Post by: jackelope on February 13, 2010, 09:06:44 PM
OLYMPIA - Steelhead fishing will close Feb. 18 in five major river systems in the Puget Sound area to protect wild fish, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.
The closure will affect the Puyallup, Nooksack, Stillaguamish, Samish and Snohomish rivers and their tributaries.
Pre-season estimates developed by the department indicate that returns of wild steelhead will fall far short of target levels in all five river systems, said Bob Leland, WDFW steelhead manager.
"This is the fourth straight year that we've seen a downward trend in wild steelhead returns," Leland said. "These closures are necessary to meet the conservation objectives of our statewide steelhead management plan and comply with provisions of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA)."
Wild steelhead in the Puget Sound region have been listed as "threatened" under the ESA since 2007. Although anglers are required to release any wild fish they catch in those rivers, some of those fish inevitably die from the experience, Leland said.
Rivers closing to steelhead fishing Feb. 18 include:
Puyallup River system
Puyallup River mainstem from the 11th St. Bridge in Tacoma upstream to Electron Power Plant Outlet
Carbon River from the mouth to Hwy.162 Bridge
White (Stuck) River from the mouth to R Street Bridge in Auburn
Nooksack River system
Nooksack River from the mouth to the confluence of the North and South Forks
North Fork Nooksack from the mouth to Nooksack Falls
South Fork Nooksack from the mouth to Skookum Creek
Middle Fork Nooksack from the mouth to headwaters.
Samish River system
Samish River from the mouth to the Hickson Bridge.
Stillaguamish River system
Stillaguamish River from sloughs south of Marine Drive to forks.
North Fork of the Stillaguamish from the mouth to Swede Heaven Bridge.
South Fork of the Stillaguamish from the mouth to the Mt Loop Hwy. Bridge (above Granite Falls).
Canyon Creek from the mouth at the South Fork of the Stillaguamish to the forks.
Snohomish River system
Snohomish River from mouth (Burlington-Northern railroad bridges) to the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers including all channels, sloughs, and interconnected waterways.
Snoqualmie River from the mouth to the boat launch at Plum Landing (~1/4 mile below Tokul Creek).
Skykomish River from the mouth to the forks.
North Fork of the Skykomish from the mouth to Deer Falls (about ¼ mile upstream of Goblin Creek).
South Fork of the Skykomish from the mouth to the Sunset Falls Fishway.
Pilchuck River from mouth to the Snohomish city diversion dam.
Sultan River from mouth to the diversion dam at river mile 9.7.
Tolt River from mouth to the confluence of the North and South Fork.
Raging River from the mouth to the Highway 18 Bridge.
The Wallace River, Tokul Creek and Snoqualmie River above the boat ramp at Plum Landing will close Feb 28.
Reopening dates for all of these waters will be noted in the 2010-11 Fishing in Washington fishing rules pamphlet.
Post by: Alchase on February 15, 2010, 11:02:28 AM
Post by: singleshot12 on February 17, 2010, 03:02:01 PM
Post by: Snowman on February 18, 2010, 09:51:41 AM
Post by: BigGoonTuna on February 18, 2010, 08:09:20 PM
Amazing how a river like the Puyallup can go from the second most stealhead produced Cowlitz was first in 1996 to almost extinct in 10 years.1986 maybe, it was long gone from "the list" by '96...though it would still have been a lot better than it is lately(and open until the end of march, too).
the puyallup, nisqually and the rest of the south sound rivers crash dove in the late 80s, early '90s. at least i got to fish the nisqually when it was still open.
Post by: banannaclip on February 18, 2010, 09:18:48 PM
Post by: BLR 243 on February 18, 2010, 09:41:31 PM
Post by: 7mm short mag on February 22, 2010, 11:56:13 AM
Closed for steelhead fishing,but I wonder if you can still fish for other species :dunno:??
All game fish! :bash:
Post by: D_morg on February 23, 2010, 05:45:07 AM
Post by: oldschool on February 24, 2010, 07:07:49 AM
Post by: Alchase on February 25, 2010, 12:24:25 PM
Amazing how a river like the Puyallup can go from the second most stealhead produced Cowlitz was first in 1996 to almost extinct in 10 years.1986 maybe, it was long gone from "the list" by '96...though it would still have been a lot better than it is lately(and open until the end of march, too).
the puyallup, nisqually and the rest of the south sound rivers crash dove in the late 80s, early '90s. at least i got to fish the nisqually when it was still open.
Oops you are correct it was 84-85 that the Puyallup was second only to the Cowlitz
http://www.steelheadnotebook.net/puyallup.htm (http://www.steelheadnotebook.net/puyallup.htm)