Attended the virtual town hall last night, and came away feeling much better about fishing this winter than I’d planned.

The Department’s willingness to expand fishing from a boat opportunity in order to get more creel data was a big surprise, although I think that’ll be to be more of a multi-year study, across different river conditions and weather patterns.

Looking forward to hearing about these talks with the co-managers on Chehalis opportunities as well. In any other year, I couldn’t imagine the tribes turning their noses up at a chance to get after late Coho under the guise of Steelhead fishing. This year is obviously different. Still, I have a bit of optimism regarding steelhead fishing the early season closer to home.

I know that fishing from a boat has many advantages, beginning with simple access and expanding through less physically able folks to be able to fish. But, Bob Hooten, a long-time BC steelhead manager, believes that the coming of (especially) jet sleds is one of the things that crashed many BC runs because the refuge areas for steelhead were removed through increased access. It appears to be a very two-edged sword.

I felt a little better also. But! The Quin. Tribe will have the final say, and with the latest skirmish over the coho closure/non closure, I'm not counting on any harbor rivers to be open for winter steel.
Jet sleds? Seems simple enough. Regulate sleds by implimenting horse power restrictions, or motors altogether. Effectvely removing sleds from the equation. Works on small lakes? Or, restrict them in sections of river systems, keeping them in the lower or specific reaches. Better to have some sort of season without jet boats vs no season at all out of fear to regulate them. Wonder what the tribes would say? Drifter. To get you on the water, I would be glad to row you in my drift boat into some of your honey holes for you.

11/28/2023

BC didn't have drift boats, rafts, pontoon boats?????

I seem to remember that floats/bobbers and jigs were used in BC before moving South to USA rivers, I seem to remember center pen reels and long rods were used in many of the TV series of Canada steelhead films.

I'm sure that many things have contributed to the decline on wild/native steelhead, but leading the list:

To many people fishing

To many drift boats, sleds, rafts

Tribal netting, Bolt Decision

Electronics---fish just don't have a chance, can't even hide in the oceans of the world. Be a interesting study, every other week, on ocean fishing....electronics not allow to be used.....see how the numbers go from week to week.

I'd give anything to be able to live without the use of a walker in my house, a wading pole any time I go outside, to have to use a shopping cart just to hang on to to shop. Yes I have a jet boat, thank heavens, takes me twice as long to launch and take boat out, but it allows me to fish. I fished summer steelhead since 1968, much of the time from the bank, but the bank fishing days are behind me, no balance is a bitch!!!!!!

Run n Gun.....thanks for the offer but I haven't fished any of the Chehalis tribs for steelhead in 10+ years and even my Coho and jack fishing in limited to the Chehalis.....just to many people, drift boats, and sleds on the tribs anymore....

oh yea, again, it’s the Jet Sleds In another effort to lay blame for the lack of fish on anything but one’s own fisheries management, and the public’s desire for more cheap commercial consumption of same fish.

To clarify, BC was just blaming the Red , Orange, and Hot Pink sled boats for the collapse, other colors were ok. That, and electric start outboards , vs. Hand Pulled Starters.

Laying blame, It’s always something else to chase after.

Prior to sleds there were significant portions the rivers that were unfitted. They were refuges from effort. With the advent of sleds all the refuges disappeared; the fish had no safe place, and so more were able to be harvested.

one of the easiest ways to help the fish inriver is to limit the number of guides per river that will eliminate the number of sleds..

Not so much coastal related, but it would sure be nice to have more steelhead opportunities again starting around Thanksgiving.
I know a lot of folks considered Chambers creek fish turds, but they sure provided a lot of fun on the rivers back in the day.
SF

stonefish. It sure would be nice but all the "No Hatchery" groups would freak. Look at the Skykomish as an example.

And the “No” hatchery Anti Hatchery have brain washed a whole ton of folks into believing that it’s all the fault of hatchery fish but yet the same people will be the first ones out in the saltwater chasing salmon hatchery or wild !

Is there such a thing as Chambers Creek steelhead anymore? And or are there Thanksgiving timed winter steelhead being released anywhere?

I thought the Bogie hatchery fish were Chambers Creek, at least I believe they were at one time. Probably still one of the few places you can still catch a turkey day steelhead……provided the season is open and they are still planting them.
Hopefully someone with better knowledge of the current situation there can chime in.
SF

i wonder what the catch rate percentage is to canoe and jet boat for netting.... or from drift nets to swing nets to set nets using a canoe....

Chambers Creek steelhead continue to be cultured at hatcheries on the Nooksack (Kendall), Skykomish (Reiter), Snoqualmie (Tokul), Green (Sooes), and Dungeness. Return rates range from low to abysmal, like Kendall, where they can't get enough returning broodstock to maintain the program at the programmed levels some seasons.

Thanksgiving steelhead - and even earlier - are dependent on SAR, smolt to adult return rates. Higher survival rates mean larger run sizes. Larger run sizes mean more fish at the tails - the beginning and end of the runs. Having that wide tail before the peak of the run is what provides fishable numbers early in the season. I've caught early returning Chambers Creek winter runs as early as Thanksgiving and even Veteran's Day, and one October winter run on the Stilly long, long ago.

Bogachiel hatchery still releases an early-winter steelhead, which is a variant of the Chambers Creek (Bogachiel stock) and still retains the early return. Humptulips still releases Chambers early-winter steelhead, as does Forks Creek and the Naselle hatchery in Willapa Bay. The Quinault NFH still releases the Cook Creek stock, which was a mix of stocks, including Chambers Cr/Bogachiel/Quinault. These fish are also released at the Salmon River (Queets).

I think these and the ones that Salmo mentioned in Puget Sound are current list of release sites for any Chambers or Chambers-derivative, early-winter steelhead stocks remaining.

There's a really good old report that WDG put out - Crawford 1979 - that goes over the history and development of all the common steelhead and trout broodstocks that the department used to use. Don't have a copy anymore though...

Also a release from Tokul Cr hatchery in the Snoqualmie.

You can look at the "Future Brood" document to see all the steelhead releases. If it says "winter" and then "segregated", on the coast or in Puget Sound, it's probably a Chambers (ish) early-winter steelhead.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/02391/wdfw02391.pdf

@JustBecause
Good info. Thanks for posting that.
If memory serves me right, weren't Chamber Creek fish originally of Green River origin or where they from the creek itself?
SF

Hmm, I thought the original Green River winter fish were later arrivals, with fish showing around Jan 1 and on. Most early arrivals were small, like Half Pounders, until later in winter and then spring.

Eddie Bauer and fams made special trips up the Valley and fished Steelhead in the Green, usually after the Holidaze -

Pautszke Pets...