Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Steelhead Creel Surveys - Sport Angler Fish Checks
Assessment of Washington State’s Steelhead
Populations and Programs
Current Draft of the science paper underlying steelhead management plans in Washington. A wealth of information on many aspects of steelhead biology, habitat needs, genetics, and artificial propogation.
Current policy document guiding the management of steelhead in our state. A fairly broad and general document, intended to be followed by more specific regional plans. The final plan is in Appendix A. You may find a review of the comments and responses interesting, and it may provide you added perspective on the issues of the day in steelhead management (Appendix B and D, found within Appendix A.)
A comprehensive look at anadromous fish, their habitats, and policy implications.
[aka - Gibbons et al, 1985]
The original methodology agreed to by the state and tribes to set escapement goals for steelhead in compliance with various court rulings after the Boldt Case. - Actually, some interesting data about productive rearing habitat for steelhead in here.
Get it here (~4MB).
Gibbons et al 1985 STHD MSH[1].pdf
The Washington Conservation Commission was charged with developing Salmon Habitat Limiting Factors Reports for each Watershed Resource Inventory Area (WRIA). Tons of Information here about the watersheds you love to fish in and care about. The map appendecies are worth a look as well.
Check out the restoration projects going on across the state to improve salmon and steelhead habitat.
Habitat Restoration Design Guides
Surf the Technical Supplements / Case Studies near the bottom
Salt Creek Watershed Assessment
Just an example on a small watershed that is more intimate than some of the studies on larger watersheds. Interesting info on wood removal in the '50s, fishing history and some "pioneering" restoration - a bit of everything. Courtesy of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition
Salmon Creek Estuary Restoration
An interesting project on Discovery Bay dealing with the removal of saw mill waste from an estuary. Courtesy of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition
Large Woody Debris (LWD) plays a critical role in maintaining the health of our watersheds. It slows the rate of channel migration, provides current gradients that helps to sort gravel, cobble and fines, provides refuge for fish from high flow events, generates scour pools that provide thermal refuge in summer, retains fish carcasses, other organic material and spawning substrate within the river, and helps retain newly recruited LWD in the stream channel. In short, it adds greatly to the quality and complexity of our river habitats.
Limited numerical data is available on historic levels of LWD. Clearly levels were higher in the past. Some Puget Sound rivers had huge “raft” jams that filled the river channel, extending for up to 1.5 miles. One such jam reported in the Skagit River, near Mt. Vernon, was described as being 25 -30 feet deep, consisting of from five to eight tiers of logs, which generally ranged from three to eight feet in diameter, and was probably long-lived, as it had live trees growing on top of it that had diameters of 1.5 to 3.5 feet. Such a “raft” jam may have been composed of several hundred thousand individual logs.
The presence of LWD and its recruitment in to our rivers has been negatively impacted by a host of activities over the last 120 years. Clearing of water ways for shipping, bank hardening for flood and erosion control, timber harvest and land clearing for development have all contributed. Sadly, in response to earlier forestry practices that often left large amounts of logging slash in stream channels, stream clearing programs were undertaking in many areas of the PNW, and they were often extremely thorough.
More recently, in one stretch of the lower Hoh river, the number of large in-channel LWD jams is reported to have dropped from 47 in 1964 to 18 in 1998.
Many of the studies on LWD are copyrighted. Below is an abstract from one of the more interesting studies. Also, check out page 2 of our videos section for a three part presentation on LWD from Steve Trask, of BioSurveys.
