Keeping Steelhead Rainbow Trout in the Saugeen River For Future Generations
I ran across this article recently about scientists trying to change the genes in steelhead trout and salmon to be more likely to bite at baits, making it easier for an individual to catch a fish. Ridiculous? Maybe! Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Full Story Here: http://bit.ly/Ow4DAX
This past spring I initiated the commemoration of a Honorary Membership Status for those members who have volunteered their time and efforts to the benefit of the Ontario Steelheaders. This was well received and as such, I would like to announce that I am accepting from our membership any nominations that anyone would like to submit for this status. If any of you feel that someone is deserving of a Honorary Membership, please drop me a line and provide the individual’s name and a brief summary as to why you think they deserve this status. I would like to make this an annual event and announce the honorary members during the Spring or Fall derby. The nominations will be discussed at the board of director’s meeting and decided upon at that time. If we have no nominations than obviously no one will be selected.
Now, please keep in mind that all membership dollars received are 100% directed to the Ontario Steelheaders and their goals and objectives. The money received from the actual membership fees is relatively small in comparison to the donations, grants and bursaries from businesses, government organizations, as well as, other community group funds. As such to grant everyone Honorary Memberships wouldn’t allow us to do the work that we do – LOL.
I continue to view my role as Membership Director as being an interactive role. I have the responsibility to ensure that our members receive the information, handouts, memos, updates etc. that our directors prepare for us. You should note that the most recent membership application form provided an option for those of you who wish to opt out of receiving mail through Canada Post and only receive email communications. I realize that for some of our members continue to depend on receiving our communications through Canada Post and this will continue. However for those of you who have selected to opt out and receive email communications only, I thank you, as this does reduce our overall operating costs. However, regardless of how you wish to receive your communications please ensure that I have received your most up to date contact information.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE – MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE YOUR CORRECT EMAIL ADDRESS AND ALL CONTACT INFORMATION. I have received a lot of returned mail and email’s stating incorrect addresses and if I don’t have your phone number, I have no way of making sure that you receive the information that we are disbursing. As such if you haven’t been receiving any communications then you may want to check in with me to ensure that I have all your accurate information.
I would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support and I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead of us in the coming year. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions regarding your membership or club communications, and I would be happy to assist.
Madeline Walker Membership Director Ontario SteelheadersI’ve known Rod Jones for more than 40 years. I also knew that when he offers up a couple of free beers it was going to cost me in the long run. This time around I just didn’t know that it was going to be a 10 year run.
It was just about a decade ago that Rod popped a couple of caps and asked if the Saugeen could really be rejuvenated. He already knew that I had proposed to the Ministry of Natural Resources, that the MNR reinstate a rainbow trout stocking program on the Saugeen. The plan at the time was pretty simple. Raise 50,000 quality yearling trout and release them in the vicinity of Walkerton for perfect imprinting. The problem was there was no money in the government coffers at the time.
Those two beers led to a couple of conversations with Kevin Hawthorne the Owen Sound district’s supervisor at the time and Kathy Dodge the district’s biologist. From there a meeting was convened with the ministry and a few members of the Ontario Steelheaders and Lake Huron Fishing Club. The ball was beginning to roll!
I’ve always had a simple theory when it comes to stocking fish properly. You take the right fish, you raise the fish to the right size and you stock the fish in the right place. Today, with urban encroachment, a growing population from coast to coast, less provincial, municipal and federal funding available and growing fishing pressure, every fish raised in a hatchery is important. With that in mind, it’s important to remember, you don’t raise fish to waste fish.
I’m getting a little long in the tooth. I’ve been around raising fish for more than 40 years. That being said, in more than 40 years I’ve seen more raised and stocked and wasted than most people and there’s no reason to waste these valuable stocks. Trust me, that doesn’t happen on the Saugeen.
I’m going to take a moment to thank the efforts of Al Wilkins and his crew at the Lake Huron Fishing Club’s Kincardine Fish Hatchery. Our goal has always been to raise quality 8 inch steelhead yearling smolts and in my 65 years, I’ve never seen better looking rainbow smolt ready for stocking than those raised by Wilkins and his staff. The same can also be said for the Port Elgin hatchery where Gary Biederman and his boys raise not only additional steelhead smolts, but also the Chinook smolts that also go into the Saugeen every year.
