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[Dave]

Hopefully some answers/solutions to Centennial Channel will come up before then 

Sure hope so as this habitat certainly appears to be under utilized by spawning steelhead.

[chris gadsden]

Sure hope so as this habitat certainly appears to be under utilized by spawning steelhead.

A good project for the Steelhead Society of BC or the Fresh Water Society of BC to fund or help get off the ground, do they know about this? There must be some readers here from these two Societies?

[Dave]

A good project for the Steelhead Society of BC or the Fresh Water Society of BC to fund or help get off the ground, do they know about this? There must be some readers here from these two Societies?

Well, we certainly know the FWFSBC and MOE reads these posts   Imo this issue should be investigated by them, and the habitat restoration unit of DFO, who built this channel.   In the past the FWFSBC has primarily focused on lake angling opportunities and increasing license sales (to ensure their very survival).  But now this group will be receiving more funding, and have suggested some of this money will go to moving water.  What better place to start than the most heavily fished steelhead  river in the province? 
The issue is there is nothing to attract these fish (ie, deeper water,strategic rock placements, staging pools, etc).  Now, if they are fortunate enough to find it, fish would have their backs out of the water trying to access the first, and boniest, steps of the channel.

The problem is very fixable and I am certain it would benefit wild steelhead. 

[chris gadsden]

Well, we certainly know the FWFSBC and MOE reads these posts   Imo this issue should be investigated by them, and the habitat restoration unit of DFO, who built this channel.   In the past the FWFSBC has primarily focused on lake angling opportunities and increasing license sales (to ensure their very survival).  But now this group will be receiving more funding, and have suggested some of this money will go to moving water.  What better place to start than the most heavily fished steelhead  river in the province? 
The issue is there is nothing to attract these fish (ie, deeper water,strategic rock placements, staging pools, etc).  Now, if they are fortunate enough to find it, fish would have their backs out of the water trying to access the first, and boniest, steps of the channel.

The problem is very fixable and I am certain it would benefit wild steelhead.

Lets hope we hear from them shortly or we will have to send them a request.

[BentRodsGuiding]

In my opinion, this years run was quite strong for both hatchery and wild fish and from my catch statistics the Steelhead spawned early.
I have never encountered so many spawned out fish so early in the season. I was catching very healthy repaired kelts regularily in early April.
Most years I catch maybe a few kelts, but many chrome pre spawn fish throughout April, this year lots of kelts and keep in mind I am fishing mostly the mid- lower river.
For the record, I did encounter quite a few spawned out hatchery females, which further shows that much cross breeding between wild and hatchery fish occurs on this river. Since the river is seemingly doing well I would guess that these hatch/wild hybrids are adjusting well to life without a hatchery and indeed adding viable babies to the wild gene pool.

[bigblockfox]

it seems everything is a month ahead this year. prob all related to the awesome weather.

[Dave]

Buck and I made trip # 5 this morning, starting as usual at Centennial Channel.  On arrival we saw even more damage had been done to the riparian area, and garbage had been strewn about.  Sure wish this site was gated off, as it used to be.  We saw 4 fish, 2 of which were spawning.  On comparable dates, we counted 20 in 2011, 7 in 2012, 9 in 2013, and 13 in 2014.  We saw only one possible redd, excluding the one the pair had built.  Water temperature was 8°0 C

On to Chilliwack Lake where the official camping season has begun, despite the remnants of yesterday’s snowfall, so the gates are open.  Here we saw 16, about ½ of which were actively spawning.  The water level is still very low and a few of these fish had their dorsal fins in the air when chasing off nearby competitors.  On a comparable date we saw 14 in 2012, 35 in 2013, and in 2014 we saw 14.  Water temperature here was also 8°0 C

We were fortunate enough to have enough sun to determine there were 4 fish holding just downstream of the Middle Creek Bridge; the gravel here is definitely being stirred up by spawning fish  … in 2013 we saw 18, in 2014 we saw 2.

Stopped by the hatchery where we saw about 30.  Most of the juvenile steelhead from this facility have now been released and the coho any day now.   With the Vedder as low and clear as it is, the mergansers are going to get fat.

[chris gadsden]

I donot think I can remember seeing the Chilliwack so clear at this time of year, no runoff, saw some fry trapped in some pools today hope we see a jump in water levels soon.

[Dave]

Buck and I made trip #6 this morning, starting as usual at Centennial Channel where we met DFO people repairing the latest vandalism to this superb off channel habitat … this time some knuckle draggers had ripped out a gate valve supplying water to more wetted areas (understand, this complex is all connected by water, when it is allowed to flow)  Kudos to DFO’s Habitat Restoration Unit and Chilliwack River Hatchery staff for catching this problem early, and averting certain juvenile coho mortalities.
We also had the opportunity to discuss the fish entry issues this channel is experiencing with the main guy who does this work … and were told it would be addressed this summer.  This is awesome news for fish, and for Buck and I; after walking this channel for years, and seeing several kms of the absolute best quality off channel spawning gravel and rearing habitat in the upper Chilliwack River virtually unused really pisses us off …  but on to fish counts.

We saw 2 at Centennial, one a severely fungused male who most likely will die soon.  2 redds were observed but visibility conditions were poor – lots of sun, lots of new growth vegetation in the riparian area, over shadowing the channel.  All good for fish, but hard for us to see ‘em .  On similar dates we saw 32 in 2011, 7 in 2012, 18 in 2013, and 4 in 2014. Water temperature was 9.0°C 

Chilliwack Lake was great for viewing - 15 were seen, about ½ staging/spawning. On similar dates we saw 30 in 2012, 21 in 2013, and 10 in 2014.  Water temperature was 10.0°C.  The water level is amazingly low and fish are spawning on gravel dug up weeks ago.   As hard as it may be to believe, we think this only area we are aware of that regularly sees reasonable numbers of spawning steelhead, may actually be overused.   As we have mentioned in the past, the placement of gravel here was gold, and probably the best investment to wild steelhead this river has seen.   It’s very obvious more gravel could be used at this site and we will be advocating for that.

With reasonable viewing conditions we saw 2 fish just downstream of the Middle Creek Bridge; in past years on this app date this site has had poor visibility due to high water so we have no previous data for comparisons.
More next week.
 

[Dave]

Buck and I made our 7 th and final trip to the upper river this morning.  We drove into Centennial Channel but on arrival it was obvious seeing any fish at this site would be nearly impossible due to the huge growth of riparian vegetation due to the early spring this valley is experiencing, and the sun light overhead through that vegetation.  We decided no data for this site was better than poor data.

I had another opportunity to talk to DFO’s Habitat Restoration people at the Browne Creek Wetlands opening ceremony on May 14, and was again assured this channel and its entrance problems would be addressed this summer.
 
On to Chilliwack Lake where we were happy to see a slight increase in water levels, meaning the gravel on which we think up to 75 fish spawned will remain watered.   Today we saw one lonely looking steelhead, cruising the gravel pad.  This year marks the earliest we have curtailed counts, and also the earliest we have observed spawners, but are looking forward to doing it again next spring.

Although only a five year data set, and as limited as it is, these counts are actually being used in consideration for future habitat restoration decisions  … Pete and I are happy about that as it makes it all worthwhile

[colin6101]

Thanks for all the hard work guys! It was a pleasure to read about your trips, and I hope this brings about some positive changes.

[DRP79]

Thank you Dave and Buck for your work and dedication. Im glad to hear that the work is being used to further enhance spawning habitat.

[banx]

thank you

[Fish or cut bait.]

Thanks!