Steelhead season opens on Methow

By Patrick Hannigan

A potentially record-breaking run of steelhead is headed up the Columbia River – and that’s great news for fishermen.

Fisheries for hatchery steelhead opened on the upper Columbia, Wenatchee, Icicle, Entiat, Methow and Okanogan rivers on Tuesday (Sept. 29).

On all rivers, there is a daily limit of four adipose-fin-clipped hatchery steelhead over 20 inches in length. Steelhead with an intact adipose fin must be immediately released unharmed without being removed from the water. Anglers also will be required to release any steelhead with one or more round holes punched in the tail fin.

Anglers on all rivers will be required to retain any legal hatchery steelhead they catch until the daily limit of four fish is reached. After they have retained four fish, anglers must stop fishing for hatchery steelhead.

A strong run of wild and hatchery-produced steelhead returning to the upper Columbia River allowed the department to open the fisheries, said Jim Scott, assistant director of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s fish program. Nearly 27,000 steelhead had been counted at Wells Dam through Saturday (Sept. 26), which is well above the 10-year average.

Fish managers determined that the selective fisheries, which target returning hatchery fish that exceed the number needed to meet spawning goals, would not impede recovery of the region’s wild steelhead, which are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

“This is a terrific fall fishing opportunity that also will help further fish recovery efforts by removing hatchery-origin steelhead and increasing the proportion of wild steelhead onto the spawning grounds,” Scott said.

Most fisheries are scheduled to remain open through March 31, 2010, although they could close earlier if the allowable incidental impact to wild steelhead is reached, said Scott.

Portions of the Methow River that opened to fishing for hatchery steelhead on Sept. 29 include from the Highway 97 Bridge in Pateros upstream to the second powerline crossing, and from the first Highway 153 Bridge north of Pateros to the confluence with the Chewuch River in Winthrop. Night closure and selective gear rules apply.

Before you cast a line, know the rules because WDFW staff will be monitoring the fishery closely and strictly enforcing the relevant regulations. More information is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

Photo by Patrick Hannigan

Steelhead fishermen like this one near Carlton will be a common sight on the Methow River during the next few months. Nearly 27,000 steelhead have already topped Wells Dam, with more on the way. According to biologists, around 75 percent of the steelhead that make it past Wells Dam are headed for the Methow River.