where's the hatchery salmon at ?

[fishlessinoregon]

Has everyone else been having the same luck as me, all the chinook i've caught seem to have that darn fin in place. I thought there was a 90% clip rate this year. If there's that many natives out there maybe they need to open it up for all chinook. :whazzup:

[AngleThis]

You have to remember that hatchery fish do not have the same survival rate as native fish. It's a good thing that more natives are returning, but suggests a bad thing that so few hatchery fish have. Ocean conditions have been optimal for the last several years. The next time that changes, we may see very few non native fish.

[bait boy]

go to the wind river .... you can eat all of those fishies once they make it over the dam.

[Fishbulb]

One more example of "I talked to a guy at the boat ramp" syndrome. If you call an ODFW Columbia River Management office, go to a public solicitation meeting or check out the streamnet website you can get the actual fin clip rates. Willamette springers have an aggregate clip rate of over 90% this year. Now remember that is the percentage of fin clips that were done to the total hatchery release. That finclip rates in the fishery may be a little or a lot lower than that because of fluctuations in wild fish returns.

If someone told you that the upriver run of hatchery springers were clipped at 90% you have bought the proverbial bridge. Upriver hatchery springers were clipped at a lower rate for this return year than those released for last years return. Why? Budgets did not allow for 90% of those to be clipped. The aggregate clip rate is between 40-50%. Throw in strong wild return and guess what, more releasing done by you.

[Phish_on]

I don't know at. Maybe in the river at. Maybe in some gillnets at.