A New Way of Thinking; Retaining Dark Hatchery Fish

Matthew Clark is an angling videographer & the creator of Small Stream Salmon Fishing network. He has been an avid Traveling fisherman for over 25 years. His experience with both fly rod and terminal gear has covered much of the west coast for many species of fish in both fresh and saltwater.

Currently his work can be found on this site in the video & article sections.

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A New Way of Thinking; Retaining Dark Hatchery Fish

Matthew Clark
Small Stream Salmon Fishing

Keep an open mind as we move into this new way of thinking in steelhead fisheries management.

Retaining Dark Hatchery Steelhead video clip

We have come to a point in time when conservation of the remaining native steelhead takes first priority and hatchery steelhead runs in the Northwest have turned to brood stock management or have simply disappeared. The newer brood stock programs created here are said to be a balance for native stocks and hatchery fish we can work with but these fish tend to end up in the upper river and on the spawning beds with the very natives used to create them. A possible genetic oversight in planning because both of these runs return at the exact same time. For this reason it is good for us to remove all the hatchery fish we catch from the river including the dark ones so the numbers of non native fish on the beds will stay at an absolute minimum.

You might say to yourself if you keep a dark fish your friends will get on your case and if you post a photo on the worldwide web you might get a less then pleasant response. In comparison that is the same reaction that the pioneers of catch and release fishing experienced when they first tried to explain their beliefs about fish conservation. Today catch & release is a preferred practice if not a requirement for many species in many rivers and lakes around the world.

I have been very lucky to fish with many knowledgable anglers that are involved in these programs. Many have explained why this practice and way of thinking needs to be reversed for this purpose of brood stock management. It is not a question of ethics explained Brandon Glass, it's a hatchery fish that is put there for us to take and If a group of fish gets recycled they can be dark but will still cut very well. For the better of the river system they should be removed when caught by sport anglers.

Oregon rivers such as the Sandy River and the Wilson river are examples of productive brood stock programs but both of these rivers have higher stray rates where retention will be most important in maintaining a balance. Spring Chinook have also now become brood stock in the Sandy River and the river is now open to fishing up to the mouth of the Salmon River. It is hoped that by opening the river higher up, anglers will find and retain more of the darker brood stock salmon and steelhead before they reach spawning grounds or closed fishing areas.

The educated minds in fishing can help to curb the general way of thinking through on river discussion with other anglers and through online posts to their favorite fishing forum. I will be saying thank you to anglers I see carrying a dark hatchery fish on my home rivers. Together we can preserve the privilege of keeping hatchery fish while we try to restore valuable native steelhead runs. The brood stock program may be the key to this goal but the river will need our help in removing all the hatchery fish we land in the coming seasons regardless of their condition.