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Bonneville Summer Steelhead Count Shatters All Records by Bill Monroe The Oregonian, August 14, 2009

Numbers at Bonneville Dam continue to stun biologists.

After a record count Tuesday at just over 18,000 summer steelhead, Wednesday's count was 28,000, leaving everyone kind of scratching their heads.

As they were still trying to figure out what's going on, Thursday's count jumped past 34,000 and who knows what's happening today (Friday).

What we do know is anglers are cashing in on the return.

Joe Hymer, a spokesman for the Washington Departmetn of Fish and Wildlife, reported Friday more than 8,300 steelhead were estimated kept from the sport fishery below Bonneville Dam during July.

That's the largest one-month total since at least 1975, he said.

So...Will that translate into a major shot up the lower Deschutes River, where fishing is already red hot?

Hard to tell, since the crazy numbers at Bonneville have yet to hit The Dalles Dam.

Typically, a lot of those steelhead seem to vanish after the Bonneville count and some speculate the Columbia River is so warm the fish simply go to the bottom and look for cool water to wait out the summer.

Maybe some shad strayed into a hatchery or two?

Stay tuned...

Related Sites:
Bonneville Dam Fish Camera