Recently heard of a new Steelhead camera counting system set up on the Nisqually River. I'm not 100% sure, but I think It is sponsered by the Tribe in cooperation w/ Centralia City Light? Anyone know any more details? Would be interesting to hear what kind of numbers may be returning.

I don't know a thing but hope someone here does.

Here is a bit of information.
The facts aren't all correct for an article date Dec 2014.
Sportsmen stopped fishing the Nisqually for steelhead seven year ago?
That is news to me.

http://nwifc.org/2014/12/nisqually-tribe-using-new-fish-camera-keep-close-eye-weak-steelhead-run/

Good news... They should install something like this in every PS river. Even better have a link set up so the public can watch to.

Whew thought the new counting system involved removing fish from gillnets

They've been using sonar since at least the 80s in the Fraser. One very big problem will be fish ID. For something like steelhead there is a weight range of probably 5-20+ pounds; probably more than most salmon stocks.

Another issue they had on the Fraser was that the fish also went downstream. Each time they passed the unit, they got counted.

The use of these sonars is a great step if they accompanied by ground truthing.

Part of the responsibility of actively managing fish is putting forth the effort neccessary to verifiy how that management is working. Sonar grids, smolt traps, spawner surveys, passage monitoring,tagging programs used to be much more common. My first jobs after college were smolt trapping and spawner surveys. Most of those efforts have fallen victim to budget cuts, yet we continue to manage fish stocks right up to or past what is responsible given the greater uncertainties from the lack of quality data. Good for the Nisqually Tribe for trying to do better.

I would say that if you are unwilling to do the monitoring of a resource then you don't harvest it.

Many AK streams have and still do set up temporary weirs across rivers to effectively trap and hand count runs of fish. The knowledge of species, run size averages and timing have been huge to manage AK sytems. Problem here is winter high waters would blow out any such thing. Something else to add, the last couple of years the Nisqually Tribe has set up a huge chain across the river at the tank crossing. They attach pvc slats on it forming a weir of sort blocking up stream navigation. Either side has a chute with a trap, and they hand count, sort and release wild salmon above and keep all hatchery fish from migrating above. Not sure if that is installed during the winter because of high water issues?

RunnGun,

The weir is in place on the Nisqually in late summer through early fall to separate hatchery and wild chinook. It wouldn't stay in place through winter flows, but it's not necessary during steelhead season since all steelhead are wild, except for some possible stray hatchery fish, which are not likely to venture this far south in the Sound.

It will be interesting if the sonar counter works out in the Centralia fish ladder.

Sg

I'm not sure of the exact date that WDFW closed steelhead fishing on the Nisqually but here is a link that clearly indicates that it was closed prior to 2003:

https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/erules/erule.jsp?id=31

And while the tribe may say that they don't harvest steelhead the fact is that there is some incidental take which has occurred during their chum fishery.

Larry,
The Nisqually closed to steelhead fishing in 1993.
We generally caught the majority of our steelhead in March and April.
Lots of fun on that river back in the day.

The article is only off by 14 years. No reason for them to let facts get in the way.
SF

Thanks for the specificity on the date. I knew it was prior to even the 1993 date as I, too, enjoyed that Spring steelhead fishery and was very disappointed when it was closed. While I did make the float down from McKenna once most of my effort was from above the tank crossing down to Handicap - a nice float.

Wasn't it closed (or closed early) for 2 or 3 years, then had one good return, then that was it? IIRC it went something like that...?

The Nisqually was last open to steelhead fishing in 1993, the one and only year I fished it.

Sg

So It's your fault it was closed?

I had a picture published in the now defunct Fishing & Hunting News of Scott Tveten with a nice fish from the Nisqually - probably in the early 80s as Tveten was young, unmarried, bearded and skinny. So blame it on Scott!