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[SuperBobby]

Catch and release mortality is still a factor, it is the same as targeting brown trout on their redds. Sure it may be enjoyable to some but it only damages the resources for future generations. Also what enjoyment is there in catching wild spawning/kelt steelhead? how is that sport it is equivalent to shooting a mule deer with its fawn during the spring or a bear with its cubs.

I don't actually remember the last time I caught a kelt and I fished the upper a lot in late season. Even fish that would be classed as spawners....very very low percentage.....

[SuperBobby]

one month out of the Feb-Apr period is lost, big deal. No one has any kind of personal right to the river beak or self appointed expert or otherwise.

Of course 1 month of lost fishing isn't a big deal to you Ralph.
They could ban sportfishing entirely and you wouldn't care. You'd probably be happy with the decision.

[RalphH]

Of course 1 month of lost fishing isn't a big deal to you Ralph.
They could ban sportfishing entirely and you wouldn't care. You'd probably be happy with the decision.

you talk like you believe you have a right to catch the last steelhead, hatchery or otherwise. 

[Dave]

you talk like you believe you have a right to catch the last steelhead, hatchery or otherwise.

It's called entitlement and Bob has a gut full.

[avid angler]

Leave it the way it is. Only new rule I would support is a ban on removing wild fish from the water to stop losers like the kasnaggers from dragging them up the beach.

[RalphH]

So Dave or anyone else who may be able to answer, has the brood stock collection switched away from the early season fish?

[Dave]

So Dave or anyone else who may be able to answer, has the brood stock collection switched away from the early season fish?

The hatchery takes pretty much what it gets nowadays. I believe collection starts in January, obviously catching early run fish, and goes until the desired numbers are retained. The problem is the fish have to be spawned early enough to get to size in one year, making late run fish a non starter. Add in the fact steelhead are simply extra work and another expense for DFO and you understand they are low on the priority list.

I would like to see the FWFSBC take a much more active role in Chilliwack River steelhead management; initiate spawning surveys, reactivate the fertilization program, do eyed egg plants in strategic up river sites, etc.  And start damn soon while there are still a few wild fish left.

[Chum Slayer]

What is the Actual steelhead run size? I have heard it is about 3500 to 5000 fish in total. But I have looked at some other websites and older news articles and they say the river gets about 10,000 to 15,000 steelhead a year.

[RalphH]

the last official estimates were issued about 20 years ago and I think it was 4,000. Numbers these days are possibly lower than that. Estimates for many years before was up towards the numbers you read but I think those were rough estimates and not based on actual swim counts and other info.

[avid angler]

Collection starts Jan 15. For the last 3 years the target has been reduced to 30 pairs. In my personal experience the early wilds (Pre January 15th arrivals) are fast movers and reach the upper reaches rather quickly. While later arrivals migrate much slower with the latest run fish utilizing the lower river for very long periods of time. In my opinion the only true early stock fish being taken for brood would be the odd fish captured by hatchery staff above the boundary. But there hasn’t been nearly as many taken from up there the last half a decade which is a step in the right direction.

[redside1]

It's called entitlement and Bob has a gut full.

Some will never get you can't keep catching the same ones over and over and over and over.
Atlantic salmon studies have shown that multiple recaptures lead to less success spawning but if one can go to the upper river where fish are holding and waiting for the magic moment to spawn and pound  them into the ground it's all that matters. 

[redside1]

this may have already been posted somewhere on here.
Locations and timing of spawning steelhead in the Chilliwack river.
One will quickly clue in why the closure from Tamihi up is a good thing.

https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/acat/documents/r7003/ChilliwackSteelhead_Nelsonetal2004_1147453320035_f5d6b7c48e5149a085e3a9784657fed0.pdf

[avid angler]

I would love to see this study done again as the habitat in the chilliwack has changed greatly in that time and it would be beneficial to see what sections of river most of the spawning fish now utilize

[Dave]

this may have already been posted somewhere on here.
Locations and timing of spawning steelhead in the Chilliwack river.
One will quickly clue in why the closure from Tamihi up is a good thing.

https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/acat/documents/r7003/ChilliwackSteelhead_Nelsonetal2004_1147453320035_f5d6b7c48e5149a085e3a9784657fed0.pdf

Thanks for posting this!  This document is considered the bible for Chilliwack/Vedder steelhead information and is invaluable in that regard.  I suspect, 20 years later, there are changes in steelhead migration and distribution and would love to see a similar study to see if that's correct.

Considering the amount of people that fish steelhead on this system it really is time to invest some time, people and money to manage these fish properly. As Joni said, you don't know what you've got till it's gone.

Edit: AA beat me to it

[bj23]

I would love to see this study done again as the habitat in the chilliwack has changed greatly in that time and it would be beneficial to see what sections of river most of the spawning fish now utilize

I agree - time to review that study.