We all know that 2021-2022 returns were disastrously low for wild steelhead in the Deschutes and most of the Pacific Northwest.  ODFW estimates that only 523 wild steelhead made it above Sherars Falls, compared to 1,935 the year before.  The current 2022-2023 Deschutes steelhead return year still has a few months to go but surprising data is emerging.  Wild steelhead counts have improved but are still low, barely above the threshold for survivability as established by ODFW.  Upper basin origin reintroduced steelhead, however, are likely to have their best return year ever.  With a few months to go, returns this year are already almost 3 times last year.

The 2021-2022 Deschutes summer steelhead season officially ended April 30. While steelhead can start appearing in the lower most sections of the Deschutes in June, most don’t arrive at the upper stretches until winter with stragglers arriving in March and April. According to Portland General Electric, the final reintroduction count for this past season is 46 steelhead. (Look at the spreadsheets from May 2021 through April 2022.) The 2020-2021 season saw 52 adult returns and the total for the season prior to that was 57. Clearly, the return of only 46 adult steelhead from the Upper Deschutes Basin is disappointing. On the other hand, the return of wild and hatchery adults in the entire river has been plummeting.

You’ve probably already read about the announcement yesterday from ODFW that a new state record whitefish was caught last month on the Lower Deschutes near Warm Springs. Congrats to Alex Dietz, it must have been fun. This is another example of the fact that the Lower Deschutes is in great shape and that fish are bigger since PGE’s Selective Water Withdrawal tour became operational. To be clear, there are ongoing issues but its past time for the misinformation campaigns to stop.

Portland General Electric and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, co-owners of the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project on the Deschutes River, held their annual fisheries workshop today. I have been attending these events for many years and can wrap this one up pretty easily. While some of the numbers have changed, the bottom line is that the goal of reintroducing summer steelhead, spring chinook, and sockeye into the Upper Deschutes Basin remains elusive. The number of returning adults of all three species continues to be a small fraction of what is required for self-sustaining populations. That being said, there are good, dedicated people working on the effort and they continue to adapt based on the results of on-going scientific work. Also, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that their annual fish sampling once again shows that the operation of the Selective Water Withdrawal tower has had no negative impact on trout populations in the Lower Deschutes River. As detailed in their presentation, trout density and size continues to be the same or better than before the SWW become operational. In a follow up conversation, ODFW confirmed that trout condition factors (health) also continue to be good. I believe that reintroduction remains a worthwhile effort. The biggest issues remain outside the control of PGE/CTWS: low flows in the Crooked River (where most fish want to go), high temperatures, and poor ocean conditions.

The recent heatwave caused Portland General Electric to release 25% cold bottom water a few days ago into the Lower Deschutes River. The lower river once again has the temperature it would have if the Pelton Round Butte hydroelectric complex was not there. PGE says they will be able to release more cold water in July. Good news for Deschutes anglers.

For Central Oregonians, the “day trip” on the Deschutes is the stretch from Warm Springs to Trout Creek.  While steelhead counts on the Columbia are somewhat elevated from last year’s dismal numbers, it has not translated into good returns on the day trip section so far this season.  According to fish counts on the PGE website, a total of 186 steelhead have been captured at the trap near the base of the Pelton Reregulating Dam from May through October.  Of those, 8 were true wild fish and were returned to the river. 15 of the fish were planted as fry or smolts above Lake Billy Chinook.  Most of these will be released into LBC with the hope they will naturally reproduce in the Crooked River or Whychus Creek.  The 163 hatchery fish will mostly be used as brood stock for future hatchery production.  These are small numbers, but the next three months typically see the most fish arrive.  Keep your fingers crossed.

From my perspective, one of the highlights of the Deschutes Fisheries Workshop is the annual report on lower Deschutes fish from ODFW.  That presentation did not occur this year, so I talked to Rod French, ODFW Mid-Columbia District Fish Biologist which includes the lower Deschutes.  There was a surprise, read on for more.

I don’t write much about kokanee and sockeye, but they are part of the effort to reintroduce anadromous fish into the upper Deschutes Basin.  The tribes frequently talk about the cultural significance of sockeye but they seem to be of secondary importance in reintroduction efforts.  As a fly angler who likes to target large fish, I am also very aware that kokanee are the primary food source for bull trout in Lake Billy Chinook.Read More »

The annual Pelton Round Butte Fisheries Workshop is rapidly approaching so I have been reviewing notes from last year along with updates since then.  I’ll make a few posts from that review over the next week.  Like I have said before, if you are interested in learning about what is really happening in the lower Deschutes River, Lake Billy Chinook, and anadromous fish reintroduction efforts, you should attend.

