Haven't we learned our lesson? Government agencies and tribal representatives want to "restore" the Elwha river with hatchery fish

Its a sad day when conservation organizations have to file suit against government agencies such as Olympic National Park, NOAA Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure the right thing is done for endangered and native species.  We expect these government entities to do the right thing based on the most sound science but too often that is not the case.  Are they not the agencies that fund the science that is analyzed to make decisions on ecosystem restoration?

I love to fish but making fishing better though stocking non-native species in an ecosystem that can clearly support the native species should be out of the question in my mind.  The crux of the issue is that most people don't know the difference between wild steelhead and hatchery steelhead and they don't care which one inhabits the stream they fish.  They just want the tug of a silver bullet on the end of their line.  What I can't understand is how the government agencies tasked with managing the ecosystems don't understand the difference either.  Hatchery and native steelhead and salmon are in some ways like the difference between maize and domestic corn.  A hatchery steelhead will grow big, strong and provide quite a meal or fight but if challenged with a climactic anomaly they no longer have the genes selected over millennia to survive and reproduce.  Much like domestic corn would fair without the careful eye and hand of a farmer.  Moreover, hatchery steelhead have never naturally reproduced and scientific evidence has shown that not only do they fail miserably when they try in the wild but they actually hurt the reproductive capacity of native steelhead by occupying prime spawning habitat (Kostow, K.E. and Steven R. Phelps. 2001).

The genes that have been selected for in both native maize, steelhead and salmon allow them to thrive and reproduce in the wild.  Hatchery fish and corn may be good for the economy but have no place and will not thrive or survive in our wild places.  No one is advocating for the mass decimation for corn throughout our National Parks; that would be ridiculous right?  But, that is exactly what the Park Service, NOAA Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe are advocating for hatchery steelhead.  One would think that the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the federal agencies tasked with this restoration would understand the difference between restoration of a sporting industry sustained by stocking and a native and natural reproduction of salmon and steelhead.  I bet they wouldn't restore a forest with trees they would have to replace every few years.  

Our environment is not an amusement park for humans nor are our National Parks.  If the native steelhead come back to the Elwha river in high enough numbers that we can fish safely for them again (and they will if allowed to) we should feel blessed for the experience.  If you are in favor of increasing stocking programs to catch a bunch of hatchery steelhead take your money and time to Ohio and the great lakes where there is no native steelhead or salmon run to ruin or South America where there are no native salmonids to begin with.   But remember, there is always an ecological price to pay when a non-native species is introduced and often it is not clear until it is too late. 

Here is the press release from the Wild Fish Conservancy:

For Immediate Release: Thursday, February 9, 2012

WILD FISH CONSERVANCY

PO Box 402 Duvall, WA 98019 • Tel 425-788-1167 • Fax 425-788-9634 •

info@wildfishconservancy.org

Contact: Kurt Beardslee, Wild Fish Conservancy, 206-310-9301

Brian Knutsen, Smith and Lowney, PLLC, 503-287-4194

Citing warnings from agency and independent scientists, four conservation groups filed suit today against several federal agencies and officials of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (in their official capacities) for violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and ignoring the best available science and threatening the recovery of killer whales, Chinook salmon, and native steelhead by funding and operating fish hatchery programs in the Elwha River. The groups agree with federal and state scientists and a recent review by the Hatchery Scientific Review Group (HSRG) that restoration of the lower Elwha River and recolonization of the pristine upper Elwha River above Elwha and Glines Canyon dams should prioritize recovery of wild fish. The proposed reliance on large-scale hatchery releases undermines ecosystem recovery and violates the ESA. Wild Fish Conservancy, The Conservation Angler, the Federation of Fly Fishers Steelhead Committee, and the Wild Steelhead Coalition have brought the suit against the Olympic National Park, NOAA Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and representatives of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

The federal government is spending nearly $325 million for the dam removal project, opening nearly ninety miles of pristine riverine habitat in Olympic National Park, much of which is designated a wilderness area. Rather than allowing wild salmonids to naturally colonize this pristine habitat, the agencies and the Tribe are going ahead with a plan that will release approximately four million juvenile hatchery salmonids annually throughout the recovery, including the continued release of non-native steelhead during a five-year fishing moratorium. The hatchery releases will be supported by a new fish hatchery on the Elwha River built with $16.4 million of Stimulus Act funds. State and federal agency scientists pointed out that the current plan gives no measureable goals for wild fish recovery, provides no timetable for ceasing the hatchery production, and that ultimately, wild fish recovery is going to be hampered by the hatchery fish. A review released this week by the independent Hatchery Scientific Review Group (HSRG), which was organized and funded by Congress, has echoed these concerns.

