#227496 - 01/12/04 10:51 PM
Deschute Potential
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Returning Adult
Registered: 12/12/00
Posts: 450
Loc: tacoma, Washington, US
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Curious to know if this little river can sustain a larger run of salmon and Steel. I fished it 5 times with good success when they're in, but it could be alot better. I don't know much about this river. It is very strange that other river of similiar size have a much larger run of fish.
Experts please fill me in. Whats up with the old brewery? Any plans for better fish management?
Thanks.
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Know fish or no fish.
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#227499 - 01/13/04 12:54 AM
Re: Deschute Potential
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River Nutrients
Registered: 11/07/99
Posts: 2691
Loc: Yelmish
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there's great trout fishing in the deschutes...it's considered one of the best streams in western washington by some. you can catch dozens of nice cutts in a day on a little mepps or spoon
i'd be interested in a salmon hatchery upstream of the falls, since it would give us a shot at some decent kings before they turn dark(they keep them in a holding tank now). the only problem with this is that it would turn into a snagfest of unbelievable proportion if there were nice salmon coming up this little river. it's very low and clear in the fall...it would look like the quilcene. the other thing that concerns me is that the hatchery would be located right below pioneer park. some of my favorite water would most definitely be off limits to fishing if this happened.
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#227500 - 01/13/04 10:59 AM
Re: Deschute Potential
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Returning Adult
Registered: 09/08/01
Posts: 468
Loc: olympia
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That's my river man..... I'll never forget that morning in February when I was 10 years old camping with my scout troop when I landed my first steelhead. Talk about planting a seed. I love the deschutes. However, I blame a large portion of the fish mortality on Capitol Lake. Coincidentally, the Deschutes gets an enormous amount of kings back each year though. This year they received over 5000 back to the hatchery. While unlikely to restore other runs, I'm guessing that it still may be possible. We did water testing on the Deschutes when I was in high school and were surprised to find relatively clean water. Sounds like Salmo has more info than I do though. If the steelhead run were to come back can you picture a better jig stream?
_________________________
Another patient exhibiting symptoms of the steelhead virus.
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#227501 - 01/13/04 12:16 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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Returning Adult
Registered: 12/12/00
Posts: 450
Loc: tacoma, Washington, US
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About the virus, where is it from? What is it's host?
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Know fish or no fish.
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#227503 - 01/13/04 09:00 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Percivil creek had fish atleast thats what the catch records say.
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#227504 - 01/13/04 09:24 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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Returning Adult
Registered: 12/12/00
Posts: 450
Loc: tacoma, Washington, US
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Eric, I agree with you totally. I too question the blame of a viral infestation. This river has no netting pressure so I would think that it could and should sustain a very healthy population of fish. Also, since it is located directly in the capital, it should deserve top priority to prove that F&W can resurect a once healthy river. Don't you agree.
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#227505 - 01/13/04 11:15 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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River Nutrients
Registered: 11/07/99
Posts: 2691
Loc: Yelmish
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olympia is too worried about keeping crapitol lake as a "reflecting pool" i wonder if they even bother looking at it in the summer, it gets so full of scum it'd be nice to have a river like the deschutes for decent salmon fishing so close to home, especially in a year like this when the nisqually was a total bust. the fish come in, but they keep them in that holding tank at the falls until they turn into boots before they let them upriver
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#227508 - 01/14/04 06:37 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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Repeat Spawner
Registered: 02/28/02
Posts: 1203
Loc: Marine Area 13
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I, too, spent a lot of time on the river in my youth- Clear Lake area. I can viviidly recall the Kings and Silvers spawning right in front of our place... I never knew how they made it past the falls..
My understanding is the same as Eric's. Capitol Lake has a lot to do with it. Same as Percival Cove.. Pollution and algae bloom. Looking at prior release numbers of Chinook from Percival and McAllister (25% of the total for the Puget Sound)) seems our BM program is going to go awash quickly in the next couple years. Especially down south.
Salmo... I am curious to know why the hatchery on McAllister closed- budget? This was my impression. Also, I further understand that major stream restoration was conducted in the immediate vincinity of the hatchery in hopes of producing a wild run of Kings (???). Any help would be greatly appreciated.