I’ve put enough hours into raising trout and salmon over the years to know what these volunteers go through to reach their target weights and quality fish that have to reach the smolt stage before stocking. Yes, it’s fun work, but it’s also tedious work. Between babysitting, feeding and freezing these volunteers deserve your gratitude.
The Kincardine facility in particular, is one of a kind, modern, an almost state of the art facility. Every volunteer club in the province and even some provincial staffers could learn a thing or two by visiting Wilkins over at the Kincardine hatchery.
Again, these fish are ready to go when we stock each spring. They are healthy, spunky and prepared to enter the wild. I believe the boys from Kincardine have reached our 50,000 target every year since the start of the program.
Every one of our rainbow are stocked as far upriver as our permits allow. The majority are stocked out at Walkerton and a few go into a smaller tributary just north the town. Both locations are approximately 40 miles from the hatcheries and approximately 40 miles from Lake Huron. The reason that we stock them so far upriver is allow the fish to achieve maximum imprinting of the Saugeen so that the highest numbers of these yearlings will pick up the characteristics of the river and return in the greatest numbers back to the Saugeen to provide maximum fishing results and maximum spawning results.
Over the years, I’ve heard some complain that other river locations could be used for release. The thought that we put too many young fish in one or possibly two locations is rubbish. Properly raised rainbow smolt released right out of the tanker for the most part head straight for the lake. That 40 miles can be covered usually in a day or two. Yes, a few cormorants capture a few, but the word to remember is ‘few’. Some mortality can be expected no matter where you stock fish, but the two sites we utilize are essential locations for maximum imprinting and return. There are a couple of other branches of the Saugeen that have been suggested, but they are not suitable for either trout stocking or a home for returning adult fish.
By the way, when these trout return, they just don’t magically stop and spawn in the waters around Walkerton. A small majority of fish will spawn near the release sites and downstream of Walkerton, but the majority head up the main river and that’s where we want them to travel. These returning fish are proven to follow the current and move through the fishways at Walkerton and Maple Hill and then into the tributaries of the main Saugeen and the South Saugeen.
Just how great is the growth, conditioning and imprinting of this program really is, was evident that first year 6 months after the first fish were stocked. I expected the first return to show itself a year and half later after the first stocking. Instead, numerous rainbow were being caught in the lower river 6 months after being first stocked.
Again thank you to the guys from Lake Huron and especially Al Wilkins. You guys put out the finest steelhead yearlings anywhere in the country as far as I’m concerned.
It’s imperative that returning rainbow are allowed to make their way above Walkerton, especially into the Beatty Saugeen and other tributaries in the South Saugeen. If the main river from Maple Hill dam, downstream contained large stretches of suitable spawning and rearing water, there would be no reason to stock rainbow or transport adults. The water in this stretch is not conducive to permit adequate trout survival at hatching or their first year of holdover. Most years it freezes lock tight, it muddies and silts killing eggs and in summer it attains temperatures too high for maximum steelhead survival.
Over the last decade we’ve made major changes to the Walkerton fishway and installed a new fishway on the Maple Hill Dam.
Walkerton an old original fishway, constructed in conjunction with the Ontario Steelheaders and Dominion Founderies decades ago required a major facelift and the Ontario Steelheaders again took on the task of updating the structure. Working with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, the Lake Huron Fishing Club’s Mike Hahn and Owen Sound engineer Jeff Graham massive water control panels were installed at both the top and bottom of the fishway. Believe me this was no easy task. It was almost an entire revamp. Less than an hour after the fishway was official opened and flowing, big mature trout were entering the fishway, ascending the passage way and finding their way to more suitable upstream spawning grounds.
I would especially like to thank Owen Sound Ministry of Natural Resources supervisor Shawn Carey and Jody Scheifley. These two government representatives have constantly kept the doors open, worked with the Ontario Steelheaders / Lake Huron Fishing Club and been major proponents of our stocking and fishway programs. They both were also instrumental as we worked together to construct the new second fishway on the Maple Hill power dam south of Hanover two years ago.
