SRC We Know So Little

GAT

GAT

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Sea-run Cutthroat Trout are actually more unique to our region than are salmon and steelhead, yet there really isn't a lot of scientific studies done of the fish.

I was writing an article in regards to fishing for SRC and contacted the ODF&W for scientific background info ... they had very little.

So I contacted Les Johnson (may he rest in peace) and we talked quite awhile on the lack of study both Oregon and Washington has done in regards to the life and times of SRC. ... it's actually quite amazing what we don't know about a very unique fish that is native to our states.

SRC, the unsung hero of the PNW ... and I'm not quite sure why.
 
I agree, nothing says "Pacific Northwest" like searun cutthroat. My first 300 or so trout caught were either searuns or native coastal cutties, most of those out of one or other forks of the Nehalem river or Necanicum river. My parents had a place in tidewater on the South Fork Nehalem, and I used to sit on our dock fishing for SRC's all the time.

All of those 300 trout were caught on either a Spruce fly or a Tied Down Caddis Buck with orange dubbing. I eventually added muddler minnows and GRHE's to my repertoire.
 
Gene, let's not waste a bunch of money on stupid science without action. I have caught hundreds of SRC in my life and they were all in either the saltwater, or freshwater. Now common sense tells us that we simply need to protect all saltwater and freshwater habitat in the range of SRC and we will have excellent SRC populations. It's simple, really.
 
GAT said:
Sea-run Cutthroat Trout are actually more unique to our region than are salmon and steelhead, yet there really isn't a lot of scientific studies done of the fish.

I was writing an article in regards to fishing for SRC and contacted the ODF&W for scientific background info ... they had very little.

So I contacted Les Johnson (may he rest in peace) and we talked quite awhile on the lack of study both Oregon and Washington has done in regards to the life and times of SRC. ... it's actually quite amazing what we don't know about a very unique fish that is native to our states.

SRC, the unsung hero of the PNW ... and I'm not quite sure why.
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That is true, but some biologists from WDFW have been conducting some research over the past several years. In fact, in November of 2018, there was a coastal cutthroat trout symposium that was held in Newport, OR.

Coastal Cutthroat Coalition

www.coastalcutthroatcoalition.com www.coastalcutthroatcoalition.com

Unfortunately, we are so salmon/steelhead centric, that there is no money allocated for specific cutthroat trout research, it is mainly incidental.
 
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GAT said:
and I'm not quite sure why.
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As alluded to in some of the other posts, SRC barely register on the radar as an "economically important species." Therefore WDFW and its predecessors didn't care about them or allocate funding to study them. That has finally changed, ever so slightly.
 
The lack of knowledge and research to acquire knowledge on cutthroat may be helping them more then harming them. They are my favorite fish to fish for. Outside of fly fishermen and biologists not very many people know anything about cutthroat or even what they are. More than once I had people ask me what it was when they caught one while fishing for salmon. At least once the fish was released because it wasn’t a salmon.
 
Without a doubt historically more resources were allocated to salmon with lesser attention to steelhead and minimum interest in sea-run cutthroat. However, that does not mean that basic knowledge of the cutthroat had not been collected (largely due to the interest of a few folks.

Here are a few nuggets from a 1980 Washington Department of Game "Sea-run cutthroat Status Report"

Sea-run cutthroat smolt at an older age than steelhead (few or no age 1 cutthroat smolts); from a Cowlitz scale collection 2% were 1-year smolts 69% 2-year and 29 3-year. Other basin showed similar results.

Cutthroat and steelhead smolts are about the same size (6 to 6.5 inches)

The cutthroat smolts tend to migrate a little later than the steelhead

Limited juvenile sampling found higher densities (2 to 3 times) for north sound systems than south sound and Hood Canal.

Genetic work on north sound systems found differences between each tributary even within the same basin

Fish were found entering non-natal streams to over-winter though mature left to spawn in their natal stream.

On the Cowlitz about 30% of the return wild adults had spawned at least once. On the Samish the rate was 44% one year and 52% another.

Based on creel checks freshwater catch rates are relatively low; 0.12 fish/ hour on the Stillaguamish; on the Stillaguamish only 3% of the anglers reported catch (killing) more than 2 fish.

The number of eggs/female varied from 800 to 1,200

And for you sound fishers from the late 1930s to mid-1950s the average number of cutthroat passed upstream at Minter Creek was 194/year

Don't know if any of the above of interest.

Curt
 
That's a hell of a lot more info than they had before. But, do they have any idea how far the SRC do migrate in the ocean or do they just hang out in the estuary?
 
GAt -
Note that was what was known in 1980. but it does represent a broad brush of the basics. Much of what has been learned since while providing some more detail to the picture has not changed the picture.

Some tagging work indicates that in Puge Sound our sea-runs are home bodies staying within 10 to 20 miles of their home river mouth. I recall on case where cutthroat were sampled in the Columbia River plume; I want to say as far as 20 miles off shore but may have that detail incorrect (memory failure?).
 
I've caught several clipped adipose fin cutthroat in Hood Canal. Always wondered where they came from, this was in the North end in the last 5-6 years.
 
I had heard that a paper by former OSU Professor Bill Pearcy mentioned capturing a coastal cutthroat trout in the Columbia River plume 30 miles off shore.

I was going through some old papers the other day and I came across a sampling packet I had obtained from the Sea-run Cutthroat Coalition for a FISH-IN that was held on October 11, 1992 in Hood Canal. There were seven designated locations (Bangor to Port Gamble, Hood Point to Bangor, Dabob Bay, Dosewalips River Estuary, Hoodsport-Lilliwaup-Dewatto Bay, Potlatch-Skokomish River, and Belfair State Park-Union River-Twanoh State Park-Tahuya River).
 
GAT said:
That's a hell of a lot more info than they had before. But, do they have any idea how far the SRC do migrate in the ocean or do they just hang out in the estuary?
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Aside from some being found fairly far off-shore (Columbia River and Olympic Peninsula stock), per the CCC's findings the ones in Puget Sound tend not to travel much further than 14 miles from their natal river/stream, and usually less than that. I'd quote and cite the source directly, but I can't find it at the moment.
 
If I recall correctly, I read an article where they sampled one src in Oregon that was estimated to be 10 or 11 years old.
Does anyone recall that?
SF
 
The most interesting thing I remember reading about SRC was from some diet study that I want to say found a good percentage of items consumed by SRC included clam necks??! I might be remembering the study wrong, but ever since reading that I've always envisioned SRC swimming around and nipping clam necks off as they stuck up from the bottom.
 
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7 or 8 years is the typical state maximum age of sea-run cutthroat according to most literature. That matches what pretty large collection of scales from the Snohomish, Stillaguamish, and Skagit system showed.

That said fish as old as age 10 have been reported in Alaska (Petersburg Creek?) but then I would expect that from fish near the northern extreme of their range.
 
GAT said:
Sea-run Cutthroat Trout are actually more unique to our region than are salmon and steelhead, yet there really isn't a lot of scientific studies done of the fish.

I was writing an article in regards to fishing for SRC and contacted the ODF&W for scientific background info ... they had very little.

So I contacted Les Johnson (may he rest in peace) and we talked quite awhile on the lack of study both Oregon and Washington has done in regards to the life and times of SRC. ... it's actually quite amazing what we don't know about a very unique fish that is native to our states.

SRC, the unsung hero of the PNW ... and I'm not quite sure why.
Click to expand...
I agree. They are an awesome game fish and worthy of more respect than they get.
 
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