Following the lowest wild steelhead return on record, the WSC was invited to publish an essay on the status of the Columbia and Snake Basin’s wild steelhead in Fly Fisherman Magazine.
Anglers should take time to read it, pass it along to fellow steelheaders, and let it inspire them to tell managers and elected leaders that these fish need solutions now. This historic moment should be met with an equally historic response to safeguard and rebuild the basin’s wild steelhead populations.
Read MoreOn Wednesday April 13th, Holy Mountain Brewing is hosting a beer release party for Winter’s Run, a new hoppy pale ale brewed to support the Wild Steelhead Coalition and WA Wild’s Brewshed® Alliance.
The new beer is delicious and was brewed with Salmon-safe malt and hops grown in the region. The label features custom artwork from Ryan Williams and Jake Keeler. The party will bring regional steelhead and watershed advocates together for a great evening to trade notes and talk with friends, anglers, and conservationists about the urgency of this work.
Read MoreIn a recent issue of Chasing Silver Magazine, young anglers Braden and Kyle Simms talk about how their passion for fishing and wild steelhead motivates them to speak up for their home waters.
Advocacy and conservation are powerful themes in their family: their father Rich Simms is a co-founder of the Wild Steelhead Coalition and a tireless advocate. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree and it is no surprise these young anglers see their time on the water as inseparable from the work to protect and restore the steelhead and salmon rivers of the Pacific Northwest.
Read MoreIt is a universal truth that anglers would rather be out on our favorite waters rather than spending time fighting about regulations or trying to keep up with the politics and bureaucracy of managing our fisheries. Ideally, anglers could trust our managers and public officials to prioritize the long-term health and recovery of our wild steelhead and salmon runs and make the right decisions to share these public resources fairly with all Washington residents.
Unfortunately for Washington anglers, we don’t have that luxury. We must pay careful attention because our current Fish and Wildlife Commission seems committed to favoring over-exploitation and commercial interests rather than honoring their mandate to “preserve, protect, perpetuate, and manage” fisheries for the entire public.
Read MoreAs the winter steelhead season got underway on Washington's coast and Olympic Peninsula, the editors of Fly Fisherman Magazine reached out to the Wild Steelhead Coalition with an opportunity to write an article about the current state of steelhead on the iconic rivers of the OP and the need for new conservation-focused angling rules to protect, and hopefully begin to rebuild, fragile stocks of wild fish after years of declining numbers.
Read MoreThis season's actions represent a recognition that these wild steelhead runs are truly imperiled, and an important start to transforming the management paradigm on Washington’s coast. Preventing the collapse of our wild steelhead populations is the immediate priority, but long-term, sustainable wild steelhead fisheries will require comprehensive, conservation-focused policy to restore their abundance. As steelhead anglers and advocates for these rivers, we should accept nothing less.
Read MoreWDFW Law Enforcement Officers working on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula face a daunting landscape of remote wilderness, dense forests, and wild rivers. There are usually only a half dozen of them to cover all of Jefferson and Clallam Counties (an area of 4800 square miles), hundreds of miles of rivers stretching from the southern end of Hood Canal and wrapping all the way around to the Quinault River, and a thousand additional square miles of saltwater jurisdiction off the coastline.
The Officers are responsible for monitoring activity and enforcing the laws governing freshwater and saltwater sport and commercial fisheries, hunting seasons, some environmental permits, tracking commercial fish and shellfish sales and sourcing for restaurants and markets, illegal logging, orca sightseeing boats, and camping where it isn’t allowed.
Read MoreAfter weeks of public debate and anxiety within the steelhead angling community, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) fishery managers have announced their emergency conservation rules for the upcoming winter steelhead season on Coastal and Olympic Peninsula rivers.
While partial and/or complete sportfishing closures were considered, the department is proceeding with a plan that bans fishing from boats and the use of bait, requires the use of single-point barbless hooks, and bans rainbow trout retention to protect juvenile steelhead. Seasons will close a few weeks earlier than previous years, with some variability among watersheds. These new regulations take effect on Monday, December 14 and run until further notice.
Read MoreIn an online meeting on Tuesday evening, Washington anglers heard updates from state fishery managers on projected wild winter steelhead run numbers and potential regulatory options for the upcoming winter angling season on Washington’s coastal rivers.
Broadly speaking, the news continues to be grim. Years of population declines, exacerbated by recent downturns in ocean productivity and survival, have continued. With a few notable exceptions, steelhead numbers are struggling across coastal watersheds. Anglers can, and should, expect less opportunity to fish on these rivers during the Winter and Spring of 2021.
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