What's up with the little Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Willy?

[eugene1]

There are a ton of small steelhead or rainbow trout in the Willamette in Springfield these days.

They are fin-clipped and some are chrome and others have a hint of color. They are super hungry and attack anything.

So, are they stocker trout or are they steelhead smolts??

Heard they dumped a bunch of smolts into D St. a couple of weeks ago, and I also heard that they don't plant stocker trout in town. Other people tell me they have been catching lots of "trout".

Anybody know about this?

Thanks,

 

[Modest_Man]

There are a ton of small steelhead or rainbow trout in the Willamette in Springfield these days.

They are fin-clipped and some are chrome and others have a hint of color. They are super hungry and attack anything.

So, are they stocker trout or are they steelhead smolts??

Heard they dumped a bunch of smolts into D St. a couple of weeks ago, and I also heard that they don't plant stocker trout in town. Other people tell me they have been catching lots of "trout".

Anybody know about this?

Thanks,

Sound like outmigrating hatchery steelhead smolts. Hard to be positive without a photo though. If they're chrome they're definitely steelhead. The ones with a little color could still be undergoing the parr-smolt transformation. Right now is the time of outmigrating smolt as well.

 

[eugene1]

If they're chrome they're definitely steelhead. The ones with a little color could still be undergoing the parr-smolt transformation.

Thanks, MM!

I was thinking the exact same thing. We never got any pics, but maybe we will next time out for you. The tips of their fins seemed a lot darker (black) than our resident trout.

Later,

 

[DYJ]

we caught two clippped fish yesterday in there and a bunch of other trout. One of the clipped fish was smll and bright chrome so I am sure it was a steelhead The other looked so much like a rainbow that I assumed maybe it was a stocker that had wondered down stream. They do stock the coast fork, don't they? Is it unreal that one of those stockers made it's way down stream? I sure wish the biggens were that aggressive, as soon as we let the plugs dive they would hit it.

 

[eugene1]

Yeah DYJ, we saw you reel in one little one yesterday, at first I got excited for you and thought maybe you had found some steel...

I think we caught 10 of the little guys last night.

 

[rippin fish lips]

Defninetly smolts. I caught the "smolt" truck that week like i said. With a little over 18,000 smolts released at the D-street ramp, they will spread out to the day-ilsand ramp and well below the I-5 bridge, with the majority of them hanging in the area you fish. Most of the little dinkers you get will be smolts right now, with... yes an accoasianal stocker. Most of those stockers you find there, either came out of AB_canall, or made there journy downstream from clear water. There is a shtload of stockers at clear water.

a lot of these smolts are going through the parr-smolt transformation on both rivers right now. Most of them are gettin big and heading out now, but a lot are just still small and gettin ready to head out before Summer river levels fall into play.

They (ODFW) do stock the willy with boats, There is some holes that they do stock with stockers in this stretch. Here is a great example... All the way to the end above the I-5 bridge, and inbetween the walls that slow the water flow, is a hole that they do stock with hatchery trout. Atleast they did it last year and the year before.

 

[DYJ]

So they do stock trout in the middle fork @ Clear Water? I had no idea.

 

[eugene1]

Defninetly smolts. I caught the "smolt" truck that week like i said. With a little over 18,000 smolts released at the D-street ramp, they will spread out to the day-ilsand ramp and well below the I-5 bridge, with the majority of them hanging in the area you fish. Most of the little dinkers you get will be smolts right now, with... yes an accoasianal stocker. Most of those stockers you find there, either came out of AB_canall, or made there journy downstream from clear water. There is a shtload of stockers at clear water.

a lot of these smolts are going through the parr-smolt transformation on both rivers right now. Most of them are gettin big and heading out now, but a lot are just still small and gettin ready to head out before Summer river levels fall into play.

They (ODFW) do stock the willy with boats, There is some holes that they do stock with stockers in this stretch. Here is a great example... All the way to the end above the I-5 bridge, and inbetween the walls that slow the water flow, is a hole that they do stock with hatchery trout. Atleast they did it last year and the year before.

Thanks for the info rippin,

I always wondered if they only stocked them at ramps with trucks, cool that they do it from boats too.

 

[rippin fish lips]

So they do stock trout in the middle fork @ Clear Water? I had no idea.

Yeah, im not 100% positive, but i think they did it by truck there this year because i have caught about 50 up there so far. They stock hatchery trout by boat almost all the way down from dexter to clear water. They just do not do it that often.
I think it's the mckenzie hatchery that does it. but it could be leaberg to.

 

[bigsteel]

Yeah, im not 100% positive, but i think they did it by truck there this year because i have caught about 50 up there so far. They stock hatchery trout by boat almost all the way down from dexter to clear water. They just do not do it that often.
I think it's the mckenzie hatchery that does it. but it could be leaberg to.

this is FALSE,they do not stock trout below the dam,only from hills creek res on up.

 

[rippin fish lips]

this is FALSE,they do not stock trout below the dam,only from hills creek res on up.

I talked to a couple people from ODFW a couple years ago, they said that they have boat stocked it from the damn down to pengra. Every year we float that stretch i catch stocker trout? I know they are trout and not steel/salmon smolts. Maybe they got washed out from Dexter damn? That is just what i know, Also... in the part of the river above I-5 inbetween the walls... there is a lot of stocker trout there each year??? in august/late august. They are not smolts, that's fer sure.

And the stockers we catch in the Dexter damn - pengra stretch are an everage of 12-15 inchers.

 

[rippin fish lips]

this is FALSE,they do not stock trout below the dam,only from hills creek res on up.

Why is there a bunch of stocker trout at Clear water landing as of april 28th? The bait opener. They are not smolts.

 

[bigsteel]

Why is there a bunch of stocker trout at Clear water landing as of april 28th? The bait opener. They are not smolts.

my guess is there pellet heads fallen out of fall creek,thaey do not stock the middlefork willamette with trout below the dam.

 

[eugene1]

Thanks for all of the ideas guys. I've concluded from research and your advice that these fish were smolts.

Went out today and all of these little fish were gone or at least not biting. I think the smolts have headed down river and out to sea for a couple of years. I hope to see about 1% of them again when they come back home much bigger. Good luck on the journey little guys!

 

[hawgcaller]

I don't know but there are a bunch of fin clipped trout that are over 8 inches that I would call a stocker trout. I nailed like 30 of them the other day floating jasper to clearwater. I have also seen quite a few over the past few weeks that were like 5 to 7 inches that I am guessing are the steelhead smolt. If I were trout fishing on the willy I would definitely bring a ruler. That is kind of confusing for all the people keeping trout. How do you know if it is a trout or an 8 inch steelhead smolt?