THE RESIDENCE TIME OF LARGE WOODY DEBRIS IN THE QUEETS RIVER, WASHINGTON, USA (2000)
TIMOTHY L. HYATT AND ROBERT J. NAIMAN
Abstract. Instream large woody debris (LWD) provides several critical functions in riverine ecosystems, including sediment and nutrient retention, salmonid habitat enhancement, and stable colonization sites for incipient floodplain vegetation. In this study, the size and species composition of LWD in the Queets River, Washington, USA, were examined and compared with the size and species composition of forest trees from which they originated, in order to determine a depletion rate for LWD in the active channel. Increment cores from instream LWD were crossdated against cores from riparian conifers to estimate the year each LWD piece was recruited to the river channel. Debris pieces that were decayed or otherwise incompetent to provide cores were dated using standard 14C techniques. Hardwood species (Alnus rubra, Populus trichocarpa, and Acer macrophyllum) were better represented among riparian forests than among instream LWD, and conifers (Picea sitchensis, Tsuga heterophylla, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Thuja plicata) were better represented among LWD than in the adjacent riparian forest, suggesting that hardwoods were depleted from the channel faster than conifers. The depletion rate of coniferous LWD from the channel followed an exponential decay curve in which 80% of LWD pieces were <50 yr old, although some pieces have remained for up to 1400 yr. Although most wood is depleted from the channel within 50 yr, some wood is apparently buried in the floodplain and exhumed centuries later by lateral channel migration. The calculated depletion constant of 0.030 is equivalent to a half-life of ~20 yr, meaning that virtually all of the wood will have disappeared within 50 yr. This rapid depletion suggests that harvesting large conifers from the riparian zones of large streams could have adverse impacts within three to five decades.
Ecological Applications, 11(1), 2001, pp. 191-202
© 2001 by the Ecological Society of America
Engineered Log Jams (ELJs) are a fairly young technology. They can be part of a habitat enhancement/restoration effort to add Large Woody Debris (LWD) to a mainstem stream reach, where the simpler approaches used in smaller streams will not result in a stable structure with a suitable functional life span. ELJs can also be used in lieu of more traditional bank armoring, in some cases, to slow bank erosion and protect infrastructure. ELJs are not suitable for all locations, certain flows and geometries preclude their sucessful application.
Most of the books on steelhead fishing technique are published by Amato Publishing. You can google them up or find them on amazon. Some tackle shops have them also.
Some basics to get you started:
Color Guide to Steelhead Drift Fishing
by Bill Herzog
Float Fishing for Steelhead
by Dave Vedder
Jig Fishing for Steelehad and Salmon
By Dave Vedder
Side-Drifting for Steelhead
by J.D. Richey
Spoon Fishing for Steelhead
Spinner Fishing For Steelhead, Salmon and Trout
by Jed Davis
Spinner Magic!
The Ultimate Moving-Water Lure
by Jim Bedford
Plug Fishing for Steelhead
by Mike Laverty
Northwest Angler
by Enos Bradner
Classic tales of the golden years in the PNW.
Fish On!
An old school primer on steelheading.
Long-time member Enos Bradner's books have a special place in our hearts. Northwest Angler is a classic.
What Fish See: Understanding Optics and Color Shifts for Designing Lures and Flies
by Colin J. Kageyama
Recommended by Wes -"A great book to help you understand why certain colors are better for certain conditions."
Come Wade The River
by Ralph Wahl excerpts by Roderick
Haig-Brown (1971)
Recommended by Ken, " A black and white pictorial - a moving tribute to just fishing."
The Western Angler volume I
The Western Angler volume II
by Roderick Haig-Brown (1939)
(combined soft back version 1981)
Recommended by Ken, "The life & times of Roderick Haig-Brown and his love of fishing salmon, trout & steelhead in B.C."
A River Never Sleeps
by Roderick Haig-Brown (1944)
Recommended by Ken - "Truly a most inspiring fishing book and among the most revered classics."
Return To The River - A Story of the Chinook Run
by Roderick Haig-Brown (1941)
Recommended by Ken, "The life cycles of the Chinook January thru December."
The Seasons of a Fisherman
by Rodrick L. Haig-Brown
Recommended by Terry F., "It is a very good book, I like all of his books actually!
The River Why
by David James Duncan
Recommended by Peter B., "The story of a young man raised in Oregon by a fly fishing father and a bait chucking mother and how this ultimately made him become a fishing hermit in the hills of the Oregon coast...there's more to it than that but overall, a pretty funny and enlightening book."
A River Runs Through It
by Norman McLean
Recommended by Tim, "I would recommend this book or anything else written by Norman McLean."