“While the Tribe played an essential role in removing the dams,” said Kurt Beardslee, Executive Director of Wild Fish Conservancy, “their intent to now plant millions of hatchery fish in disregard of the scientific evidence undermines salmon recovery in the Northwest and the goals of the ESA. However you look at it, it’s a horrible precedent if left to stand.”

Will Atlas, chair of the FFF Steelhead Committee, stated “The science does not support planting of hatchery fish into this productive, pristine habitat.”

“This action is necessary,” said Rich Simms, president of the Wild Steelhead Coalition, “so that wild, not hatchery, steelhead will be restored to the Elwha and the Olympic Wilderness."

“Their plan is vague and uncertain about how and when these hatchery interventions will end,” said Pete Soverel, president of The Conservation Angler. “The Elwha deserves far better but will end up compromised like most of our other rivers if this plan is implemented.”

The groups believe that spending $325 million to open a wilderness watershed but then stocking it with hatchery fish is poor public policy and will likely provoke taxpayer skepticism toward salmon recovery and future efforts at dam removal. The groups support the right of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe to harvest salmon and steelhead, but argue that intensive hatchery production throughout the recovery will reduce the capacity of wild salmon and steelhead to recolonize the newly available habitat, harming ESA listed Puget Sound steelhead, Chinook salmon, and southern resident killer whales that depend on Chinook salmon for their survival.

The groups are represented by Smith and Lowney, PLLC, of Seattle.

The down stream presentation

The down stream drift is becoming one of my favorite tactics.  Often in slow clear water the slap of the line is enough to spook every fish in the pool.  A long (really long like 16 foot) leader can over come this too but if your line spooks fish closer to you that you are not targeting and then run up to the fish you are targeting its game over anyway.  Plus, who can turn over a 16' leader?  Not me. 

A down stream drift can be made far enough up stream that the fish can't see you AND you don't have to cast at all so more water is opened up that was unfishable due to trees or what not.  It works with dries and nymphs.  All you have to to is strip off enough line at your feet (you should be crouched low so the fish don't see you), not get it tangled in the brush, get some line on the water and flick your wrist up to put more line on the water.  Watch carefully and put out just enough line to maintain a drag free drift so when you get a strike the line it free enough from slack that you can set the hook.  It will be hard, but wait a half second longer than normal if you get a strike on a dry fly with a down stream presentation.  I have pulled enough flies out of trouts mouths to remember this rule and I still do it about half the time.  Also, if you don't supply enough slack with a down stream presentation with a dry fly it will go under immediately.  It can be very frustrating.  It is, however, not the end of the world.  Just give another 3 feet or so of line then pinch it off and swing the fly though the current.  Retrieve slowly but know that you may only get one shot at a drift because dragging your fly and line back though the hole can really put fish down for a bit.  Using a down stream drift at a lake inlet is also a great way not to spook fish in still water.  This technique will also make you fight fish up current which makes them feel a lot bigger than they are.  Great for brooks and small stream Cuts!

"Shouldn't you be crouched down?" He never listens to me.....

The Poudre in my backyard

I'm sitting here in my new office in Fort Collins at Colorado State University looking out the window at a perfectly sunny winter day.   I have been here about a week and after more than a little hassle I am mostly moved in.  I took about 2 hours yesterday to explore the new stream which is nearly in my backyard.  The Cache La Poudre flows right though the city of Fort Collins and about 1000 feet form my from door.  The Pourdre for short (pronounced 'pooder', yeah and they know it rhymes with other funny words and they don't care) runs east down the slopes of the rocky mountains in its headwaters and though the foothills near the Fort.  I drove up the canyon a ways and was stunned a the scenery less than 30 minutes from town.  While out fishing yesterday I ran into a few other people out and I was amazed at how nice everyone was.  It was a beautiful day and sometimes, I guess, that is what really matters.  I bet they were in the same mood I was in.  I wouldn't have mattered if people were shoulder to shoulder or if not a single fish saw my fly.  The warm sun and the sounds of the stream were all I was out looking for. 

