Steelhead Counts at Bonneville: 80 Years of Data

[JayB]

These numbers probably require some pretty generous error bars, particularly in the early years, but I thought they were still pretty interesting nonetheless.

Columbia River Steelhead Runs, 80-years of ladder counts

A Computation of Bonneville Dam Steelhead Run Numbers in the Columbia RiverBy: Mark Bachmann The numbers used here were/are compiled by the Bonneville Power Administration and are considered to be accurate within acceptable tolerances. What do the...

flyfishusa.com

Year	Total Steelhead	Unclipped
1938	107003
1939	121932
1940	185161
1941	118087
1942	151395
1943	92151
1944	100473
1945	120086
1946	142806
1947	135434
1948	139062
1949	119285
1950	114087
1951	149539
1952	260990
1953	223914
1954	176260
1955	198411
1956	131116
1957	139184
1958	131347
1959	129026
1960	113676
1961	139726
1962	164025
1963	129418
1964	117252
1965	166445
1966	143661
1967	121872
1968	106974
1969	141782
1970	113510
1971	193966
1972	185886
1973	157823
1974	137054
1975	85540
1976	124177
1977	193437
1978	104431
1979	114007
1980	129254
1981	159270
1982	157640
1983	213779
1984	315587
1985	343961
1986	379891
1987	303081
1988	279072
1989	287798
1990	183027
1991	274545
1992	314975
1993	188377
1994	161978	29451
1995	202448	28036
1996	205216	30338
1997	258385	33580
1998	185094	35701
1999	206488	55064
2000	275178	76192
2001	633073	149317
2002	483956	143196
2003	365821	112823
2004	313377	97875
2005	315650	88999
2006	339301	85082
2007	325275	82197
2008	357845	105670
2009	604970	172383
2010	416603	156139
2011	369365	129166
2012	235303	85472
2013	234047	99148
2014	325965	130571
2015	268730	97782
2016	188146	52260
2017	117878	34405
2018	102891	33311

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Comment​

 

[Long_Rod_Silvers]

I could go for another 2001 again. Please.

 

[Evan B]

I could go for another 2001 again. Please.

2009 for me. Just because I saw that one first-hand and it was mind blowing.

 

[Long_Rod_Silvers]

2009 for me. Just because I saw that one first-hand and it was mind blowing.

Shoot, I'd take either right now.

 

[JACKspASS]

I was fishing the Sky regularly in 01, very good year, and probably the best year I ever had over there considering I didn't start until the mid 90's. 2009 I was in Idaho and got to experience those runs, I had more steelheading experience under my belt then, and wow, 4-8 fish days were very common. Haven't seen that in awhile

 

[Buzzy]

@JayB - thanks for sharing the data. Some of our local rivers back in the '01 era were thick with hatchery steelhead. My friend DK and I had several 20 fish days (between the two of us). One year there were so many Chinook in one of our favorite rivers that after they had spawned and rotted the eddies were greyish with rotting fish flesh.

 

[Millsfly]

the Columbia river dart data is amazing. I look at this stuff way, way too much

DART Adult Passage Counts Daily for All Species | Columbia Basin Research

www.cbr.washington.edu

Every other year starting in 17, 19, 21 was horrific. 21 I didnt even fish and it felt like someone tore my arm off. I felt lost

Last year was a slight, albeit slight reprieve. This year was supposed to be a reflection of 21, but it's shaping up more like 22. Still lots of time for it to go either way....

Anecdotally, there's an uptick in the As this year and this year is likely to suck for Bs.

With every finger and toe crossed for good luck....here I am

 

[SKYKO]

I was lucky enough to fish the GR several times per season in 01/02 then moved to Bend OR in 03 for 20 years. Just some lights out spectacular summer run fishing on some of those seasons across a bunch of different CR trib's.

Back up in Puget Sound now and digging the beach fishing as well as reconnecting with the OP even though it's diminished.

 

[Yard Sale]

the Columbia river dart data is amazing. I look at this stuff way, way too much

DART Adult Passage Counts Daily for All Species | Columbia Basin Research

www.cbr.washington.edu

Every other year starting in 17, 19, 21 was horrific. 21 I didnt even fish and it felt like someone tore my arm off. I felt lost

Last year was a slight, albeit slight reprieve. This year was supposed to be a reflection of 21, but it's shaping up more like 22. Still lots of time for it to go either way....

Anecdotally, there's an uptick in the As this year and this year is likely to suck for Bs.

With every finger and toe crossed for good luck....here I am

Sure would be nice to reverse that trend. Feels like this year is marginally better than last year. I think we hit the D numbers earlier and we are close to a JD season I think.

Toes crossed for sure!

 

[JS]

God damn we had some fun. Football made me miss most of 2001, but I’d sacrifice a really cute sea lion pup for another 2009.

 

[Millsfly]

I'd do some things to make 2009 happen again

 

[Yard Sale]

I'm just glad we aren't having another 2021. Not that its good this year...

 

[skyriver]

I'd love to see the planted numbers. Which I'm sure someone has decent estimates. The hard one to know is how many of those unclipped fish are actually progeny of hatchery natural spawners. It's pretty well documented that Skamania strain hatchery fish naturally spawn more than we might think. I'm sure other strains can too.

I think about all the times I fished the Deschutes in the 80s and didn't even think about steelheading since the trout fishing was so damn good. And the 2000s I mostly missed because I was raising kids. Steelhead opportunities missed! Maybe our opportunity will be decent this year.

 

[wmelton]

I'd love to see the planted numbers. Which I'm sure someone has decent estimates. The hard one to know is how many of those unclipped fish are actually progeny of hatchery natural spawners. It's pretty well documented that Skamania strain hatchery fish naturally spawn more than we might think. I'm sure other strains can too.

I think about all the times I fished the Deschutes in the 80s and didn't even think about steelheading since the trout fishing was so damn good. And the 2000s I mostly missed because I was raising kids. Steelhead opportunities missed! Maybe our opportunity will be decent this year.

I can't find nearly as many studies on this as there should be. Hopefully there are many ongoing

 

[HauntedByWaters]

2009 for me. Just because I saw that one first-hand and it was mind blowing.

I met my buddy near Pateros in 2009 to camp and fish for a few days. He and another friend got there very early and I arrived at lunchtime. All of us had a plan to fish dry flies a lot that trip. I arrived and they were sitting on the bank and said they had hooked into the 20s on dries. They pointed to where to stand and where to cast and I anxiously waded out crazy excited. I made a cast that piled up like shit on the chop and as I was stripping line to recast a steelhead slurped it. The ugliest and accidentally dead drifted presentation you ever saw hooked an 8 pound steelhead.

 

[Millsfly]

I met my buddy near Pateros in 2009 to camp and fish for a few days. He and another friend got there very early and I arrived at lunchtime. All of us had a plan to fish dry flies a lot that trip. I arrived and they were sitting on the bank and said they had hooked into the 20s on dries. They pointed to where to stand and where to cast and I anxiously waded out crazy excited. I made a cast that piled up like shit on the chop and as I was stripping line to recast a steelhead slurped it. The ugliest and accidentally dead drifted presentation you ever saw hooked an 8 pound steelhead.

2009 on that ditch was ungodly

 

[JudyM]

Time for me to head to Cascade Locks!