REDD ALERT
Be on the alert for steelhead redds - clean-looking gravel which is loose and soft underfoot, as opposed to firmer and darker gravel nearby.
Steelhead anglers are taking advantage of the highly anticipated steelhead fishing season, where portions of the Skagit and its major tributary, the Sauk, were opened for a directed recreational steelhead fishery beginning on March 25 under catch and release regulations. Steelhead fishing will remain open five days per week, Saturdays through Wednesdays through April 30, 2023. Based on a forecast of 5,200 spawners, this fishery allows for low-impact wild steelhead fishery under the newly approved 10-year Skagit River Steelhead Fishery Resource Management Plan (RMP).
However, this means the 2023 fishing season extends deep into the peak spawning time for steelhead compared to previous closures in mid-April, established specifically to protect spawning fish in the Skagit and Sauk main stems. Steelhead spawning on these rivers typically commences in mid-March and increases to peak by mid-May.
As a reminder, steelhead redds are generally between 10-20 square feet in size. They can be recognized by the appearance of clean-looking gravel, which is loose and soft underfoot, as opposed to firmer and darker gravel nearby. When newly formed, redds will appear to be a depression with a mound of gravel on the downstream side. Eggs are buried in the mound of gravel and for several feet downstream.
We’ve heard from anglers who have raised concerns about allowing fishing that extends into the peak of the spawning time on these two rivers. We share this concern and can offer the following advice.
Concentrate angling activity in areas of the river where spawning is less prevalent.
Avoid areas of shallow water where you observe concentrations of spawning steelhead and their redds (gravel “nests”). Walking on the redds may kill buried eggs, so please avoid them.
At times, fishermen who drag their anchor to slow a drifting boat will destroy any egg nest the anchor is dragged through.
If there’s a single or pair of big fish on that bright gravel (steelhead are most vulnerable and easy to harass when holding on a redd), please leave it alone. Because those fish have endured years first in the fresh water and then the ocean and are now in the process of making lots of little fish. With an imperiled steelhead stock, fishing pressure during this vulnerable time adds up - you don’t need to be a genius to figure out the benefits of that!
And here’s your chance to be proactive. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife would welcome your observations if you have field reports that spawning is happening. You are encouraged to send along the locations of spawning activity so they can investigate.
Contact Team Mill Creek or Edward.Eleazer@dfw.wa.gov.
WDFW staff will carefully monitor this popular fishery, and portions of the upper Skagit or Sauk rivers may close early if high levels of wild steelhead spawning are observed.
The Skagit and the Sauk are one of the world’s iconic winter steelhead rivers. It is a massive watershed capable of providing a stronghold for these incredible fish as they fight to survive an uncertain future. Together, we must make every effort to protect and restore it. For anglers, the first crucial step is a commitment to restraint. When wild steelhead numbers are low, we must act with an eye toward the future. It bears repeating: The fish we protect today are the ones that will build the runs we get to fish tomorrow.