The Poudre in the city of Fort Collins

I walked a ways out and saw a number of pools that were decent.  Most would have been better in the summer when the fish are in more energetically taxing stream locations.  I tried a few slower pools, mostly with a down steam presentation and had no bites.  In one deeper section by an old foot bridge I spooked what was at least a 20 inch brown trout.  He turned and headed back to the deeper, slower water that was mostly frozen over.  I walked a little farther but came back with wooly bugger tied on for a run at him.  I fed line down towards where I thought he would be but got no take.  After a few attempts at a down stream drift in a very slow and clear pool I gave up.  One drift would have been enough; I guarantee I spooked him after I retrieved the first drift.   

I headed back to the car and tried one last pool with that big ol' bugger still tied on.  I just wanted to cast a bit to shake the rust off.  Casting a cone head bugger and a strike indicator with an 8' 3 wt can be an adventure but I did okay and got a few good drifts.  I even caught a 6 inch rainbow for the effort.  I think it was Colorado giving me a welcome trout. I appreciated it more than you know.  So there you go, 1000 feet from my door there are trout.  So far, I love this state.

Specialty fly lines: How to pick a fly line

In the last year fly fish line manufactures have gotten completely out of control  There is now a specialty line for nearly every situation and species.  Some of the more ridiculously specialized lines are a shooting  head specifically for great lakes tributaries, a hover lake line for fishing just below the surface, a even a specific line for Carp.  You can get wind cutter or streamer and warm water line.  It never ends.  You can even buy a line made to replicate old fashion silk lines.  The casting technology of the 1800's is BACK!  YES! 

While we are at it I have a few suggestions for the line manufactures

Double-tip 3000.  Sinking and floating line in one!  Just switch form left to right handed retrieve that the line floats!

Water slapin-hopper line.  Extra wide and flat tip section that splashes down like a cannonball.  Finally you can splash down your line like you mean it and get the attention of those BIG fish!

Race for the cure pink line ( I seriously think it is in development)  Real men cast whatever color line they want. 

Season 3 fly line.  Why wait three years for that sinking tip and guide abrasive feel? This line feels three years old right out of the box!

Muskie line  This line has a kevlar welded tip with 10,000 pound break point for chuckin some serious hair and feathers!  No more busted loops.  The line is 200' long for those super long casts and comes with a beer bottle opener that replaces your fighting butt (I already have one!). Best of all, it only comes in BLAZE ORANGE!

Okay, I'm getting carried away.  I used to think rods and reels were getting out of hand for cost but actually, I think I spend (and in the future will spend) more on line than anything else. Here is my best breakdown of line choices

There are essentially two types of tapers double taper and the more popular weight forward.  Each manufacturer has a specific length of each section and taper between those sections depending on what the line is used for or the wt of the line. 

Weight forward lines have a sections that start thin, get thicker (~30') then get thin again.  Once the thicker (and heavier) section gets out of your guides and in the air it helps you cast farther. Also, the second thin part (running line) shoots faster through your guides than a thicker line would (less friction). 

Double taper lines start thin, taper to thicker for almost the length of the line then taper the same way at the other end.  So, they are reversible and, therefore, last twice as long.  They are good for delicate close range presentations and excellent for mending. 


Trout:  1-5wt rods.  One reel one spool. 
I don't over line these size rods and I use weight forward (WF) for my 5wt and double taper (DT) for 3 and down. I don't have a 4 wt but I would go for WF line there.  My logic:  You don't cast 3wts and smaller very far or fish them in the wind.  They excel where DT line excels.  Easy lay downs and delicate presentations.  I fish weighted flies and cast farther with my 5 wt so I like a WF line.  If you have to mend a lot on the river you fish go with a DT.  The thinker belly section mends a lot easier.   "Trout" series lines just mean the taper has been designed to lay down easy.  What they don't say is just get a double taper because it will last twice as long!   WF lines are for casting farther.  DT lines are for soft presentations and better close range casting.  Just pick one of those two styles. 

6-9 wts  One reel two spools

I would get two spools with any bigger reel you have.  These would fish streamers and larger flies well.   A floating line and a sinking line would be good for different situations.  I have a super fast action 7 wt and I over lined it with an 8 wt line so I can feel the loading of the rod a little easier.  Sort of like training wheels.  GPX line is just a half size up from the size on the box.  Most streamer lines, wind cutter lines and bass lines are probably a half size or more up too.  You can just get a normal line one size bigger instead of a fancy named line for every species and condition. 

