12/30/2021


What is the current WDFW wild steelhead 2021-2022 plan?

1. Has anyone seen a WDFW comprehensive plan???

2. I've listened, video conferencing, read all the comments here and WDFW Web site. I can't even find if the closure 2020-2021 resulted in any change in the water sheds. Did it do any good????? Was there any documentation done during or after the season was over?????

3. Again, have lived in Grays Harbor since 1968......lot's of Wild steelhead, lot's of hatchery steelhead, everywhere. I know people on here worked, either still do or are retired, for WDW or WDF, it was on your "watch" that the declines started, why wasn't more done at those times?

At one time they wanted hatchery steelhead to be removed so there was limited chance for hatchery/wild spawning.

If we use the Wynoochee River as an example...reason, in my time here, a Dam was built, Bolt Decision, NT had 100% of the netting until after Bolt, they netted July - December, there were springers, there were seasons in the Wynoochee for Coho, Chinook, Chum, winter Wild and hatchery steelhead, and the 1977-78 summer run steelhead plants.

Spring chinook are gone, there is no legal chinook fishery, wild steelhead numbers are down. If wild and hatchery steelhead spawn together, you'd think there might be an increase of "un-marked" steelhead.....I'm not seeing any big numbers from the trap reports. Do hatchery steelhead spawn????? Well if we use the 60,000 smolt plants on the summer run steelhead, since 1977-2021, you'd think lots of unmarked summer run would show in the summer fishery......thats more than 40 years of plants....many of those summers fishing experiences far exceeded any winter steelhead season.

Lets see......seasons closed to protect Wild Steelhead, what the heck is the plan for all the hatchery steelhead coming back.......Wynoochee has the trap, some go to Lake Aberdeen hatchery for brood, all the rest are, Wild and hatchery, are trucked above the dam.......that includes all H/W steelhead and all Coho.

No answer here, all above my pay grade, but I'm not sure WDFW, QIN, has any answers.........pissed lots of great chances to have hatchery close to dam....I point finger at DWF and DWL back when dam was built..... grrrrrrrrrrrr

Nets, well we all know the results.....