Steelhead

[Islandlaker]

With the closing of the French river hatchery and the reported stability of the steelhead population do you think it is time for the DNR to change the catch and release only rule on steelhead? I would like to see a one fish per day limit like Wisconsin. It is silly that I can troll the south shore and keep one but not the north shore. I caught a lot of steelhead on the north shore trolling for Lakers this year. Just amazing fish, I wish I could keep on from time to time to grill.

[Surface Tension]

I'd hate the speak for all trollers but I'd guess to say they would be in favor of being able to take one.

It could be that one were we know isn't going to make it after a release but because of the regs are forced to.

 

 If your a hardcore Steelheader you'd like protect and preserve what we have left of our "wild steelhead".

  A West Coast strain that over many decades have adapted to Lake Superior and  North Shore Streams.

 

With the protection placed on Steelhead along with stream restoration why haven't they rebounded to or beyond the hay days.

 I'm not a biologist but when I go about  anything I like to pursue I store information and analyze what and why.

The comeback of Lake Trout and introduction of Chinook Salmon at the same time declining Steelhead isn't a coincidence.  Besides predation there is competition and only so much feed in a cold deep lake.

 

North Shore Rivers and Streams.  Its a lack there of deal but its all we got.   Lets face it, we have creeks with marginal flow during Summer and Winter.  Thats a tough life for creek chubs let alone Steelhead.

 Spring high water transforms a trickling of water into a Meca for returning Steelhead with a travel route to spawning grounds.

 

As much as I'd like to take one home for the grill,  considering the above I don't see how that can happen.

 

 

 

 

 

[JBMasterAngler]

The rising number of cormorants certainly can't help. I've seen them in streams dining on freshly stocked loopers like it was an all you can eat buffet at the casino! No doubt they do the same on some of the better steelhead streams. 

[Islandlaker]

I could see them keeping steelhead fishing as catch and release while they are spawning but would be nice to keep one while trolling especially if they look like they wont make it. The hardcore steelhead may not like it but fishing should be for everyone not the hard core steelhead guy or the hardcore muskie guy and so on.

[live4chrome]

HECK NO! 

 

Allowing retention of steelhead in the North shore rivers would be a disaster. They do not have the production like the south shore Wisconsin rivers do and they are too easy to fish.

With the very strong return of the laker fishery and the liberal 3 fish limit there is no reason to be killing steelhead on the north shore. It is far too delicate of a fishery to allow that.

[maxpower117]

And yet you can still keep 1 coaster. Talk about a delicate resource. What a joke. 

[live4chrome]

5 hours ago, maxpower117 said:

And yet you can still keep 1 coaster. Talk about a delicate resource. What a joke. 

That's a travesty. 

[Big Kype]

They are overfished and die from being caught and released over and over and over again the way it is. Let people keep 1 and they will be gone in a year.

[I fish, therefore I lie]

Years ago the state of Washington implemented a punch card system for steelhead. Take a fish, punch the card. Once you harvested your annual allocation, you were done.  I could see, within limits, a punch-card that would allow the harvest of one fish annually, say 28" or longer, and then only by resident anglers (that would exclude me, but I have the Brule), and only while trolling on Lake Superior. (NO RIVER HARVEST, and no shore casting! )   Better yet, a permit system, residents only, and by lottery. The cost would be $25. Anyone caught taking a steelhead without a permit would be subject to a lifetime hunting and fishing ban. (and a fine of a gazillion bucks.)

Whaddayouthink?

[Big Kype]

19 minutes ago, I fish, therefore I lie said:

Years ago the state of Washington implemented a punch card system for steelhead. Take a fish, punch the card. Once you harvested your annual allocation, you were done.  I could see, within limits, a punch-card that would allow the harvest of one fish annually, say 28" or longer, and then only by resident anglers (that would exclude me, but I have the Brule), and only while trolling on Lake Superior. (NO RIVER HARVEST, and no shore casting! )   Better yet, a permit system, residents only, and by lottery. The cost would be $25. Anyone caught taking a steelhead without a permit would be subject to a lifetime hunting and fishing ban. (and a fine of a gazillion bucks.)

Whaddayouthink?

 

LOL - waste of time/money/resources. Leave it to Washington to have a gazillion rules and regulations/fees/tags/permits micromanaging every aspect of everything. After going through all of that hassle, no one will even bother anyway.

[icefisker]

well so much for discourse. 

[I fish, therefore I lie]

Yeah, but everyone's entitled to their opinion. I doesn't bug me as long as we stay civil.