With the second fishway now in operation more adult steelhead can ascend the main river to Hanover, but more important enter the South Saugeen to the Beatty.
For what seems like eons, the Ontario Steelheaders have been transferring adult steelhead into the Beatty and another tributary above Walkerton. For those that don’t know the Beatty, the 40 mile stretch of river up to Highway 6 offers some of the finest spawning and rearing water for steelhead anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains.
Originally the club would transport as many as 500 steelhead each spring from their capture site at Dennys Dam to the Beatty. With the start of the new program almost a decade ago the spring total was expanded to 1,000 adult fish. We have also implemented a fall transport program that sends an additional 500 adults to the Beatty Saugeen.
I can’t emphasis enough just how important this operation is to the general betterment of Saugeen steelhead fishing in future years. The sole purpose of the transport program is to establishing a self-supporting natural reproducing steelhead fishery for the entire Saugeen system. Again, the waters below Walkerton can provide great fishing, but it is the stretches of river above Walkerton that will act as proven spawning grounds and nursery habitat. It’s imperative to establish natural spawning runs throughout the lower stretches of the Beatty all the way to Highway 6. This portion of river can produce hundreds of thousands of rainbow smolt annually in the future. The adult fish that we stock in the lower Beatty naturally make their way upstream and choose their own spawning sites.
I’ve been questioned in the past about possibly putting too many adults in the Beatty and the harm they might do to juvenile trout growing in the system. The answer is almost no harm at all. Adult steelhead wintering over in cold water seldom actually feed. Spawning fish are present to do just that….spawn and reproduce. If anything the adults provide a food source for the smaller fish when eggs fail to be covered and drift down with the current. Look at any major west coast river, pre-spawning and spawning adults co-exist with younger fish growing up in the nursery waters. Please enough from the worry warts.
Again, for this program to be completed and succeed, as many adults as possible have to spawn in the Beatty. The stretch we work on is a great system, with the potential to pump out hundreds of thousands of rainbow smolt annually. Our goal with the seasonal transportations of adults is to establish the Beatty as a major spawning site and again the moving of adults by trailer is essential in attaining that goal.
That being said, it goes without saying that Grant McAlpine and his crew working the Denny’s fishway lift deserve all the applause that can be bestowed up on them. We’ve now got three trailers on the road for ferrying the adults upriver, but it’s Grant and his boys that put the fish in those trailers.
If you believe that this is all the Ontario Steelheaders are involved in you are wrong. Two major projects are on the planning boards, but until approved and started for the time being we are not discussing them.
What everyone has to realize is the fact, we need more members and more volunteers. Some members of the club don’t seem to like it when I use the term ‘Old Boys Rule! Well, to me that’s tough. It is a fact. Look around at all the projects and endeavors we carry out. It is the senior element that has been carrying the ball on a lot of these labours. That’s not to say that we don’t have a growing number of younger members and those ranks are growing considerably and it is appreciated. Still, we now have thousands of anglers visiting the Saugeen. I hope they recognize the importance of joining the Ontario Steelheaders and improving this great fishery even more.
Just before closing this down, I would like to add that a couple of guys really need a big thank you for what is happening on the river. Rod Jones has spent ‘ages’ working to improve this fishery and he needs a big congrats for all his time and effort. Then there’s our president Karl Redin who works 24/7 on every aspect of the program. I don’t make one move without conferring with one or the other and usually both. When Rodney and I sat down and popped caps about a decade ago, I knew it would succeed. Succeed it has. You have the best steelhead fishery on the continent as far as I’m concerned.
It’s been a long ride, but a good ride. Let’s keep it up.
Well, it’s been a ridiculously busy year folks. We have launched the new website and although there have been a few bugs to work out; overall it has been well received. We are entering a new chapter in media communications and how our organization communicates with its’ membership and the community at large. Our website can now take us places we have never entered into before, such as expansion to other organizations, website links that can generator more memberships, showing our accomplishments and ongoing projects and so much more. Keeping this in mind we continue to require your support and assistance. We have started to receive some articles from our members for posting on the website, as well as, reports, and pictures, etc. Please keep them coming, as this enables us to generate a newsletter collectively without placing the entire onus on one individual.