Four Fish - The future of the last wild food
by Paul Greenberg
Recommended by Wes -"A sobering read."
The BEHAVIOR and ECOLOGY of Pacific Salmon & Trout
by Thomas P. Quin (Published by American Fisheries Society in association U of W Press)
Recommended By John S. -"Pretty heavy going by U of W fisheries Professor Tom Quinn."
Mountain in the Clouds - A Search for the Wild Salmon
by Bruce Brown
Recommended By Wes -"Written in 1982, it provides a wealth of historical background on salmon and steelhead in Washington state - some of which is astounding. It also provides some illuminating context about PNW indians, state and territorial governments, settlers' activities, fisheries managemant, and treaties."
King of Fish - The Thousand -Year Run of Salmon
by David R. Montgomery (Published by WESTVIEW PRESS, a member of the Perseus Books Group)
Recommended By John S. -"Truly a great read on the history of salmon, I believe it to be a must read for anyone interested in fish."
The Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River
by William Dietrich
Recommended by Peter B. - History of the Columbia River
To Hell With Fishing (1945)
How To Catch Fishermen (1951)
How To Tell Fish from Fishermen (1947)
To Hell With Hunting (1946)
by Ed Zern
Recommended by Ken, "All of the above are quite funny with art/drawings by H.T. Webster, and a must read for entertainment if you can find them."
[ "A best of" compilation was published in 2004]
Dances With Trout (2008)
by John Gierach
Recommended by Wes, "A short story/humor author worth looking into."
Local author, fishing guide and wilderness gossip columnist Pat Neal has some books worth a look. Several members recommend Pat Neal, but didn't give a helpful quote, so the search was on. Pat's books - WildLife, The Fisherman's Prayer and WildLife, Volume 2 - may be found at iuniverse.com.
Wildlife (2001)
by Pat Neal
From The Reel News, December, 2001 - Reel Books In Review
By Terry Sheely.
I Don't know Pat Neal and missed the flutter of publicity that probably surrounded the release of WildLife, Neal's 97 page collection of Olympic Peninsula anecdotes, moss and monsoon philosophies and snippets of what life looks like through a fish guide's eyes. A thoughtful member of the Puget Sound Angler's club in Sequim recognized that I might enjoy it and passed along a copy. I am in John McLaughlin's debt.
This slim little book is a collection of stories that Neal originally wrote for an Olympic Peninsula, "“newspaper that,"” he says, "“prefers not to be identified for reasons that will become obvious once you read them.”"
Doubtful.
The pace of the book and a peek into the refreshing clarity of Pat Neal's mind starts on Chapter 1, page 1, sentence 1. His stories are short, rarely more than three pages, quick hits and thoughts spring-boarding off a life on the Peninsula. Neal's style of writing is quick, pointed, thoughtful and dangerously funny. His subjects and home waters are familiar.
It would be difficult for any thoughtful outdoors person to read this book and not enjoy it immensely. Find a copy of WildLife. It's a lot of book for such a skinny package..
The Bookmonger
Barbara Lloyd McMichael
WildLife may be a slender volume but it packs a whole lot of attitude between the spring green covers. Sequim fishing guide and newspaper columnist grouses about everything from tough hikes to house cats in this book But for all his bluff and bluster, he ends up finding something akin to bliss in the details every time, whether it's a steelhead in the river or a weasel in the house.
Neal portrays himself as a rugged, outdoorsy type, with little use for city slickers, vegetarians or eggheads. Never mind that all of these pejorative terms describe your faithful book reviewer to a tee- I was too busy chortling at Neal's sly home-spun humor to take much offense. And to be fair, he pokes as much fun at himself as he does at anybody else.
WildLife is the kind of piece that is apt to make you burst out in embarrassing honks of laughter so (take it from one who's been there) don't read it while you are waiting your turn at the hair salon.
The Fisherman’s Prayer (2007)
From David James Duncan - Author of “ The River Why”
“"An especially fine piece of feyness. Neal writes like a water logged dropout from the Ed Abbey/Richard Braughtigan “"school.”" Like a man too wise to pawn his river time for fame.”"
