Our Baker Lake Derby will continue through August (or until the fishery closes)! We have tagged nearly 100 sockeye in Baker Lake. Anyone who catches a tagged salmon is eligible to win any number of great prizes! For more details check out the Baker Lake Derby websiteand register today. Click here to view the Flyer.
Studies have shown that sea-run cutthroat trout reared in earthen ponds at the Cowlitz Trout Hatchery have nearly twice the survival of those reared in concrete raceways.
For over two decades, summer steelhead and sea-run cutthroat were reared together in an earthen pond. That changed after an incident with a fish counter in 2016. Since that time, the sea-run cutthroat have been confined to concrete raceways.
CCA members are working with Tacoma Power and the manufacturer of the fish counting machine to resolve the issue. Their goal is to once again have the sea-run cutthroat trout reared in earthen ponds and return the once robust cutthroat trout fishery to the Cowlitz River.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is looking for volunteers to assist with Chinook salmon spawning at Rapid River Hatchery, just south of Riggins. If you would like to assist, or know anyone who might be interested, please contact Chad Henson at chad.henson@idfg.idaho.gov or (208-628-3277). Although this event can accommodate a lot of volunteers, the available slots often fill quickly, so don't hesitate too long if interested. There are several spawning days planned throughout August and into early September.
A CCA member sent in this photo of an upper Columbia River spring Chinook that was caught above Bonneville Dam. While the fish was fortunate to escape the gillnet, it was badly damaged. Studies have shown that salmon damaged in gillnets are significantly less likely to spawn successfully.
If you have any photos of gillnet damaged salmon, please send them to info@ccawashington.org.
There is a lot of misinformation about harvest reform and the need to eliminate gillnets in mixed stock fisheries. Last month, a reader sent in comments about CCA's Action Alert regarding a gillnet fishery that took place in the spring. During this disastrous 1-day gillnet fishery, nearly 200 non-target species were caught for every 1 adult hatchery spring Chinook. That is a ridiculous amount of by-catch!
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