In the twilight of the once bountiful Pilchuck

Published 11:29 am Friday, February 1, 2008

The old steelheader ‘oft remembers

Pleasant thoughts of past Decembers

Where beneath the leaden skies,

He probed the amber Pilchuck lies.

Dreams of steelhead and jumps so high,

The silver giants of days gone by.

— From the poem, “Pilchuck Reflections”

Gone by is right! The winter steelhead run in the Pilchuck River is in a world of hurt. The Pilchuck, an Indian word meaning “red water” because of the rust-colored stream, has been managed for steelhead production for over six decades but is now a shadow of what it was — and getting worse.

A person who is not a good historian cannot be a good fish biologist. As keeper of the archives for the Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club, let me share some historical data. For years, our club held a steelhead contest and kept detailed records. The Pilchuck had many December giants and several were caught on opening day. The notion that large steelhead only return late in the season is false. If you hooked a big fish in the Pilchuck you had to be lucky to land it because of numerous snags. History tells a different story than today’s managers are expounding.

Where did the early Pilchuck giants go? The biggest cause was the 1974 Boldt Decision, plus numerous sea lions and predator birds. (I have a personal letter from Judge Boldt thanking me for my environmental work.) It’s hard to raise chickens with foxes in the hen house.

After the State Game Department was formed in 1932, a trap was constructed near the City of Snohomish diversion dam and numerous steelhead were captured, spawned, and the offspring planted in other area rivers. Our club minutes from 1936 through 1940 show a great effort by sportsmen to protect the depleted Pilchuck.

In the spring of 1940, famed biologist Clarence Pautzke solved the mystery of steelhead migration on the Green River. Those 7- to 9-inch trout were downstream migrant steelhead. (The limit was 20 trout over 6 inches.) Minutes of Dec. 12, 1940: Pautzke’s assistant Bob Meigs came to Snohomish and explained the Green River findings. A resolution passed, stating in part: “Whereas the steelhead trout run in the Snohomish River System has reached a point of depletion etc.” The Pilchuck was closed in the summer and downstream migrants (smolts) were protected in the Snohomish system.

The Game Department increased smolt production and the Pilchuck and other area rivers were heavily planted, creating the golden age of steelheading. Just 13 years after the Green River study, the Pilchuck ranked 15th in the state of Washington with a catch of 2,637 steelhead. Great fishing continued for more than 30 years.

People who hate hatchery fish must hate their grandchildren. Our records show the Pilchuck has been planted with steelhead smolts 130 times since 1958 and numerous times before with fry and smolts. Do hatchery fish spawn successfully? Of course! Like our salmon and steelhead in Michigan, for example. To quote Harry Senn, retired chief fish biologist for the Fisheries Department: “It has been demonstrated many times over that hatchery fish do feed and bite, can return larger, fight like crazy, taste good, can be brighter, survive better, reproduce in nature and establish new populations.”

In 1948, the City of Snohomish diversion dam fish ladder was installed, creating a 20-mile sanctuary.

A wild fish is any fish coming up through the gravel. So to get more wild fish we should increase hatchery production. Retired national marine biologist Jim Mighell said tests have shown no difference between hatchery and wild fish. Pilchuck tributaries should receive marked steelhead fry. A rearing pond near Purdy Creek is needed and the commercial chum fishery taking early steelhead should be reduced. The Tulalips could fish the Snohomish River above the Pilchuck.

Poor steelhead fishing has been a disaster for the tackle business and anglers. We’ve not had a rearing facility constructed since the Reiter Ponds were dedicated April 6, 1975, in memory of Clarence Pautzke. Let’s give the Pilchuck back to the steelheaders.

While standing on the river in 1999 gazing at a beautiful January sunset, I remembered departed fellow steelheaders and wrote the poem “Pilchuck Reflections.” Nothing bit, but it was a beautiful evening: The poem ends with:

Then only the cottonwoods whispered to me

“I came to the end of a perfect day.”

Bob Heirman has been secretary-treasurer of the Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club for the past 48 years. He also keeps the archives for the parent Snohomish County Sportsmen’s Association.