From The Reel News December 2007 - Reel Books in Review…
By Terry W. Sheely.
Painted with a single curving pen stroke the symbolic Christian fish is an icon on license plate frames, bumper stickers, anti-Darwinism and now performs as an over lay on the fish scales that cover Pat Neal’s new book, “The Fisherman’s Prayer.”
The fish icon is a good fit for this cover although to accurately reflect the content I would have considered adding a winking eye or amusing grin to the fish face. Be assured, there is no trace of sacrilege hiding between the lines or lurking in entendres, but there is a refreshing gust of reality and pragmatics, roadside litter and angling foibles.
Neal’s mossy muse, intriguing insight, river level perspective and been-there-done-that-and-somehow survived brand of humor is a rare blend. It imparts a flavor of common sense, thoughtfulness, quiet chuckles and entertainment while delivering an appreciation for life, for fishing and for the Olympic Peninsula.
From Port Book and News - Port Angeles, WA
Owner, Alan Turner
“"I consider Pat Neal to be the Patrick McManus of the Olympic Peninsula.”"
Approved:
Failed:
HPA fees were not instituted. It looks like they are going to take another run at this. This is costing us 3 million dollars/biennium - Money that could go to enhancement or enforcement or required studies. Instead, our license fees pay a substantial portion of the cost required to review HPA filings for logging activities (and other projects). We really need to make this a priority.
Bills of interest for 2010-2011 Washington State Legislature
In addition to the bills sponsored by the WDFW (WDFW Budget /Legislation page), two other state bills were of interest.
SSB5669 (HB1850) - Merger of the WDFW with other agencies.
Did Not Pass! Agencies are to work together to lower backroom costs.
SB5661/HB1717 - Derelict Fishing Gear
Did not pass.
Want to use the phone?
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TTY for Hearing Impaired 1-800-635-9993).
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During the Legislative session, the Hotline is open from 8AM to 8PM Monday through Friday and from 9AM to 1PM on Saturday.
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1 Ilwaco
2 Westport-Ocean Shores
2-1 Willapa Bay
2-2 Grays Harbor
3 LaPush
4 Neah Bay
5 Sekiu and Pillar Point
6 East Juan de Fuca Strait
7 San Juan Islands
8-1 Deception Pass, Hope Island, and Skagit Bay
8-2 Ports Susan and Gardner
9 Admiralty Inlet
10 Seattle-Bremerton
11 Tacoma-Vashon Island
12 Hood Canal
13 South Puget Sound
See map and descriptions in the Marine Section of the WDFW Fishing Regulations for area definitions.
824 Baker River
784 Berry Creek
708 Burley Creek (Kitsap Co.)
710 California Creek
866 Canyon Creek
(Stillaguamish Sys.)
727 Capitol Lake
802 Carbon River
826 Cascade River
712 Cedar River (King Co.)
714 Chambers Creek
718 Clallam River
722 Curley Creek (Kitsap Co.)
724 Dakota Creek
(Whatcom Co.)
726 Deep Creek (Clallam Co.)
728 Deschutes River
732 Dewatto River
734 Dosewallips River
736 Duckabush River
738 Dungeness River
742 Elwha River
746 Green/Duwamish River
(King Co.)
752 Hoko River
754 Kennedy Creek
763 Lake Sammamish
762 Lake Washington
766 Little Quilcene River
768 Lyre River
770 McAllister Creek
(Thurston Co.)
774 McLane Creek
778 Minter Creek
(Pierce/Kitsap Co.)
782 Morse Creek
(Clallam Co.)
786 Nisqually River
794 Nooksack River
(below North Fork)
790 Nooksack River, North Fork
788 Nooksack River, Middle Fork
792 Nooksack River, South Fork
870 Pilchuck Creek
840 Pilchuck River
(Snohomish Sys.)
804 Puyallup River
810 Pysht River
812 Quilcene River
842 Raging River
814 Salt Creek (Clallam Co.)
816 Samish River
828 Sauk River
818 Sekiu River
830 Skagit River
834 Skokomish River
(Mason Co.)
