11-12-24 REELLIFE digital - Flipbook - Page 40
It’s the perfect catch
and release system and
perfect for rivers with wild
fish release. I suggest
presenting this bead
system free drifting, bobber
dog, or just straight-up
bobber, but you will need to
use a sinking bead on this
straight-up system. Other
techniques that work well
include free drift or bobber
and eggs, back trolling or
bobber and jig.
Now we need to ask
ourselves a few questions.
So why is this year so good?
Will this be normal in the
future? Are we recovering
Steelhead? What can we
do to help the Steelhead?
The answer in my opinion
is that this year was good
because ocean conditions
have been favorable for
Steelhead. I do think we will
get many more years like
this one, but if you look at
the overall trend, Steelhead
are still on the decline. So
no, we are not recovering
Steelhead. We release
billions of smolt and get
less than a 1% return.
HOW TO HELP
Here are a few things we
need to focus on to help
the Steelhead:
#1 Improve passage:
a journey that used to
take Steelhead smolt
NOW BOOKING
CLEARWATER & SNAKE RIVER
STEELHEAD
Enter to WIN a
FISHING TRIP for 2
2 0 8 .7 9 0 . 2 1 2 8
R E E LT I M E F I S H I N G .C O M
around 15 days, now takes
them over 30 days. Going
hand-in-hand is predator
pressure. Predator pressure
is intense—these fish are
facing an overwhelming
and growing number of
predators like walleye, bass,
cormorants, and pelicans,
whose populations are
skyrocketing.
#2. Selective Harvest. I feel
any human should not kill a
wild Steelhead. If we could
eliminate gill nets and
switch to selective harvest
methods for hatchery fish,
allowing wild fish to swim
free, it would be a clear
win. Individuals harvesting
fish for commercial or
subsistence purposes could
selectively harvest at each
dam using dip nets, sorting
out hatchery fish, and
letting all wild Steelhead go
free.
That's a start. There
are many more factors
contributing to the
decline, but for now, we
are enjoying a wonderful
Steelhead season and we
are only halfway through.
So get off the couch grab
a rod and head to the river.
Tight Lines -Toby Wyatt-
