Is anybody like me.....

[Salmon Stryker]

.....and starting to think that hatchery steelhead are the ones that should be on the "threatened species list" rather than the native fish??? This is getting ridiculous. I've caught 8 steelhead this winter in my boat, 3 steelhead with a guide and not one fish that I could take home to eat. :mad: Sure they are fun to catch, but bringing home meat for the table is what really makes it rewarding. My kids scarf fish and it's my wifes favorite meal. They are starting to get mad at me that I don't bring home any dinner. Last night when I got home my wife already had pork chops cooking. :depressed:
By the way, two fish to the boat yesterday, two natives released. graemlins/berry.gif

[tag-a-long]

Well, the wife doesn't eat much fish, but the boy and I do, and I have yet to catch my first steelie.... No danger of the wife having to suffer thru the fabulous pink stuff yet.... I have heard of several nates caught from Mehama to Jefferson......

[U. I.]

atleast your catching!...keep it up I am sure your days will come.
7 to the boat this season, 4 hatcheries early on, 3 natives lately.

[ampersat]

at least you're catching!!

i've hooked and landed one fish so far this year. it was a pretty beat up summer taken in january during the steelie challenge.

[U. I.]

I dont know do old summers count?

[Salmon Stryker]

Well I didn't mean to sound ungrateful for the natives, they are fun to catch. I just want 1 or 2 for the table.

It's just hard for me to believe that we have a native fish crisis if every time out I can hook at least one of them, but can't find the elusive hatchery fish. Is anybody else catching way more natives than hatchery fish?

And I'm fishing rivers where hatchery and broodstock programs are in place for winter fish. Nestucca and Siletz are the only two rivers I've fished this season.

[U. I.]

im going 50/50 right now?

[Bobby Ray]

Salmon Stryker,

Sounds like you need to get out when all the Hatchery are in the system, your situation would be reversed 6 weeks ago but like everyone is saying "at least your catching" :smile:

Keep on pounding the water, you'll get your hatch.

BnB

[David Johnson]

Wild fish are more aggressive, so if there eare less hatchery fish around you're sure to catch a wild one.

I might be wrong but on the Deschutes there is a much higher number of wild fish caught than hatchery fish even though there are more hatchery fish in the river, something like 2/1.

Also, maybe the catch and release we've had for a few years is paying off and the wild runs are building up.

[Bankbound]

I thought the numbers on the deschutes were more like 10/1 and still more nates caught!!

Am I like you salmon stryker?? That seems to be the theme of my fishing life for the last year...Fish I can't take home. I get ALOT of flak from my friends , especially when I go home early on a friday night so I can get up early and go fishin', it gets BAD!

Who really cares, I don't fish for them anyways.!

[Gone Fishin]

That's part of the beauty of a broodstock fishery. It puts keepable fish in the system throughout the season rather than just having them come back in a big bunch for a short time as the hatchery fish do now.

If you want to catch a hatchery raised broodstock steelhead this time of year, the Wilson and Siletz are your top two choices on the North Coast.

The Nestucca program has only been in existence one year and the first outgoing fish will be leaving the hatchery sometime in early April. We won't see our first return until 2005-06.

[ 02-18-2003, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: Gone Fishin ]

[Salmon Stryker]

Well truthfully Marty your river wasn't so good to me this year. I fished the Nestucca three days and skunked everytime except for some fierce biting trout. All the fish caught this winter have been on the Siletz. And with the broodstockers in the river I just would have thought out of 11 fish I would have seen a clipped one. But, I'll keep trying and when I finally get one I am going to eat him with the upmost respect.

[bigfishon]

I see the same thing, I catch 10 to 12 nates to every 1 hatch, I think that the natives are a whole lot more plentifull than they want us to believe.

[riverraider]

Not uncommon for the nates to start in before the brats show up. Of the 13 fish caught so far by myself and fishing partners this year, only two were hatchery.

[lost_sailor]

Originally posted by Salmon Stryker:
... This is getting ridiculous. I've caught 8 steelhead this winter in my boat, 3 steelhead with a guide ... <font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">booo hoooo hooooo

I should have such a complaint!

[Travis Moncrief Fins Feathers Furs]

I feel you pain Scott. In the last 6 days my customers have hooked 54 steelhead and landed 41, of these landed fish only 8 of them have been hatchery fish (broodstock). These numbers are right there with most years including last years banner year. Except that the hatchery fish ratio is usually triple the amount.

I know I have never caught this many native fish so early which is a good thing but just cant' figure out what happened to the clipped fish. Other than they are just putting fewer broodstock fish in the river.

I agree with Dave that native fish are more aggresive and tend to bite better but broodstock fish bite just as well and I am just not seeing the same percentages as the last six years.

One thing I am just about positive about is that the higher number of unclipped fish is do to the fact that these returning broodstock fish are succesfully spawning and producing native fish. And I do say native because they were spawned naturally and survived to return to there birth place, they are native to the river. Ther grandparents were native fish, their parents were once removed from a natural spawn and they survived a natural spawn. They are natives in my book

I am sure I shouldn't have said that, due to the fact that is not what some want to hear. But those are the facts and if we want to have good numbers of native fish and healthy hatchery runs of "quality" fish than broodstock programs will be one of our most valuable tools. Not only do broodstock programs produce better hatchery fish but they produce more fish total in the big pictue.

[luguando]

I haven't caught a steelhead all year so I thought all steelhead must be on the endangered list (I've only fished a couple time for them). At least I know that are not in danger from me!

Keep fishing and catching and I'm sure your hatchery fish stats will go up. I'm jealous!

[Salmon Stryker]

41/54 in 6 days!!!! :bowdown: :cheers: