Salmon,Trout, Steelheader's April issue page 68 "The Bucket- A monthly diatribe of a Two-Handed fly rod junkie" By Jeff Mishler, Titled: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR? states that 7 out of 10 Salmon/Steelhead die after 60 seconds out of the water on a hard fight. Mishler bases this claim on a study by a Dr. Bruce Tufts, a U of Kingston, Ontario,Canada professor of biology
report that "trout" when subjected to exercise and then removed from the water for 60 sec. had a 72% mortality rate. Trout.... half a pound at best? Mishler went on to say that a meat fisherman
has a much lower wild kill rate than the C&R group...Ok? This is the type of the moon is going to crash into the earth knee jerk crap that pisses me off. We all know that the rivers we fish do not
have Steelhead/Salmon that have been played and released with the utmost care littering the banks and tailouts. Have any of you read this artical? I think this hurts our sport more than it helps!

I am in agreement and I think that the article/study was a bit biased. I mean who hasn't seen fish with gruesome wounds that not only survived to make it up river but still had the steam to hit a lure/bait? Awful tough critters if you ask me. Don't get me wrong, I think everyone needs to handle fish that are going to released in a responsible manner but I don't think 7 out of 10 fish would die even if properly handled. Interestingly, I saw this study on a different board before it was printed in STS and it seems that there were some flaws in the study that were pointed out and discussed and that a majority of people found it a bit far fetched. If it is true, then by all means we need to take some action but I think we need a little more concrete proof and studies before anyone jumps off the deep end.

wow! i guess i was conducting my own study and i didn't even know it. when my kids were little, the boat that i had at the time had a live well in it. when we went trout fishing the kids liked to put the trout in the well. they thought it was cool, it was there aquarium. at the end of the day i would let the fish go. NOT ONE EVER DIED. at least not the gut hooked ones. go figure. there's also brood stock programs up and down the coast where they put the steelhead in a live well, and take it to the hatchery at the end of the day. that's the problem with or society today. people can't think for them selves. they believe everything they read and see. look who are president is???

I understand the need not to have the fish out of the water for long periods of time. They say its like running a marathon then having someone cover your mouth. You would lose consciousness real fast with your high heart rate along with not being able to get good breaths. But those who say never take a native out of the water are crazy. If I catch a native and lift if out of the water for 5 seconds for a pic then release it the fish is going to be fine! Now there are some areas like the Umpqua where the fish are not handled very well from bank fisherman but for the most part I think people do an ok job. These kind of reports are paid for by rich fly fisherman for the most part.

I was a bit set back as I read the the article myself. I really like the idea that a major magazine is supporting c/r and it brings up the fact of what "could" or 'might" happen if not done correctly. I think they crossed the line on this one and sent the wrong message.

I keep a good library of articles on my pc on a hord of different issues. The information presented was misleading and, yes indeed the study done is not the only one. Unfortunately I was not able to retrieve a very good article on what I believe to be "nothing but the truth" on this issue. Without it I will not attempt to reference it so as not to post exactly what was said. Nothing I hate more than someone stating something they heard or read and oh, guess what, they got it wrong.

Lest just say sportsman need to take care in releasing these trophies as I believe most are. You can google the issue and find lots of good information on the proper way. Its my humble opinion that the two issues that we do wrong is take the fish out of water before its has rested and let it go before its ready to be released. I think its important to let STS know your feelings on this article as I have. They usually do a fine job as I have taken this magazine for a very long time.

H

One thing that occured to me is that the test fish were in a hatchery pond and chased around for ten minutes according to the article. I can't imagine there is much current in a hatchery pond as compared to wild steelhead that spend a couple years at sea and then swim up swift moving rivers, through gnarly rapids and leaping waterfalls in a single bound. Daa da da daaaaah! Super steelie! It would be kind of like comparing a lazy person playing video games all day to a world class sprinter and expecting the results to be similar after the same work out. I say spreading education on proper handling is better than spreading fear which may result in fish being released without being revived because the angler was afraid to take them out of the water for even a second or net them with a rubber/cotton net to prevent them from thrashing on the rocks.