844 Skykomish River
(below forks)
846 Skykomish River, North Fork
848 Skykomish River, South Fork
850 Snohomish River
852 Snoqualmie River
748 Soos Creek
876 Stillaguamish River
872 Stillaguamish River, North
Fork
874 Stillaguamish River, South
832 Suiattle River
854 Sultan River
878 Tahuya River
856 Tokul Creek
858 Tolt River
880 Union River
860 Wallace River
882 West Twin River
884 Whatcom Creek
808 White (Stuck) River
862 Woods Creek
394 Queets River
370 Quigg Lake
(Grays Harbor Co.)
404 Quillayute River
327 Quinault Lake
410 Quinault R, Lower
(below L. Quinault,
not Cook Cr. )
412 Quinault R, Upper
(above L. Quinault)
414 Raft River
377 Salmon Creek
(Pacific Co.)
396 Salmon River
(Jefferson Co.)
329 Satsop River, below forks
and East Fork
331 Satsop River, Middle and
West Forks
333 Skookumchuck River
384 Smith Creek
406 Sol Duc River
418 Sooes River
364 Stevens Creek
419 Van Winkle Creek
420 Waatch River
424 Willapa River
422 Willapa River, South Fork
380 Williams Creek
335 Wishkah River
337 Wynoochee River
305 Bear River (Pacific Co.)
386 Big River (Clallam Co.)
398 Bogachiel River
400 Calawah River
308 Cedar Creek
311 Cedar Creek
312 Cedar River
317 Chehalis R. below Black R.
315 Chehalis R. above Black R.
319 Chehalis River, South Fork
392 Clearwater River
321 Cloquallam Creek
408 Cook Creek
339 Copalis River
402 Dickey River
342 Elk River
345 Goodman Creek
350 Hoh River below Hwy. 101
348 Hoh River above Hwy. 101
352 Hoh River, South Fork
355 Hoquiam River
358 Humptulips River
361 Humptulips River, East Fork
362 Humptulips River, West Fork
323 Joe Creek
367 Johns River
369 Kalaloch Creek
371 Moclips River
373 Mosquito Creek
375 Naselle River
379 Nemah River
325 Newaukum River
389 Niawiakum River
382 North River
388 Ozette River
390 Palix River
501 Abernathy Creek
508 Big White Salmon River
507 Blue Creek (Lewis Co.)
609 Cedar Creek (Clark Co.)
515 Chinook River
555 Cispus River
517 Coal Creek (Cowlitz Co.)
519 Columbia R. Buoy 10 to Rocky Pt.-Tongue Pt. line
521 Columbia R. Rocky Pt.-Tongue Pt. line to Longview Br.
523 Columbia R. Longview Br. to I-5 Br.
525 Columbia R. I-5 Br. to Bonneville Dam
527 Columbia R. Bonneville to The Dalles Dam
529 Columbia R. The Dalles to John Day Dam
531 Columbia R. John Day to McNary Dam
533 Columbia R. McNary Dam to Hwy. 395 Br. at Pasco
535 Columbia R. Hwy. 395 Br. to Priest Rapids Dam
537 Columbia R. Priest Rapids to Wanapum Dam
539 Columbia R. Wanapum to Rock Island Dam
541 Columbia R. Rock Island to Rocky Reach Dam
543 Columbia R. Rocky Reach to Wells Dam
545 Columbia R. Wells to Chief Joseph Dam
557 Coweeman River
561 Cowlitz R. below Mayfi eld Dam
563 Cowlitz R. between Mayfi eld Dam and Cowlitz Falls Dam
559 Cowlitz R. above Cowlitz Falls Dam and Lake Scanewa
580 Deep River (Wahkiakum Co.)
618 Drano Lake
583 Elochoman River
586 Entiat River
589 Germany Creek
600 Gobar Creek
592 Grande Ronde River
595 Grays River
596 Grays River, West Fork
565 Green River (Cowlitz Co.)
598 Hamilton Creek
672 Icicle River (Creek)
604 Kalama River below Kalama Falls Hatchery