One real difference between line in this category is whether they are for warm or cold water.  Cold water lines will stay supple and cast well in the cold.  They will also turn into jelly in the tropical heat.  Warm water lines will stay the right consistency in the heat but be like casting cement in the cold (by cold I mean below freezing).  I don't have a specialized warm/cold line and I haven't noticed that my line sucks in any condition.  Unless you only fish in a certain climate I would stick with a line designed in the middle of the two extremes. 

Bigger?  I have no idea but I would guess casting a muskie or tuna fly on a 10 or 11 weight would benefit from a line size up.  Maybe not. 

Casting aficionados also posit that each rod has a "perfect line"  and they will try out 10-20 lines of the same weight for their rod to find their "match."  I'm not that good of a caster to notice.  I have cast everything form $20 fly line to $99 sharkskin.  My favorites are Scientific anglers mastery series or the Rio gold line.  I don't like textured lines.  They shoot like a rocket but I hate the noise they make going through the guides and they pick up dirt like crazy.  Plus, why exactly are they a hundred bucks?  I thought $70 was out of control. 

Uncompahgre National Forest

The next stop on our epic trip was backpacking in the Uncompahgre National Forest in the San Juan Mountains near Telluride CO.  We drove out Highway 70 though the Eisenhower tunnel at over 11,000 feet and drove past more famous trout streams than you can shake a stick at.  The Eagle, the Roaring fork, the Thunder etc.  No time to fish them all on this trip.  Our plan was to stay out two nights and try to summit a nearby fourteener on the second day. The hike in wasn't long but it gained almost 2 thousand feet in 4 miles.  We set up camp and I got my first chance to fish the lake we were camping at.  The wild flowers were out in full force.  The native columbines were huge and everywhere. 

My dog smells trout

I am by no means an expert lake fisherman but I learned a lot on this trip.  First piece of advise is find the fish.  Not every inch of shoreline on a lake has fish and you can waste a lot of time fishing poor water.  It would be like fishing rapids on a stream.  Maybe fish pass through but not enough to waste your time on.  The obvious places are inlets and outlets.  I happened to find a string of inlets from a creek that held 40 to 50 feeding fish each.  They may have also been tying to spawn in some moving water but it was too deep for me to see exactly what was going on.  The second lake in the chain of three had a number of fish spawning at the outlet (I didn't fish there).  The fish in the lower lake turned out to be some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. They were Colorado river cutthroat in full spawning colors.  Fish of the genus Oncorhynchus (cutthroat, red band, golden trout etc.) spawn after ice out in the spring but at 10,000+ feet "spring" comes in June or this years case, July. 

Male Colorado river cutthroat in full spawning colors

As far as fly patterns go, terrestrials are the way to go. Ants, beetles and grass hoppers out fished any other pattern when there was no hatch.  If there is something specific coming off go that direction if not tie on a beetle and a small dropper. I had tons of fish inspect my parachute Adams and then pass by but the ant got nailed almost every time. 

Female Colorado river cutthroat trout

The water is super clear

This place is absolutely beautiful and is an easy hike in as far as backpacking trips go.  It is typically a day hike for most visitors.  Since the fish are decent sized and the lake gets some pretty good traffic I don't want to name names but the lakes are named appropriately and if you dig enough I gave you enough info to find them. 