My son and I spent the better part of Sat. cutting and splitting 2 cord for a neighbor who was recently widdowed. My post was on the mind most of the time. I was
so glad but not surprised that you all feel (those who replied) more or less the same way. It seems like only yesterday (read early 80's) when my brother and I fished
the Skykomish river for a very special and very oversized steelhead run, were a 20lb was to be expected, not prayed for every Feb-April. The Snohomish tribe had net
rights and as the Sky was a trib to the Snohomish they controled it's regulations. Talk about the fox watching the hen house! They were getting pressure from sport
groups to not net when the Native run was in, so they conducted their "own " study and concluded that "their" escapement fish were being killed by sport fishing in the
upper river that had changed to a C&R in 1980-1981 from a 2 keep before. They said that the C&R fishery was causing the death of fish because of the handling and
release. The sport group lobbied for the C&R fishery in a bid to pressure the tribes to pull nets and what they got was a full closure of the sport fishery in 1983 and it
is still in efect. I guess where I am going with this is we need to draw the line on bad science (global warming) and make a stand. The Skykomish is only 300 miles
north of the Umpqua. I bet if I was to post this same question on i-wish or piscatorialpursuits the "nice nate! did you dry it off with a towel before the release" coolaid
crowd would have a much diff take. Thanks Guys!

I go back and forth with restrictions and closer. I wonder sometimes if its really possible to educate the general public that don't care or are uneducated on the issues. Please don't think I'm calling everyone uneducated but one has to ask
how many people really know whats going on with our fish? I spend a lot of time talking to different sportsman and few really know the condition of the fishery they are fishing. With that in mind is it not better to close it off until we have reached the level of fishing we once had? I think so

Restriction can be a nightmare and so many different groups get involved. The key driver is always the dollar. We have reduced what was once a wonderful sport to a dog fight to survive. Pull back the curtain on the Rogue river and you have a case in point.

Not to beat the drum any further both are a tough call and like you I believe its important to have good science to make that call and keep the dollar out of it. I struggle with ODFW and wonder if we can get good science from them any longer. The biggest thing we as sportsman can do to for a fishery that is struggling is reduce our catch and practice (good) c&r. Man has always had to be the best and bring home the most to prove our manhood. . Slow down, see whats going on around you and enjoy the moment. Most of all Laugh a lot..................H

2 (two)

We are fortunate to have a healthy river system on the Rogue for now, and early on this season, we were expecting company,and my wife wanted to serve fresh fish. I killed # 1 a 7 lb chromer buck for the b-b-q. No regrets what so ever.
This was in early January, and we were having a good early run of fish in the middle river.

Fast forward to the middle of March. By this time we had been enjoying pretty steady fishing for a couple of months. I had already commented to several people that I was becoming concerned about the apparent lack of natives in the catch ratio this year. Hatchery fish seemed to outnumber the nates by a wide margin. Fishing and catching had been good, and we were enjoying an abundant number of hatchery fish for the plate.
One day, I landed a 5 lb native hen, and upon seeing she was hooked in the throat, did not net the fish, but brought her along side of the boat and cut the leader.We made another couple of passes in the riffle, and when we were moving down river I spotted a fish floundering in the back eddy. We moved over and agreed it was the previously released fish. This fish would of been right at the minimum legal length to retain for a wild fish, and although perhaps not morally correct , it would of been breaking the law to put her in the box. I hate to waste anything, but I also do not willing violate the law of the land..........Moral delima to be sure, but I am sure she found a place in the food chain.

I know this is the first released fish for me that I was sure did not make it. Most of them swim off acting very healthy and ready to continue their journey. I cannot believe it would be possible to get accurate data on wild fish under actual angling conditions.




















We are blessed with a good

Hambone and Bobberslob, excellent posts! IMHO you both hit the nail on the head. I am glad to see that the cooler/open minded heads seem to prevail on this site. It is one of the reasons that I enjoy this place so much even though I don't participate too much. I too am vexed by the whole closure/ regulation concept. The sturgeon in the Columbia have me particularly concerned right now . It is such a tough call. If something is closed completly, will it ever open again? Seems with the way things are higher up these days it is easier to get something on a list than off. At the same time, what good is a natural resource if not seen and enjoyed? Expecially in the case of fish where you really only see/enjoy them if you catch them. How many of you have ever driven along a river and wondered how many lunker fish you were passing? If no one ever fished that stream or in general, would they even know the fish were there to care? Flawed science for the sake of following the money and media hype is a bad recipe IMO, be it fishery science or global warming. Enough of the deep stuff, I have obviously been off the river for too long. Come on summers!

The thing I don't understand is why don't all of these little native steelhead rivers and creeks in Oregon have a million native steelhead swimming around and spawning? Its not the dams or other things that are to blame on a lot of rivers. Even the Alsea river that we fish alot had a horrible run the last few years. It has no dam and no invasive species to fight but the fish don't come back. Not any commercial fishing either in the ocean and good ocean conditions, makes no sense to me.

Chad, I have been told and read that in the case of steelhead, winter and summer, that they reley on salmon, king, silver, chum to supply their spawning reds. Steelhead, in order to keep
enough energy for the return trip have used this adaptation and when a river has a salmon problem it tends to have a lower native return. This may explain the Alsea as the last few
years have been low returns for salmon. Also, a well placed high water event can wipe out a river return. It is hard to tell.