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[Dave]

There’s been some discussion recently in other posts regarding adult steelhead populations in the Chilliwack-Vedder.   As there is little enumeration data, we are left with best guess’ and speculation …. But that’s not all bad as it gets us talking.
One writer suggested a total run of 10,000 fish, another thought that number too high.   What do other FWR readers think – what is your “best guess” number of returning adults, for the past few years, to this river? 
For obvious reasons this needs to be in two categories; returning wild steelhead and returning hatchery steelhead
Let me start – my guess is, on average, 250-500 wild steelhead; 1500-3000 hatchery.
 
Remember, I’m only asking for opinions and the above is mine.

[fyrslyer]

3000 hatch 2000 wild

[troutbreath]

3010 hatch 2010 wild and I raise the anti.

[kingpin]

3200 hatch . 2000 wild

[buck]

       Hatchery- 2500-3000 Based on # released and 2.5 % survival rates.  Coho survival rates have been around 2% so one can assume that the larger STHD smolts
would survive at a higher rate. 
       
        Wild - 700 - 800

[Dave]

Thanks for your input Buck.  I used pretty much the same numbers as you to come up with my guestimate of the hatchery component, only I added a larger predator/residualization variable.
C’mon folks…. there are  no right or wrong answers to this question; it’s basically your gut feeling.
At the time of this posting, about 170 people have read this but only 5 have responded …. Why is that?  If you didn’t fish and care about steelhead on this system, you wouldn’t be reading this stuff ….
Let’s hear from you anglers:  how many steelhead do you think return to the Chilliwack-Vedder?

[dead head]

3000  I would like to know how many actualy make it up to the hatchery

[Rodney]

Dave, I hate guesses, especially uneducated ones, so I'm not gonna make any.

What I am very interested in knowing is, from you, Buck and others who have had related field work on the Chilliwack-Vedder watershed, any guesses on the current carrying capacity of the steelhead population.

[Every Day]

Hmmmm.
I really don't know what to think.
If you think about it... a crappy fisherman like me can fill out around 3 Steelhead on my tag without even being home.

Now you factor in quite a few locals that fish it every day (like I use to) and you have people filling out 10 a year (easily).
How many people fish that river every day? How many fish are weighed in at Fred's everyday (probably 1 out of 3 weighed in I would guess).

I would say that there are around 3500/4000 hatches in the river.
Wilds I would go ~3000... just too many of them caught all the time to only be less than 1000 (and you very rarely see pics of the same fish). I'm also throwing in the fact that there is normally a 50/50 split in wilds to hatches caught (for me anyways) and if not a 50/50 split I seem to get almost all wilds (maybe they are more aggressive?).

[Riverman]

I agree with Buck.This year maybe a tad lower.

[Dave]

Good question Rod.  My "guess" is the carrying capacity for wild steelhead is considerably more is than is present now (I know, that's a copout answer!).  IMO, the lack of quality spawning gravel in the upper river is the greatest limiting factor for wild production.  Really, most of the optimum gravel is in the habitat restoration channels and these are often not accessible to spawning steelhead ie a beaver dam blocked access to 75% of Centennial Channel last year; this channel has the best gravel in the upper river.

[mykisscrazy]

Wild Steelhead = not enough
Hatchery Steelhead = far too many
  That's my guess...

[Jack Straw]

My guestimate...wild steelhead (this years returning adults) probably 500-700. Even if there is twice as many as that I think the non-regulated, free-for-all, harvest fishery has to be better managed. The Thompson River was closed when such numbers of wild fish were realized.

The hatchery fish numbers are probably more static. The hatchery's goal of 35 mating pairs of wild fish is pretty constant, so the returning mature fish numbers are probably quite similar from year to year. Ocean survival & in-river angling conditions will likely make catch rates different from year to year. This season, except for some early high water, has been extremely fishable & the weather has been pretty mild. Easy fishin' & mediocre to good catchin'. My guestimate is less than 1000 hatchery fish.

I wonder how many lake-run char & sea-run char are in the river too??

[Dave]

I wonder how many lake-run char & sea-run char are in the river too??

Good question JS.  I have kept an angling diary for about 20 years; in the past couple of years and espcially this season I have seen and caught more char in the Chilliwack.  But these numbers are far less than back in the 60's and 70's, the good old days.  Lake run char .... do you mean fish that drop out of Cultus, Foley and Chilliwack Lakes??

[mykisscrazy]

Good to see that you are seeing more Char this year....but has your angling effort increased over the last couple of years?

Another question to the mix

How many Adipose Clipped Steelhead do you think make it past all the anglers and sucessfuly spawn?
and what percentage of unclipped Adult Steelhead had a adipose clipped parent?

Is that a bad thing? In an Urban setting, personally I don't think so, as the brood are all unclipped and from the system, but it must have had an affect.

Do you think there were distinct runs of steelhead in the Chilliwack/Vedder? and now one hodge-podge mix...a true Canadian eh...a bit of this and a bit of that!