_________________________
"If you are not scratchin bottom, you ain't fishing deep enough!" -DR
Puget Sound Anglers, Gig Harbor Chapter
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#227510 - 01/15/04 07:41 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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River Nutrients
Registered: 03/08/99
Posts: 13523
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#227511 - 01/15/04 08:02 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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Returning Adult
Registered: 12/12/00
Posts: 450
Loc: tacoma, Washington, US
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Here is an interesting artical about this fluke (if in fact it is all about the flukes); http://www.krisweb.com/krisweb_kt/biblio/trinity/foott/97reni.pdf Snails are easy to terminate.
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#227512 - 01/16/04 03:25 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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Juvenile at Sea
Registered: 01/17/02
Posts: 237
Loc: Tumwater Wa
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Salmo G. I don't think the deschutes could sustain a natural silver run, or a natural steelhead run for that matter. I son't see why the hatchery doesn't just plant more fish? I remember back in the mid 70's and all through the 80's that the river had good runs of both silvers and steelhead. It just seems like if they were able to get decent returns back then why not now? One thing i found interesting when I volunteered at teh Tum. Falls hatchery? Is that they silvers that did come back, all were of hatchery origin, buth they still had all of their fins intact??? The state is trying to make that a natrual silver run, when it never was? So why not just up the smolt release and do like the past? I realise that there were other parties involved back then, but it seems like there is enough egg take through out the rest of the state, to make up for that short fall?
Also on the Hatchery thing, I talked to Mary the lady that runs the Falls hatchery, and she said that the new one is slated to produce steelhead, they just aren't sure about how the parasite thing will affect that?
As for a king fishery on this river? there is No way. I wouldn't even think about taking one of those home for anything besides fertilizer. They start turnig greeen way out by Johson point, by the time they hit Capital lake, they aren't table fare at all. The kings are mainly for the black mouth seasons, and some fall oportunity throughout puget sound. Buck
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#227513 - 01/16/04 04:15 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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River Nutrients
Registered: 03/08/99
Posts: 13523
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Buck,
I don't know why they don't just plant more smolts, but it probably comes down to cost. Puyallup can only raise so many steelhead smolts, and they are all allocated for release somewhere. Increasing the Deschutes plant means reducing it somewhere else.
Remember, the ocean survival was about 3 times greater in the 70s and 80s, so a given smolt plant produced 3 times as many returning adults then as now. With the present low survival, it would take a lot of smolts to get a fishable run size to return. Where would they come from?
If they build the new hatchery and raise steelhead also, there might be a decent run. But the focus is chinook, from what I've heard.
Marking all hatchery silvers just started a few years ago, so most of the hatchery silvers you saw at Tumwater Falls would have been unmarked in all years until quite recently.
I used to fish the Deschutes when I was a kid, too. But that was probably before you. I only fished for the cutthroat. I didn't know what steelhead were back then. In the 60s in high school, my buddy and I would float an 8' pram from the old Weyerhauser day use park at Military Rd bridge down to the brewery. We thought we were in "A River Runs Through It", but of course that was before the book was even written. It was fun, and the most dangerous thing seemed to be getting the pram hung up on a barb wire fence that stretched across the river, but we managed.
I hope the future of the D includes good fishing for more species. I'll drink to that!
Sincerely,
Salmo g.
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#227514 - 01/16/04 05:35 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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It all boils down to this - I'm right, everyone else is wrong, and anyone who disputes this is clearly a dumbfuck.
Registered: 03/07/99
Posts: 17149
Loc: SE Olympia, WA
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Remember, the ocean survival was about 3 times greater in the 70s and 80s, so a given smolt plant produced 3 times as many returning adults then as now Any idea why this is the case?
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She was standin' alone over by the juke box, like she'd something to sell. I said "baby, what's the goin' price?" She told me to go to hell.
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#227515 - 01/16/04 08:10 PM
Re: Deschute Potential
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River Nutrients
Registered: 11/07/99
Posts: 2691
Loc: Yelmish
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is there anywhere you can access the river besides pioneer and the bridge on 507? i've driven over the river on military and i think i've seen people parked there, but i'm not too sure if i can get in there.
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