I realize that our newsletter has been late getting to production; however, please know that this is not intentional nor is it due to a lack of dedication from your board of directors. We are human and the majority of us have full time jobs and families. That being said, some of our board members have been dealing with personal and familial health crisis and as of consequence getting the newsletter out has taken a back burner in the list of priorities, as I am sure you can appreciate. Please keep your well wishes and prayers for our Board of Director’s family, as we all are a dedicated group of volunteers that genuinely want the best for this organization and continue to give of themselves.
On that note, I want to say a special thank you to all the members who continue to offer their services to volunteer and who are out their promoting the benefits of membership to others in hopes of soliciting new members. Presently, we are at 217 members and while that number is down from the Spring, as there have been several who have yet to renew from last year, we have actually obtained a fairly significant number of new members. We even have a member from Quebec and Ohio – pretty cool.
I continue to ask for any and all of your input regarding any suggestions that you may have, as this is YOUR organization and your input is valued. Please send your comments to us using the contact form, or include them with your membership renewal.
Madeline Walker Membership Director Ontario SteelheadersWhile trapped deep in the month of February, local outdoorsmen and women may find it hard to pursue their interests afield or on the water. Extreme cold and massive amounts of snowpack hampers many of the activities to be had in the outdoors. For the soft water angler mid-winter is a lonely time. That being said, snowmobilers, skiers, and snowshoe addicts have found a winter of bountiful opportunities and those who enjoy sport fishing had an avenue to relieve some of the winter blues at the Spring Boat and Fishing Show, which was held last week at the International Centre in Mississauga. It was at this same show that two local organizations were recognized, on a national scale, for their achievements in the sport fishing world.
This past Friday, the Lake Huron Fishing Club and the Ontario Steelheaders were inducted into the Canadian Angler Hall of Fame with receipt of the Conservation Award for their efforts on the Saugeen River. This award acknowledges the tedious work conducted by these two clubs, work which has resulted in the creation of one of the greatest steelhead fisheries on the planet; a fishery that is in the backyard of many readers of this publication, and within a few hours travel time of Canada’s largest population center.
Beginning roughly eight years ago, the Ontario Steelheaders approached the Ministry of Natural Resources and Lake Huron Fishing Club with a plan to undertake a stocking program on the river which would enhance the annual returns of steelhead to the fabled Saugeen. With permission and guidance from the MNR, the LHFC agreed to raise the fish at their Kincardine facility in conjunction with the Ontario Steelheaders. Eggs were (and still are) obtained from adult steelhead captured at Denny’s Dam near Southampton and raised at the hatchery for the first year of their lives. These robust yearling steelhead are then released far up-river near the town of Walkerton, where they are imprinted into the flows of the river. The trout head downstream to Lake Huron and return to the river in following years as the highly prized silver steelhead.
On top of the influx of stocked fish by the two clubs, the Ontario Steelheaders and LHFC members also undertake an intensive adult transport project, which sees adult steelhead trapped at Denny’s Dam in the fall and spring. These adult fish are then transported via tanker to the upper reaches of the river where they are released close to prime spawning water. With 1000 spring steelhead and another 500 adults trucked in the fall, this activity guarantees a number of trout will find prime spawning water come springtime.
In addition to these hands-on projects dealing with fish, the clubs have been instrumental while working with the MNR to repair and create fish passages at the Traux Dam in Walkerton and the Maple Hill Dam near Hanover. In order for fish to reach prime spawning habitat on their own, these man-made structures need to be passable.
Creating one of North America’s finest steelhead fisheries is not easy work. Ontario Steelheader’s member and retired television host Darryl Choronzey was instrumental in seeing the project blossom from the beginning. Choronzey notes, “the potential to create an incredible fishery existed, but we were just missing the right building blocks to have large returns. We started with an annual run of less than 5000 fish, and now our hard work has resulted in a return of roughly 50,000 adult steelhead.” Raising fish and releasing them in a certain manner appears to really make a difference in the outcome of the fishery on the Saugeen. Instead of stocking undersized fry or fingerling trout, the clubs release yearling sized fish, enhancing the survival rate of the steelhead. Stocking the fish far upriver on the Saugeen allows for improved imprinting, which means the trout are able to find their way back to the river once they are adults.
