Conservation Corner: Disappearing Summer Steelhead – The Fate of Overshoot Steelhead Seeking Cold Water in the Columbia and Snake Rivers
Overshoot steelhead have long been understood to be a factor among Columbia Basin populations, but a pair of recent studies using tagged adult fish (Richins and Skalski 2018, and Murdoch et al. 2022) have demonstrated the phenomenon is much more extensive than previously thought. This has huge implications for steelhead management and recovery, and the operation of the basin’s hydropower system.
Gary Marston, the Science Advisor for Trout Unlimited’s Wild Steelheaders United, writes in-depth about the studies and their implications in a pair of articles published by @wildsteelhead and summarized in this ‘Conservation Corner’ for @SwingTheFly.
Wild Steelhead Coalition launches Wild Steelhead Now or Never
The Wild Steelhead Coalition (WSC) is excited to launch the Wild Steelhead Now or Never campaign, a multi-media effort that strives to educate steelheaders about the plight of wild steelhead and empower all steelheaders to become wild steelhead champions. With these iconic fish on the brink across their native range, time is not on our […]
2021 State of the Skagit
For anglers, the first crucial step is a commitment to restraint. When wild steelhead numbers are low, we must act with an eye towards the future. The fish we protect today are the ones that will build the runs we get to fish tomorrow.
Winter on the Coast: Upcoming Options for Winter Steelhead on Washington’s Coastal Rivers
In an online meeting on Tuesday evening, Washington anglers heard updates from state fishery managers on projected wild winter steelhead run numbers and potential regulatory options for the upcoming winter angling season on Washington’s coastal rivers. Broadly speaking, the news continues to be grim. Years of population declines, exacerbated by recent downturns in ocean productivity […]
On the Water with John McMillan
It is early January when I board the ferry crossing the Puget Sound. I’m on my way West to the coast, to the hallowed rivers of the Olympic Peninsula, to catch up with John McMillan and swing a couple runs. The trip is a welcome escape from Seattle’s traffic and high-rise construction projects towering over […]
A Handful of Flies from the Kola Peninsula: Part I
The Belousiha River Lodge is a small fishing camp on Russia’s Kola Peninsula.