Question about Coho on the Sandy

[Radke]

I was fishing on the Sandy earlier this month and couldn't help but notice all the dead fin clipped Coho laying around on the beach. Their bellies hadn't been opened up, so I assumed that they didn't make it all the way up to the hatchery at Cedar creek and must have spawned naturally in the lower river. Does anyone know of any other logical explanation?

[will_e_fish]

This year seemed top be one of those years many NW rivers had the low water fish die off you speak of. Nobody seemed too concerned about it as it is explained as a natural occurance. Due to river conditions,low water little or no rain, above normal temps lowers oxygen and contributes to the death process. The salmon are dying and cells loose integrity after they hit fresh water. Salmon in higher water conditions usually make it to where they are going if a predator doesn't get them first. I would say they struggled past tide water due to low oxygen and then were baked by the heat in tributaries. Most ran out of water to be adequately covered to make it home to spawn. I am sure it was not disease that killed them or if it was it would be pretty widespread from northern Wa, southern Or ,Ca and the coast rivers, creeks etc. No one did anything nor could they do anything as it is one of those forces of nature we cant control. Lots of dead fish to feed the other waters critters. I am hoping some it got washed down river to feed some sturgeon and crab.

[KingFisher85]

The hatcherys will go and cut the eggs out of the salmon and then toss them back into the river.

[fisheromen]

I doubt that warm water and low oxygen levels in the Sandy killed these fish. They came in during October or later and the water was cold and plenty oxygenated. There were a lot of fish in the river this year and they'd been there awhile when the first big rain came and strewed their bodies everywhere.