A river with a good chum run usually means that the river also supports a good silver and steelhead run. The reason why, is due to the fact that chum come into the river system, and spawn quicker than any other salmon. A chum is only in the river system for a couple weeks. Once these fish die they become the main source of food for the smolts. With out an adequate food supply these smolts stand a good chance of starving. There are other food supplies throughout the river system but carcasses are one of the best supplies. Now comes the problem. Chums come in during late October through November and by the time December rolls around and all the high water has washed out all of the sediment, including any dead fish, the smolts are left with no food. So what a small group of local fishermen are doing is trying to get as many chum carcasses that we can and freeze them until a lot of the higher water has blown through and then anchor them down somehow or another. Either jam them into logjams and root wads or some how tie them down to the river bottom. So I guess is what I am asking is for as many carcasses that I can get. I have a lot of connections through different hatcheries and they all agree that this would be a worthwhile endeavor. If anyone has any idea on where or how to get a lot of carcasses let me know either through email or phone.


Thanks,
Andy Matthews
538-1798
answer@tecline.com