Can anyone give me some advise for winter steelhead on the yakima(what color,size jigs, location and so forth)PMs welcome.Thanks for any help u have!
Maybe you're just trolling on here like you seemed to be for much of the summer. If you and your friends can't respect the resource I hope law enforcement can at least help correct your behavior.Have u seen the counts for this year, i dont think they are hurtin any. LOL LOL.:thisbig:
These incidental catchs are nothing, when you consider the incidental catch rates of purse seiners working coastal waters.Maybe you're just trolling on here like you seemed to be for much of the summer. If you and your friends can't respect the resource I hope law enforcement can at least help correct your behavior.
Recently, like in the last few years I have noticed a growing number of illegal imigrants taking on stellheading 100% illegaly. Particuraly in the Parker through Zillah areas of the Yakima river. These guys come down usually in large groups with cases of beer. Ive watched them come down below the parker dam in recent months while whitefishing , some of my favorite holes, crowd me out, when they got about a mile stretch to fish. I try to take it nicely but cosidering im usually fishing alone and im usally out numbered 5 to 1. Anyways these guys dont know a speck of english begin throwning big old blue foxes and spoons with trebles and all. I end up moving down away from these guys, about an hour later i pass these guys on the way back to my truck, look down and they got two native steelhead and a rainbow trout laying on the bank, by this time they got beer bottles all over the place. I stop and try explining that it is illegal. They laugh! Not sure if they new what i was saying. Boy was i ******, of course i dont have a cell to report these guys. Then i go down there the nxt weekend and pass all there trash from the previous weekend , and thres the a couple of the same guys but this time the they got kids that know english, ask them if ther doing any good the kid replies got one picks it up( another steelhead) and i explain to him that it is illegal to keep them he explains this to his dad and the dad says something back to the kid in spanish which turns out to be i dont give a ****! tnen i get the evil eye and the stare from all of them. This has become a very common thing down in these areas. It is very upsetting to me as i have grown up fishing these streches. These areas are now commoly poached and litterd with out ever seeing a game warden this time of year to enforce these guys. I have called and reported this activity over the years, picked up there trash. Nothing is happening, still yet to see a warden this time of year. Im done fishing down in these areas, because i cant just fish anymore without being disgusted at what i see anymore. It is also very unfortunate that all these native fish are being taken from this river. Not sure theres much I can do at this point, any suggestions would be helpful. Sorry to go on and on, just had to get off my chest. SG
Let's set the record straight here.
The only gear legal to fish with below Roza Dam right now is whitefish gear, size 14 hook or smaller. Selective gear rules apply above Roza, but if you're using bait to fish for whitefish, you must use a size 14 or smaller single hook. All fishing is closed below the Granger bridge since October 22, because too many folks were "incidentally" targeting steelhead illegally.
Any incidental catch of summer steelhead is "something" and it won't take many occurances of Yahoos such as some of those above to shut down the entire river for ESA protection. We all have a duty to report the illegal retention or threatened steelhead; let's do it. If you're are concerned enough to complain about poachers, you should be concerned enough to report it.
Who ya calling yahoos? I obviously have reported it over the years, in case you havent read what i have to say! Like I said nothing happens, its like the wardens have better things to do. I have been whitefishing these areas for years, never seen a warden! As for incidental catches, its gonna happen when you got as many steelies as we got this year. I have caught many over the years, everyone quickly released unharmed. But that is great news on the coho and yas cant wait for the springers, last year the fishing was pretty good for them, with a smaal run and all. I cant imagine 20,000 springers in the Yakima, that would be unreal!
There are no winter steelhead in the Yakima River.
Incidental catch rates of purse seiners working coastal waters are extremely minimal for steelhead, as steelies don't school up in marine waters like salmon and migrate in river over a much longer time period. Trollers are more likely to catch a few steelhead but it's very minimal.
The Cle Elum hatchery produces springers, not coho. However, the Yakima Nation in Cooperation with WDFW is indeed reintroducing coho in many tributaries above Roza Dam including Manastash Creek, Taneum Creek, Teanaway River, Big Creek, Little Creek, Reecer Creek, Currier Creek, and the Naneum/Cherry Creek complex. Coho are now found in all these creeks. Many of the fish passage barriers associated with irrigation diversions have been removed from these creeks and many miles of spawning and rearing habitat are once more accessible to steelhead and coho....and natural production is ramping up. We have coho returning this year to habitat that hasn't been accessed by coho and steelhead for over 100 years. In addition, an experimental outfall flume has been installed on Cle Elum Dam and coho have been planted in the upper Cle Elum River to test survival through the lake and outlet. Juvenile passage has been deemed feasible and last October about 1000 adult sockeye from the CR were placed in the upper CleElum River to spawn. A new trap and haul facility to adult coho, chinook, steelies, and sockeye in currently being planned.
There will very likely be a decent springer season although as most folks know historic forecasting models went completely south about 4 years ago. Regardless, all indications from multiple forecast tools, point to at least a good return, say minimum of 14,000 or so, maybe 17,000-20,000 if we're lucky. The new catch buffers for the lower river should help sportfishing in both the upper Columbia River and Yakima as well. Also, runoff timing and water conditions are the big unknown that play a huge role in catch conditions in the Yakima. However, snowpack is around 80% right now and irrigation folks are getting a bit nervous although we have a bit of winter left to catch up.
Things are happening to help recover the Yakima Basin,:meme: let's keep it going.
See ya on the river chasing springers.
yeah because you never run across white dudes snagging or fishing illegally. assout:Man, things like this is the reason i'm racist