I posted this on another forum, what do you guys think about it. Read thoroughly and draw your own conclusions:

http://www.buchal.com/tgsh/chap7/c3fn-03.htm#TopOfPage

An interesting report but it does show a lot of opinion.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/odfwhtml/research&reports/pre datorplans/fishactplan.html

THis is a '98 report from the ODFW

http://www.cbfwa.org/files/province/systemwide/subsum/021024 Predation.pdf

This report has detailed info on freshwater/saltwater predation as well as birds and other marine mammals that munch on smolt.

http://biology.usgs.gov/wfrc/crrlhome/pred-prey.html

Something that requires little reading to find numbers.

http://www.orednet.org/salmon/salmon.htm

Hands down the best site of the bunch, it has links to reports on all aspects of salmon smolt migration.

http://mercury.ornl.gov/nbii/metadata_html/nbii/usgs_brd_crr l_snake.html

If anyone can find a link to the results of this study please post it.

http://wfrc.usgs.gov/research/aquatic%20ecology/STPetersen10 .htm

This article was the most interesting of the bunch and touched on something I hadn't even heard of. So down with the SHAD!

Some of the things I found out were that they dont even know how a reduction in squaws is affecting other predatory-prey relationships and that the % of smolt being part of the bass or walleye diet varied widely from pool to pool and sometimes within pools. Obviously predation was the highest where the most smolt are consentrated which is below the snake/columbia confluence. And in some areas smolt made up 1% of the bass diet while in others it was above 50% and 1 report pointed out that walleye under 12 inches preyed heavely on smolt while the bigger boys didnt. Also, check out the numbers on the stinkin channel cats. So draw your own conclusions. And be careful who's report your reading, its my guess that 75% or more are influenced politically in some way or another.

Waterboy

Well I can say that in 6 years guiding the upper Columbia (Hermiston/Tri-cities) that I have YET to catch a Smally or Walleye with a smolt in it..... Lot's of sculpin, sand rollers, perch, crappie and shad smolts, but not one steelhead or salmon smolt... Not to say it cant and doesnt happen, but despite ODFW trying to get the Walleyes out of the river because they say they predate heavily on them I have not found this to be the case.....

MC