Skunked on the Blue and the Gunnison

Blue River

Gunnison River

I took a trip of a lifetime this summer after I finished my Ph.D. and the first stop was Colorado for a conference and, of course, some fishing.  In the first week I was lucky  enough to fish both the Blue river and the Gunnison.  Both of which are blue ribbon trout streams known around the world for stellar trout fishing.  There was only one problem.  I got skunked on both rivers.  This years epic snow pack was still on the move down the rivers of Colorado into August.  From what I could gather, that is about a month and a half longer than normal.  Walking back from a rather demoralizing experience on the Blue, with a blanket hatch in the air, I ran into a rafter who asked me if I had any luck.  You could tell by the sheepish sideways smile on his face when he asked that he already knew the answer but was hopeful something had changed.  I said no luck but that the hatch was out of control.  He said "Yeah man, Its all blown out man."  "It'll be epic in September though!"  He's probably right. That didn't help me out any but I hope things have picked up for him by now.   What I did gather from that trip is that the rivers in Colorado are big and they are even bigger in Wyoming and Montana, more on that later. I am used to fishing rivers I can walk across but these beasts are not to be messed with.  Granted the run off was raging but even in low flows these rivers are too big to cross.  They are filled with varying currents and pockets that will send you back to mending school.  And with the currents moving like they were, one really appreciates arial mending or a reach cast.  I am probably the last person anyone should be taking casting advice from but the reach cast is handy and you should use it because it is easy and it helps you catch more fish.  There is probably a good youtube video with someone demonstrating a reach cast but I'll try to briefly explain it here and give you a pointer or two on making it work.  The reach cast is best used when casting at a 45 degree angle up stream and drifting down to a 45.  It you cast normally you line will be pointing at your fly at a 45.  To reach cast, instead of following your line to the water with your rod, reach up stream like you are meaning as the line is falling to the water.  If you did it right your line will be about  perpendicular to the current.  This line angle will create a better drift and significantly reduce the slack line you have on the water.  The problem is this technique shortens your cast. Fortunately, it is easy to compensate because it shortens you cast by the same distance you move the line up stream.  Typically about a 6-8 foot over shot should give you the distance you want. 

Painted Wall in the Black canyon of the Gunnison NP

Gunnison river in the NP

Winston GVX and Allen reels

Great looking rod and reel. I love my new setup!  I added a walnut handle to the Allen reel.  They come with a matching aluminum handle.

I recently finished my Ph.D. and got a few sweet graduation gifts.  The first was a Winston GVX 9' 5 wt rod.  It has been on my "fly rod of the moment" ever since it was released.  Now that I have had about a month to fish and cast with it, I feel like I can give a fair and balanced review.  My first impression was "wow, what a smooth rod to cast." It is billed as a fast action rod but I think it fished very well with more open loops when using two fly, or indicator rigs.  I now know what they mean by the classic Winston action.  My Ascent is a nice rod but seems to be a little rough around the edges compared to the GVX.  It has some serious gun to it also.  I could launch a cone head bugger about 60 feet without a problem.   Now, the conehead sculpzilla I got at a fly shop in Missoula was a different story.  The guy there said he could cast it without a problem with a 5wt.  All I have to say is he must have been one hell of a caster.  I, on the other hand, needed a helmet and maybe some body armor if I were going to cast that thing around with a 5.  I did get it out across the stream a few times, fearing for my life each time that thing whipped by my head.  Both decent casts got strikes when nothing else was working mid-day, but after a few near misses I had to take that beast off.  I'll stick with my 7wt for streamers.  All in all I think the GVX did everything on the stream well. The only thing that I noticed, which is likely user error, was the bottom ferrule would be loose sometimes after casting a couple hours.  Better than a sticky ferrule I guess. 

Nice female Colorado River Cutthroat

The next awesome gifts I got were two Allen trout series fly reels.  Why two? Apparently, Allen sent the wrong color on the first order and when my wife called them about it they said to keep the black one and they would send the gun metal color for free.    If that doesn't tell you that Allen has the best customer service around, then I don't know what would.  The reels are machined 6061 bar stock aluminum with a carbon disk drag and are right around $100.  I have looked around at reels for a really long time and there is absolutely no better reel for the price right now than an Allen.  In fact, the Allen trout reel is probably as good or better than any $250 reel on the market.  They also just released the Alpha II which is their big game reel and if it is anything like the equipment they sent me it will not disappoint.  Check out their fly tying hooks fly boxes too.  Sweet deals.  I also bought line from Allen and used it on my trip. They have all the usual sizes in DT and WF plus a few sinking lines all for $20.  Unfortunately, they don't have sinking rates or any specific info on the sinking line.  They were so affordable I thought I would give it a shot.  I used the 5 wt WF the most and so far it seems to float as well as other lines.  It has very low memory and came with a welded loop.  On the down side, it got hot one day and I think the line coating picked up some sand or some kind of grit to make it rough.  I'll try to clean it off and see how that goes but it started to cast with quite a bit of resistance after that incident.  I'll post a longer term review of the line after I have used it a few more times.

Male Colorado river cutthroat in full spawning colors with my new Allen reel.  I hope this one wins me the photo of the week contest!