Northwest Fishing Reports

Write and let them know what you think. Hopefully they won't go with option one. Hopefully option 2 or 4. It would be interesting to see what the native brood stock hatchery would produce.

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For me I feel like #4 is the only solution. It promotes change which is what the Puget Sound needs. It Replaces the cookie cutter hatchery brats with what are essentially hatchery raised native steelhead. It won't mitigate the gene pool over time because the same fish wont be used year after year to breed the next stock of fish. Plus if they breed with wild fish it will not have any ill effects on their offspring. As far as fishing goes we would get good #'s of returning fish to target and since they're broodstock that means they'll have some shoulders on them!

but the chambers creek stock typically return earlier so that helps to define the season to protect wild steelhead.

The state has made a real effort to get the hatchery fish returning early to avoid interactions with wild fish. Wild brood would return later and be more likely to mix with wild fish. Hatchery fish from wild parents might not be as bad as chambers fish if they spawn with native fish, but they would still be from a hatchery.
And how many wild fish would they take from the river to use? How many would be acceptable?

The Vedder river (BC) has a native broodstock program, and hatchery fish still tend to return earlier than the wilds - toward the end of the season (March), hatchery fish become rare. When they return isn't as important as when they spawn - they can return in October but if they wait to spawn until May, they are spawning with wild fish. An issue with the Vedder hatchery fish is overcrowding, which leads to hormone issues and exaggerated growth among juveniles. The juveniles released are then much larger than the wild fish, and may make if difficult for the wild fish to compete. If a wild broodstock program is undertaken, it must be adequately funded to have sufficient space for the raising of the fry, enough power to pump water at the correct temperatures, and enough feed to avoid releasing the juveniles early. I'd love to see a wild broodstock program combined with enhancement of spawning habitat in our rivers. This would quickly pay dividends to anglers and tribal fishers alike.

I too would like to catch bigger fish. Who wouldn't. But I fear more restrictions and shorter seasons if a wild brood is used. We currently enjoy a fish that returns much earlier than ESA listed steelhead. And still have shorter seasons than we did a few years ago. Some Puget Sound waters were shut down this year, not because of lack of hatchery fish, but because of low wild fish escapement. A discussion of limiting Forks rivers to bank anglers only, to limit wild fish encounters is bring talkyd about. As far as the Snohomish basin goes, let's keep the Chamber Creek early returning hatchery fish. Put them out there and catch as many as we can before the wild fish start to spawn.

how about reintroducing chambers creek steelhead to chambers creek? the fish ladder on the south side is open. get rid of that wlkway on top of the dam so they can swim over it. put them in big enough numbers so I can fish them in MA13.