Portland General Electric has recently been talking about above average returns of reintroduced spring chinook this year.  I first saw mention of this in their June newsletter, then there was this story on KTVZ, and then today’s story in the Bend Bulletin.  I hesitated to write about these returns but given the coverage, here’s my two cents.  Without a doubt this is good news but with a total of 46 adult fish so far this year returns remain dismal.  PGE is crediting the improvement to operational changes, specifically releasing hatchery reared smolts rather than fry along with nighttime operation of the Selective Water Withdrawal tower during out migration periods.  I certainly hope these are the reasons.  Time will tell, however, if this is an aberration, like the recent one year spike in Sockeye returns that has not repeated itself, or the beginning of a true recovery.  I’m hopeful, but cautious.

As I have written about repeatedly in the past, if you want to hear the latest science and updates on what is happening in the Lower Deschutes, you should attend the Pelton Round Butte Fisheries Workshop.  The 25th annual workshop is next month, July 17 & 18, at The Riverhouse Convention Center in Bend.  You can sign up and get the agenda here.  This meeting should be especially interesting.  Along with the normal updates on salmon and steelhead reintroduction efforts, the results of the long overdue water quality study will be released.  You can read the latest PGE/CTWS newsletter via the link above.  The complete water quality study will be posted on their site on June 20, so come to the workshop prepared to ask questions.  I hope to see you there and, as usual, will post my summary of the meeting.

The following is a guest column I submitted to the Bend Bulletin a while back but which has not been published.  It is a summary of some recent blog posts that I believe are worth further exposure in a timely manner.

Last year was one of the poorest on record for steelhead in the Deschutes.  After some initial optimism for a modest rebound, the forecast for returns this season has been lowered to be even worse.  The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has now closed the entire Columbia River and lower John Day River to steelhead retention.  ODFW went further and asked anglers to avoid steelhead fishing altogether for the remainder of the year.  Wild steelhead are currently on a path to extinction in the Deschutes and entire Columbia Basin.Read More »

I got back from my latest fishing excursion (that’s a measured 27” wild, native rainbow trout) and saw The Bulletin published an editorial last Friday about the Deschutes River Alliance’s lawsuit being dismissed.  What bothered me in their editorial was the use of the DRA’s tagline of cooler, cleaner water for the Deschutes.  The facts on this topic are well established.  The quantity of water in Lake Billy Chinook is not sufficient to keep the lower Deschutes “cooler” for the entire summer and “cleaner” is largely a function of agricultural and urban water runoff.  Read More »

The Deschutes River Alliance has argued for years that PGE/CTWS’s attempt to reintroduce anadromous fish into the upper Deschutes Basin has harmed the Deschutes River below the Pelton Round Butte complex of dams.  As part of their advocacy the DRA brought a lawsuit against PGE/CTWS claiming that the project violated the Clean Water Act.  On Monday the suit was dismissed for lacking “material fact”.  Read More »

Most anadromous smolts outmigrate in the spring.  While a few stragglers may still move through the system over the remainder of the year, at this point we have a pretty complete count of this year’s totals for fish moving from the Crooked, Metolius, and upper Deschutes rivers to the Selective Water Withdrawal tower in Lake Billy Chinook where they are captured and then released into the lower Deschutes.

CHS are chinook, STS are steelhead, and SOC are sockeye.  There’s some good news and some bad news in these figures.Read More »

The Deschutes River Alliance recently released their 2017 lower Deschutes water quality study.  I admire their continued efforts to be stewards of the lower Deschutes.  I also remain critical of their work and have a simple question: if the water quality of the lower Deschutes is so bad then why are the fish so healthy and abundant?  As an angler, that’s what I really care about.  Perhaps the DRA should spend more time studying the fish and less time speculating about what may or may not happen to them based on their views of water quality.Read More »

The Deschutes steelhead season officially ranges from April 1 until March 31.  Below is a table with the final returns of adult fish to the trap at the base of PGE/CTWS’s Pelton Round Butte complex of dams.  There’s no way to sugar coat the news, it’s simply bleak.  There were record low returns of steelhead across all categories (see the table below).  Read More »

The Deschutes River Alliance has recently released a new video titled “A River Worth Fighting For” touching on their suit against Portland General Electric and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs alleging violations of the Clean Water Act.  They spend more time illustrating economic hardship in Maupin which they attribute to those violations.  While I am completely in favor of the Clean Water Act being enforced, and sympathetic to businesses who rely on tourism, I believe this video is misleading in many respects.Read More »

For over 20 years Portland General Electric and now the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have been hosting the Pelton Round Butte Fisheries Workshop.  This is an annual gathering of state and federal agencies, NGOs, and the curious to review and discuss the latest science on the Deschutes and its tributaries.  I have been going for a few years and find it fascinating.  This year should have the usual updates on reintroduction and fisheries health, the final results of the macroinvertebrate study, and the results of the water quality study.  It will be very interesting.

This year the workshop will be June 13 & 14 at Tetherow Resort in Bend.  Everyone is welcome and I encourage you to attend.  To get on the email list, contact Jessica Graeber (Jessica.Graeber@pgn.com).

At last year’s conference, I took over 7 pages of notes.  Below are the highlights from those notes.Read More »