Steelhead runs smash record, stunning experts
August 18th, 2009
by Bob Heye KATU News and KATU.com Staff
BONNEVILLE DAM – Steelhead runs on the Columbia River recently smashed the single-day record, even doubling it, stunning experts.
Biologists aren’t sure what has caused the high numbers but it is clear that more steelhead than ever before are coming over the Bonneville Dam right now, meaning good business for the sporting goods industry.
“It’s something we’ve been waiting for for a long time to keep us going and get us going a little bit better,” said Thad Tyler, a steelhead fishing guide.
It’s a run so dramatic Tyler brought his kids to the dam to see some of the steelhead and giant Chinook salmon make their way upriver. Experts are shocked.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” Joe Hymer of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “I thought maybe somebody had fat fingers or something where they added like an additional 10,000 fish, but it actually did turn out that way.”
One factor is the weather: it’s warmer than usual, which made the river warmer too. The steelhead may have bunched up downstream waiting for their opportunity to finally come upstream.”
Another factor: court-ordered spills at hydroelectric dams like Bonneville that allow fish passage.
But the biggest factor: fantastic ocean conditions for the years these fish were at sea, biologist say. All this comes as some salmon runs still struggle and people like Tyler try to make it through a struggling economy.
“Supposedly, we’re supposed to get a lot more chinook and a lot more coho coming right behind ‘em, so that should be great for everybody,” Tyler said.
Biologists will have to wait until the end of the steelhead run to figure out if this was actually a record run in total or just a spike early in the run. Experts say what’s especially encouraging about the steelhead run is the mix. It’s about fifty-fifty wild fish versus hatchery-raised steelhead, which means wild fish runs are doing well this year.
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