40. Methow River 



41. Okanogan River 



42. 



43. 



Spokane River 



Fend Oreille 

 River 



Columbia River 



536 



1.194 



635 



None. 



Mouth of Yakima 

 R. to below Priest 



Lower 32 km. and 

 available tributaries. 



Priest Rapids Dam 

 to Canadian border. 



Large runs formerly present. Irrigation 2. 13, 

 and power dams caused depletion. Grand 16 

 Coulee transplants augmented runs in 

 1939, after which runs increased. Sev- 

 eral hundred taken annually by sport 

 fiehery. 



Formerly had large runs, which are on 2. 13. 

 increase again because of stocking by 16, 18 

 VV'.D.G Rehabilitation of run into the 

 upper Similkameen R. began in 1968. 



In 1909 Little Falls Dam, built 42 km. 2, 19 

 above the mouth, blocked runs from the 

 principal spawning area. Numerous 

 steelhead trout up until about 1918. 

 after which they nearly disappeared. 

 Grand Coulee completely blocked runs 

 in 1939. 



Steelhead trout were abundant near 2, 1 9 

 mouth in 1894. This was northernmost 

 known migration of species in Columbia 

 River system and one of longest migra- 

 tions. 



With aid of aerial surveys, steelhead (^) 

 redds were seen during the spring spawn- 

 ing season in the stretch shown. In view 

 of the spawning in present areas, it is 

 reasonable to assume that the former 

 areas shown in map 1 were also used 

 by this species. 



^ The streams are listed in numerical sequence, proceeding upstream from the mouth of the Columbia. Streams that are direct tributaries of the Co- 

 lumbia are identified by numerals only; subtributaries are designated by a combination of numerals and letters. 



* Location in kilometers above mouth of Columbia or kilometers above mojth of contributing drainage. 

 ^ References are numbered to facilitate location in Literature Cited. 



* Unpublished information provided by Forrest R. Hauck, Biologist, formerly with the Idaho Department of 'Fish and Game, now with the Federal 

 Power Commission, Washington, D.C. (October 21. 1961). 



^ Personal Communication, Ralph Larsen. Washington Department of Game, Olympia. Wash. (December 1969). 



early days of the canned salmon industry in 

 the Columbia River. Steelhead trout have been 

 reported in the commercial canned pack since 

 1889. The largest pack of canned steelhead 

 trout (2,231,663 kg.) was recorded in 1892; 

 the smallest (177,354 kg.), in 1966. 



Annual landings of steelhead trout in the 

 Columbia River showed a downward trend in 

 1938-68 (fig. 1). The average annual packs 

 were 616,000 kg. in 1947-56 and 332,000 kg. 

 in 1957-66 (table 2) . Curtailment of commer- 

 cial fishing reduced the commercial catch 

 especially in 1964-66, but the decrease does 

 not necessarily reflect a decrease in abundance 

 of steelhead trout. The escapement has been 

 relatively stable over the past 10 years, fluctu- 

 ating between 100,000 and 160,000 fish. 



Figure 1.— Minimum run, counts at Bonneville Dam, and 

 escapement of steelhead trout in the Columbia River, 

 1938-67. Minimum run includes winter and summer 

 commercial catches below Bonneville Dam and counts 

 at Bonneville Dam (sport catches of summer run below 

 Bonneville Dam since 1964 also included). Straight 

 line is derived by least squares method. [Data are from 

 Fish Commission of Oregon and Washington State De- 

 partment of Fisheries, 1968.] 



4 50 



400 - 



350 - 



250 



[200 



ISO - 





^ • A , 



V ^ 



Ni' 



/ 



.J 



MINIMUM RUN 



COUNTS AT BONNEVILLE DAM 



ESCAPEMENT 



WINTER SEASON CATCH 



1938 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 

 YEAR 



11 



