Fall chinook over Willamette Falls

[jamisonace]

A small number of fall chinook come over willamette falls. Does anyone know what river they are returning to?

It such a small number I can't see anyone targeting them with much success.

 

[RunWithSasquatch]

Fall chinook salmon were introduced above Willamette Falls in 1964, after upstream fish passage was improved. Releases of the early spawning (tule) stock ranged from 5 to 12 million smolts annually. The state discontinued releasing hatchery fall chinook in 1996. Tule fall chinook pass Willamette Falls from mid-August through late September on their way upstream. Fall chinook spawn in the main stem Willamette River and lower reaches of eastside tributaries. Natural production comprises about 28 percent of recent runs.

 

[OnTheDrop]

Are these actually Fall fish or Late run springers? I've always wondered that. We catch them at the mouth of the Clackamas all the way through August in good condition. Then it literally stops, hardly ever get any while fishing for Coho up the Clack a bit maybe a native here and there...Maybe the ones that cross the falls are headed to Mckenzie, Molalla, etc? Shhoooot, Idk.

 

[waco]

If is a small number of returning fish why targeting them? They should be alone! My 2 cents!

 

[OnTheDrop]

Wait, we talking about Hatchery or Wilds? Or just in general?

 

[plumb2fish]

These are naturally spawning descendants of hatchery fish......just like the unclipped summer steelhead and coho.

 

[jamisonace]

They start counting them as fall fish after August 15 but I suppose its impossible to know what they really are at that point. I know we've caught some really fresh springers in late August on the mckenzie.

Are these actually Fall fish or Late run springers? I've always wondered that. We catch them at the mouth of the Clackamas all the way through August in good condition. Then it literally stops, hardly ever get any while fishing for Coho up the Clack a bit maybe a native here and there...Maybe the ones that cross the falls are headed to Mckenzie, Molalla, etc? Shhoooot, Idk.

 

[jamisonace]

Great info. Thx

question: if they discontinued releasing hatchery fish over 15 years ago, how does natural production only account for 28 percent of the run....shouldn't it be 100 percent? Or are they talking 28 percent of the entire annual salmon passage over the falls. That math doesn't make sense to me either.....it would be more like 5 percent.

Fall chinook salmon were introduced above Willamette Falls in 1964, after upstream fish passage was improved. Releases of the early spawning (tule) stock ranged from 5 to 12 million smolts annually. The state discontinued releasing hatchery fall chinook in 1996. Tule fall chinook pass Willamette Falls from mid-August through late September on their way upstream. Fall chinook spawn in the main stem Willamette River and lower reaches of eastside tributaries. Natural production comprises about 28 percent of recent runs.

 

[eugene1]

Great info. Thx

question: if they discontinued releasing hatchery fish over 15 years ago, how does natural production only account for 28 percent of the run....shouldn't it be 100 percent? Or are they talking 28 percent of the entire annual salmon passage over the falls. That math doesn't make sense to me either.....it would be more like 5 percent.

I was wondering the same. RWS, you have a link for that we can check out? I guess you can't keep any non-clipped (natural production) chinook at any rate, but still would be nice to get into fall runs in the upper river.

Best,

 

[plumb2fish]

Dtikey got a fall fish at the Leaburg hatchery a few tears ago....probably pretty rare though. I would bet most don't go much higher in the system than the Mollalla with a few making it to the santiam

 

[dtikey]

Yup sure did...Middle of 3rd week in november just before thanksgiving having fun catch and releaseing lots of summers and hooked what I thought a really nice steelhead but nope chromer nook at hatchery hole.Had a adipose so went right back into the drink and called my uncle who used to work with northwest steelheaders and guide for many years in the area and he said yes fall nooks go up willie but pretty much all stay lower.Once in awhile one will make its way up by harrisburg then go back down river and that I just got the only one that wanted to spawn by itself because thier wouldnt be any others around.Great fish though probally 15-17lbs hen with eggs

 

[rippin fish lips]

Great info. Thx

question: if they discontinued releasing hatchery fish over 15 years ago, how does natural production only account for 28 percent of the run....shouldn't it be 100 percent? Or are they talking 28 percent of the entire annual salmon passage over the falls. That math doesn't make sense to me either.....it would be more like 5 percent.

The hatchery at dexter damn said they get the biggest tule springers in late augest, oct and even into novemember. So they could be springers headin to the mac, willy, santiam.

 

[fuson22]

Yeah I live rite here on the McKenzie and the Willamette and fish BOTH of them for different fish in the same time of year. In about April/may I hit up the 700 hole (Where the Willamette comes out of Dexter damn) and it is not a big deal to hook 13 14 fish in a single 4 hour morning fish, but only go home with 1 or 2. And although I am fishing for chromer's, I'd say probably 4 out of 10 fish that are actually LANDED are Nook's. By the time they get all the way up there they are in bad shape. Then again it's still plenty pf fun, and probably 2 out of 10 are still VERY chrome and keep-able. At the same time 10 miles away on the McKenzie it's not quite as crazy as it is on the Willamette at the damn, it still produces a TON of chrome domes as well as Nook's too. Just fish different water to catch different fish that are sometimes 50 ft apart. But neither have much of any winter productivity for steel or Nook's. But they are both excellent fisheries that ANYONE could wet their line and catch fish all day throughout September.

 

[rainORsnow1]

An interesting factoid is that the fish that run above the falls are hatchery fish and the ones that Spawn in the main stem and in the clack are for the most part descendants of an extinct fall run that was wiped out by two different dams. One was in Gladstone and the other at rivermill. The one in Gladstone was wiped out in a giant flood and the one at rivermill had a poor fish ladder that was mostly used for scooping out breeding stock for early odfw planting. Over time the bad fish ladder plugged up and fish were not allowed above this dam to spawn until the 1950s! Extremely sad chronicle....