to stress, and even be killed outright. The weakest runs have to be protected against extinction while the river is in transition, Stelle said. “No-brainer.”

But the choice to use hatchery fish was driven by two things: the risk during dam removal of losing fish identified as unique, threatened or endangered; and the desire to see fishable runs within 20 or 30 years, according to the restoration plan.

And for the tribe, even that is too long – driving it to also continue stocking Chambers Creek steelhead, even after dam removal.

Fishing moratorium

“The problem is, we have people that are used to fishing, and they will be reducing their fishing for five years as it is,” said Rob Elofson, river restoration director for the tribe, referring to a moratorium on fishing in the river, in place for five years after the dams come down.

He predicted that waiting for native runs to rebuild to fishable levels will take even longer – and if runs are too weak to support a fishery, without nonnative Chambers Creek fish raised for harvest, he said, the tribe would have nothing in the river to catch.

“If you make it another 10 or 15 years, you are talking about almost a generation,” Elofson said. “We want to maintain a fishery for our tribal members,” Elofson said. And not just anywhere: “On the reservation, on the Elwha,” he added.

Stelle said he agrees with the tribe’s decision, which also is a matter oftreaty rights.

“Were treaty rights not involved and the obligation to provide for continuing fishing opportunities through this transition period not active, then we would not do Chambers Creek,” Stelle said. “But those obligations are real, and they are substantial. Treaty rights are not a bumper sticker. It is a reality, and because of it we have had to reshape and modify the transition program.”

Stelle said the fisheries service will watch recovery closely, to see how soon native steelhead runs could support at least tribal harvest. Tribal fishery managers say they are willing to revisit the Chambers Creek program as recovery progresses. The restoration plan also says changes to the Chambers Creek stocking plan shall be made if it appears natural colonization is hindered.

Elofson noted that the tribe has already greatly reduced the number of Chambers Creek hatchery fish it will plant, beginning in May or June 2012, to a fraction of the usual program, under way in the river for decades.

He believes concern about effects on wild fish is misplaced.

Elofson said the tribe’s studies to date have found negligible effect on native steelhead, even under much higher stocking rates, in the crowded, lower five miles of the river. In an open river, he predicts less impact.

To many, the risk isn’t justified. But at root, to the tribe, recovery isn’t just about fish genetics. It’s about fish on the table.

“The tribe wants to have fish back to the watershed that they can take advantage of,” said Larry Ward, hatchery manager for the tribe.

“There is this whole philosophy of the Elwha being a living laboratory, when in reality, it is the home of the Elwha tribe. After waiting 100 years for the dams to come out, they are not willing to wait another 100 years for the fish to recover.”

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: bull trout, Chambers Creek steelhead, dam removal, Elwha River, Emerald Water Anglers, hatchery, Washington, Wild Steelhead

Want An All Wild Run In The Sol Duc?

June 21, 2011 by adminewa

Take Action By Clicking Here!

Click the link above to take action against the controversial Snider Creek Hatchery on one of the O.P.’s greatest rivers.  Scroll down to send a message to the Snider Creek Hatchery, it only takes a few minutes.  If you have time to make coffee, tie one fly, edit one photo, check one box score, or even read this one blog post then you have time to make a difference for wild steelhead in Washington.  Do it, quick!  Here is the link again:

One Small Step For You, One Giant Leap For Wild Steelhead! Click Here for the link……

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: chrome, Native Fish Society, snider creek, Sol Duc, Wild Steelhead, Wild Steelhead Coalition

Impacts of Hatchery Steelhead on Wild Steelhead in the Skagit Watershed

April 23, 2011 by adminewa

This is a fairly regional topic but a hot one for sure. Wild Steelhead Coalition is hosting an event on May 4th at 6pm where the findings of a biologist from the Seattle City Light will lay out the findings from the joint study they put together for all who can attend. See image below or go to the WSC website for time and directions.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Adipose, Emerald Water Anglers, hatchery steelhead, Sauk River, Skagit River, Washington, Wild Steelhead, Wild Steelhead Coalition

Steelhead OFF Menu, Kudos to Ray’s

January 21, 2011 by adminewa

I am really happy to say that Ray’s Boathouse Restaurant here in Seattle reconsidered their plan to put wild steelhead on their menu after what I would assume are many emails from the public calling for them to refrain from such sales. Many kudos and compliments to Executive Chef Peter Birk for moving forward, my recommendation would be that everyone who emailed or called with their displeasure take the same amount of time to provide positive support for his decision. Those who criticize can’t just expect to point fingers and then not reciprocate in kind when something goes our way. Our presence has to be felt and measured on both sides of the coin.

With that in mind, this video which originated on Skate The Fly will show exactly why so many restaurants and markets continue to pop up with wild steelhead and their “caviar” on their menus. It comes from misinformtation provided to them by a misinformed and what sounds to be an uneducated supplier and whether that is by choice or via the native Americans he purchases from. Watch this video and see for yourself:

Mikuni Wild Harvest

One thing to keep in mind here is that these wild steelhead, once harvested and sold to a supplier sell for around $1.50-$2.50 per pound!! That equates to around $7.00-$9.00 per pound at the retail price.

Just ponder that for a moment and think about how much money we have spent pursuing these fish and that is all they are worth on the open fish market…REDICULOUS!!! Definitely let listen to what he has to say about these fish he is selling, commentary welcome!

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Olympic Peninsula, Queets River, Quinault River, Skate the Fly, Wild Steelhead

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