Can you tell the difference between wild steelhead and hatchery raised steelhead?
First let’s begin with salmon. Most folks know that salmon are born in a river, travel downstream to the ocean to live for a few years and amazingly return to the same river to spawn. On their return trip, salmon expend all their energy to swim upstream to their place of birth. They deteriorate rapidly and are unfit to eat at this stage in their life-cycle. After spawning, the salmon die. The rotting salmon provide nutrients to the river which will create food for the next generation of salmon.
I accidently caught this salmon while fishing for steelhead. It was released to continue its final journey.
Steelhead are ocean going trout. They are born in the river, travel downstream to live for a few years in the ocean, and then return to their place of birth to spawn. Unlike salmon, a steelhead can make this journey more than once. They do not deteriorate, like the salmon, during this return journey and are excellent game fish to catch and to eat!
Both salmon and steelhead have been almost fished to extinction in some areas due to loss of habitat, interference from dams and over fishing. They have been the recipient of extensive recovery efforts in the lower 48 states by fish and wildlife biologists. This recovery effort has been waged on two fronts. The first front has been to preserve and increase the number of wild fish runs. The second front has been to establish fish hatcheries which raise and release fish stock into the rivers to create ‘hatchery fish’ runs.
You can easily tell a hatchery fish from a wild fish by examining the adipose fin. This fin is on the back of the fish right in front of the tail. A hatchery fish has had its adipose fin clipped while still a small fry. All that remains is a lump of healed flesh, no fin.
Cindy and I look forward to the fall steelhead fishing season at the eastern Washington house. The river is right across the street. You can keep hatchery fish, up to three per day, but wild fish must be released immediately. In order to protect the wild steelhead from injury, you must fish with an artificial fly or lure with only one hook that has had the barb removed. The wild fish must never be taken out of the river or carelessly touched. You must cradle the fish in the water until it recovers from the fight and can easily swim off under its own steam.
We do not have a steelhead season every year. The Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) analyses the number and type of steelhead that move up the river to spawn. Based on many variables, they determine if folks will be allowed to fish, how many hatchery fish they can keep and the dates for the season. Many fishermen watch the daily counts of fish that move up the river each year to anticipate if there will be a steelhead season. These counts are taken at the fish ladders located at each dam on the Columbia River and are posted on the internet.
Can you only tell the difference between hatchery and wild steelhead by the clipped adipose fin? Once you hook one, the fish will let you know. Wild fish have more energy and fight. They run up and down the river, jumping out of the water to shake their heads and try to throw the hook. Hatchery fish fight less and are much easier to land. In my opinion as a conservationist, preserving the wild runs is a much more appropriate return to nature. Increasing the hatchery fish is not good for the wild populations but it is good for the fishermen who buy the fishing licenses. In my other opinion as a fisherman, hatchery fish outnumber wild fish 2 to 1 and they are a hoot to catch. What’s your opinion?
Even if you are not a fisherperson, you can still see the return of these beautiful trout on steroids. Visit the fish ladder at a Columbia River dam during August or September and see for yourself. If you live in Seattle, you can visit the fish ladder at the Ballard locks.
Be amazed, Denny
