Dizzy,

Think it’a poor excuse all you want. Fish go in the ocean in search of food, but each stock is genetically pre-programed to follow certain oceanic pathways. So those steelhead that are fairing poorly are likely traversing a less productive area than the high seas grazing salmon that are in better shape. Marine survival encompasses a lot of territory, and one hypothesis is that the depressed steelhead runs might be encountering their marine problem closer to Puget Sound and Johnstone Strait, long before they reach the high seas. You don’t see the same impacts to the productive salmon runs because they go other places in the ocean. Fisheries biologists used to make the same mistake, believing that the ocean was a big homogenous mixing bowl of fish food and rearing opportunity. We’ve learned that simply isn’t the case, and now the ocean - to the extent we know and understand it - is part of the salmon and steelhead story that can be told.

I can’t help what you believe. I and other biologists can only tell you what we know. Beyond that we can only hypothesize using the best information we have from whatever sources to try to piece together an explanation for things unknown.

WDFW could close Reiter Ponds for a while, but what good would that do? Then there would be no hatchery winter or summer steelhead. How would that serve your interest to catch a fish? Placing boulders only works in some streams, and last I looked, the Sky isn’t short of boulders. Placing logs is generally a waste of time in the high energy streams of the northwest. Engineered logjams are showing some signs of promise, but even the best of those sustain immense amounts of flood damage. That is a very expensive way to maintain habitat quality, and WDFW and everybody else in the fish business doesn’t have a fraction of the financial resources it would take.

The way these systems successfully worked was when there was an abundant supply of old growth timber along the river banks for steady recruitment into the system, so that the ones washed out each year would be replaced by new. If you’ve looked at the riparian areas, you know that ain’t possible because those areas were logged long ago. WDFW isn’t exactly in the tree planting business, and would need permission to do it. Further, people cut down trees to have a better view of the river from their homes and cabins. It ain’t easy to replace the historic riparian old growth when anything that obstructs a view is destined for a date with a chain saw. Some of those ideas are being implemented by WDFW and others in places where they have half a chance and sometimes even less of a chance than that.

You aren’t the only one who hates to see a river, or in this case, a steelhead population in trouble. The managers of the resource wouldn’t hesitate to make changes that would produce larger runs if it was within their capability to do so. The unfortunate news is that none of us has the answer - but we won’t stop looking.

Chives,

If you’ve read the whole thread, you know the Sky is anything but dead. Yeah, the summer run steelhead return this year is nothing to write home about, but that’s the way it goes. As mentioned by other posters, both fish and some degree of solitude are attainable. Sounds like you haven’t tried hard enough, or haven’t learned yet how to both try hard and find it/them. Malybe somebody will take you by the hand, but don’t count on it. It’s still quite possible to do it the old fashioned way on your own. But you have to learn what resources will help you out and then go out and get ‘em and use ‘em. I’ll share this: it ain’t rocket science, and the answers are mostly right in front of you. That is, everything you need to know has been presented on this web site over the past few years. I know, I’ve written a small bunch of it myself.

Stlhead,

A government conspiracy makes for entertaining idle chat over a beer, but does it withstand critical analysis? Check the smolt plants by brood year and subsequent adult returns and smolt to adult survival rates. Maybe the conspiracy theory is correct, but if so, it can be verified. I know, that’s work and not nearly as much fun as b!tching about the government and WDFW screwing you out of your license money. If you think hardly anybody knew there were summer runs in the Sky 20 years ago, then how would you explain the incredible crowds that turned out in the late 1970s when the Reiter program began really kicking out results. Our standards of hardly anybody must be a lot different.

Smalma,

Thanks for chiming in. Now why don’t you lazy desk jockeys get out there and make this river what it should be? (Insert smiley face) I ain’t catching any summer runs either, so it must be WDFW’s fault.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.