Time to pay for drought of 2001?

[Dragfreedrift]

We sure could be. All my old pals up north in Wash. are feeling the pain too. I think your theory plus the new El nino are possibly to blame.

HC

[Kilgore]

yeah, it's looking like the old La Nina pattern.

[RichH]

I think it could be the artesians......

Or maybe its the rainiers..........

Apparently the state of Oregon folks thinks its just a late run due to the early low water. From what I saw driving by the jaws out at Nehalem the other day, maybe they're just afraid to cross the bar :shocked: :shocked:

[Scott B]

I have been thinking about this lately as well. I (and this is only an opinion of mine) think that with the very low water we had for so long that the fish have not yet fully smelled (if you want to call it that) the rivers that they should be coming up. I think that with this high water that we have right now the fish are getting a taste of the river that they belong too and are going to be coming in for all ifishers to get there bounty. I too, am waiting to hook up and land my first steelhead of the season. I hope to be on the river next week.
Good luck to all. Patience is a learned skill, it can not be given to you.

[stick flicker]

The returns at the Alsea hatchery were also low for the begining of the year, but so was the river. With each rain though a good batch of fish would move in. I suspect that the fish will show up at a rate purportional to the river level. The river has to be a certain level for so many days. I am optomistic about this year I think it is too early to make any judgements on run size yet. The enviormental factors fluctuating are something that the fish have been living with for the last tenthousand years and they will show.

[ 01-03-2003, 07:31 PM: Message edited by: stick flicker ]

[Point-of-Sale Clerk]

Wild Chrome

NEWS RELEASE
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091

January 3, 2003
Contact: Bob Leland, (360) 902-2817

Poor hatchery steelhead returns prompt fishing
closures on seven northern Puget Sound rivers

OLYMPIA – Recreational game fish fishing will close Monday (Jan. 6) on sections of seven northern Puget Sound rivers to ensure enough adult steelhead return to hatcheries to produce the next generation, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

The rivers affected by the emergency game fish fishing closure are:

The Cascade River from its mouth upstream to the Rockport Cascade Road Bridge
The North Fork Nooksack River from the mouth of Racehorse Creek upstream to the mouth of Kendall Creek
The Upper North Fork Stillaguamish River from the mouth of Little French Creek, approximately one mile downstream of Fortson Creek, to 25 yards upstream of the mouth of the outlet of White Horse Rearing Ponds
The mainstem Skykomish River from 1,500 feet upstream to 1,000 feet downstream of the Reiter Ponds outlet
The Upper Wallace River from the railroad trestle (downstream of Highway 2 Bridge) upstream to the mouth of Olney Creek
The mainstem Snoqualmie River from the Plum Access boat launch ramp, about a quarter mile downstream of the mouth of Tokul Creek, to Snoqualmie Falls
Tokul Creek from the mouth to the posted cable boundary marker about 700 feet upstream
"This is a precautionary measure," said Bob Leland, WDFW Steelhead Fish Manager. "The low hatchery steelhead returns on these rivers is not at a critical point yet, but it is better to be conservative at this point in the season."

The closed areas could reopen to fishing if egg take requirements are assured before the end of February.

Additional game fish and winter steelhead fishing rules are available in the WDFW 2002/2003 "Fishing in Washington" sport fishing rules pamphlet. Emergency recreational fishing rule changes are posted on the WDFW website on the Internet. The latest rule changes can also be accessed via phone, at (360) 902-2500, ext. 2.

[Wild Chrome]

There have been noticibly fewer winter steelhead around so far this season. Are we in for a bad couple of years with the reduced rainfall we've had the last 2 years?