Ladders and bottlenecks you say? I’d look at those. You can Google them.
Coho run coming up short?
- Thread starter the_chemist
- Start date
Ladders and bottlenecks you say? I’d look at those. You can Google them.
Looks like a human caused condition.
Sure does. Hmm. We should probably blame wildlife instead.
fatbillybob
Steelhead
Hope you like your bass fishery
This is obviously a simplification for a post on an internet forum.
Bass seem to like warm sleepy water, like the kind you find behind dams.
Salmon seem to like cold fast water, like the kind you find when rivers aren't dammed or dams are removed. See: Elwha and Klamath.
I recommend Google Scholar and not just regular Google for this topic.
fatbillybob
Steelhead
If you don't think salmonids are under attack from all sides perhaps just go fishing and see for yourself.
Um, where did I say salmonids aren't under attack from all sides?
Increasingly further? Historically sealions chased salmon all the way up to Celilo Falls. Now Bonneville dam blocks 99.9% of them.
Pink Nighty
Legend
If you think pinnipeds are the major factor limiting salmonids perhaps look at the shoreline while fishing and see the actual problems for yourself. It's us!
speedbird
Life of the Party
At least he is using regular Google and not Google AI summary, that's a mile better than a lot of people I debate various topics with.
I think we are in an unfortunate position where lethal pinniped removal is necessary to give the salmon a chance to survive. At the same time, addressing the human factor should be the priority. I saw a single sea lion catch a coho today, I saw dozens of humans catch multiple coho today. It seems to me that when the fish aren't bottlenecked into fish ladders or riparian areas are intact and serve as a barrier to pinnipeds moving too far inland that the fish are more than capable of swimming away from a hungry Sea Lion or Seal. Watching the Seals and Sea Lions hunt out in the Sound was a very different experience to watching the Seals turkey shoot at the Ballard Locks fish ladder.
Tangentially related, nearly all the coho being caught out at Possession today, and even the fish rolling had hardened scales and were slightly colored up.
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The WDFW coho forecast underestimated the size of this year's coho run. As a result the harvest impacts appear larger than expected. WDFW can't make it rain to bump up early September coho returns into our rivers, so out of caution they are reducing the number of wild coho harvested. Forecasts are just numbers, not reality.
We need to remember that October saltwater fishing is already closed in MA9 and only starting today is it legal to harvest unclipped "wild" coho.
You guys have it rough up there. I think the Columbia tribs and coastal rivers are going to have great Coho fishing when we recieve some rain. The ocean produced well.
Going to hit a well known Oregon coast coho river next weekend. Hoping for the fresh coho/ling/crab trifecta meal.
Going to hit a well known Oregon coast coho river next weekend. Hoping for the fresh coho/ling/crab trifecta meal.
fatbillybob
Steelhead
1/2 spring chinook run currently take by sealions. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/2026/01/sea-lion-salmon-euthanasia-columbia-river/685523/
Biologists Say Sea Lions are Eating Too Many Salmon
Biologists from Washington and Oregon today (Tuesday) gave a sobering assessment of the fate of salmon species that are being devoured in large numbers by…
www.spokanepublicradio.org