When it comes to raising fish, the Lake Huron Fishing Club has been stocking local waters with trout and salmon for decades. A tour of the Kincardine fish hatchery that the club operates is a sight to be seen. On top of the 50,000 plus steelhead currently inside the facility, there are also a large number of brown trout which provide a productive fishery for anglers up and down the Lake Huron shoreline. The club also operates a salmon hatchery in Port Elgin. Raising fish is not cheap, nor is it an easy task. The LHFC hatchery depends on a number of volunteers to aid in the husbandry of the small fish. Feeding, tank cleaning, sorting, fin-clipping and fish stocking are all duties carried out by the members. With minimal amounts of money being dolled out by the Ontario government to aid in such endeavors, vast amounts of fundraising is required on behalf of the club. The annual Chantry Chinook Classic is a prime example.
LHFC vice-president Mike Hahn was at the awards ceremony and said, “so much work goes into this project, such as raising the fish, transporting adult steelhead and major works to fishways on the Saugeen’s dams above Denny’s, it is hard to fathom what we have accomplished”. Ontario Steelheaders president Karl Redin was quoted “working in conjunction with the MNR and LHFC has produced results that are something to proud of, our steelhead fishery on the Saugeen is second to none and a true reflection of our hardwork”. Choronzey also announced his pleasure in the teamwork atmosphere that has formed on the Saugeen stating, “working along side the LHFC and the MNR has really paid off and this is a perfect example of what is possible with a close partnership, creating a fishery for anglers that is unmatched elsewhere and should be used as a model in other parts of the province”.
Not to be forgotten, the local MNR has played a major role in this success story. Local Fisheries Specialists, biologists, and managers have been able to work closely with the recognized clubs in order to achieve the dream set out by the Ontario Steelheaders. Permitting large fish stocking activities and repair and construction of fishways is no walk in the park, plenty of planning and science is undertaken on behalf of the MNR. To add to the achievements on the river, the MNR is now raising additional steelhead for the Saugeen river at their Chatsworth fish culture facility. An added 35,000 steelhead raised by the MNR will be stocked into the Saugeen this spring, to compliment the same number released by the MNR last year. This brings the annual plants of steelhead on the Saugeen above 80,000 combined by the partners involved.
The Ontario Steelheaders and The Lake Huron Fishing Club received some much deserved recognition at the Canadian Angler Hall Of Fame Awards. These local clubs have done work which rivals any other comparable endeavor in North America and have carefully cultivated one of the best steelhead rivers I’ve ever fished. If the winter has us anglers a bit blue, just remember, the Saugeen is ready when you are.
For efforts on the Saugeen River, the Canadian Angler Hall of Fame presented a prestigious Conservation Award to Ontario Steelheaders and Lake Huron Fishing Club.
Darryl Choronzey presented the Conservation Award to Karl Redin, president of the Ontario Steelheaders and Brian Garnet of the Lake Huron Fishing Club, for the achievements both clubs have reached by stocking steelhead rainbow trout and improving the stream habitats on the Saugeen River.
Choronzey stated,
“When we started 10 years ago, I estimated the run was probably 3,000 fish. We estimate our run to be 45,000 to 50,000 fish right now. I know my waters and this is the best steelhead fishery in North America.”
Furthermore, Choronzey mentioned the hard work of the volunteers and “Old Boys” and Rod Jones joined Redin and Garnet on stage. Choronzey then challenged younger individuals in the room to match their dedication to preserving Canada’s lakes, streams and rivers.
A new program being introduced later this year is “ASK THE GAME WARDEN”. You ask a question (e.g. I have my limit on the stringer, can I still fish ‘catch and release’). We will forward the selected questions to the Ministry of Natural Resources, Enforcement Branch/Legal Department for the answer and post it on the web site and in the bi-yearly newsletter at fishing and tacking stores throughout southern Ontario. Please remember that your question may be answered only as an opinion and the court of law has the final decision.
Until we add a way for you to submit your questions, we invite you to think and gather some good questions that haven’t been asked before.
Happy Thinking!