HOW SACRAMENTO SALMON RECOVERY PLAN WAS HATCHED

Just-released fall Chinook fry swim in the Sacramento River. While transporting such small hatchery fish to the stream was something of an unknown, some 2 million of the young salmon are now part of an experiment to help increase declining wild Chinook numbers in Central California and bolster the fishery. (LAURA MAHONEY/USFWS)

SMALL FRY YIELD BIG SUCCESS (SO FAR) IN RUN-BUILDING BID

By John Heil

uccess on the first try. That’s what Stranspired this past December and January, when the Coleman National Fish Hatchery transported smaller fry for release into the Sacramento River. A total of 2 million juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon to be exact.

“Nobody here at Coleman has ever transported that small of fry before, despite staff having a lot of experience transporting fish,” said Brett Galyean, hatchery manager and project leader with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “When you do something new, you’re always just a little bit leery of the outcome, so we started off with really small loads, and then as we gained confidence in our technique and watched what the fish were showing us during

the transport, we upped that number throughout the day.”

With 600,000 fish successfully released on the first try on December 17, Galyean said even he was a little amazed by how well the fish adjusted right away to the river.

“I was really surprised at how well the fry swam immediately,” he said. “Most of the time when you put them in a raceway, they go straight to the bottom and they try to ball up in safety. I watched the fry swim back in towards the boat ramp, some swim up the very shallow current in the river – so they were more active. I take that as a good thing – that they were already able to swim and navigate.”

THE PROJECT BEGAN AFTER the Golden

State Salmon Association and NorCal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association proposed the idea to USFWS and NOAA-Fisheries in the spring of 2021.

From there, the process started with spawning of male and female fish for three consecutive days – a total of 525 fish. During that process each fish was fin punched (tissue sample taken) for genetic sampling. That way, when the adult fish return in late 2023, biologists will be able to match genetics to the database to begin to determine success.

“It is a little nerdy and CSI-like,” Galyean said of the DNA process.

After spawning, biologists have the painstaking efforts of enumeration, which involves removing the dead eggs from the live ones to prevent fungus from suffocating the good eggs. This is done two months after spawning in a stage called “eyed,” when they begin to develop eyeballs.

“This is another example of the Coleman National Fish Hatchery trying to develop different tactics to increase salmon runs back to the north state,” Galyean said. “Another tool in the toolbox.”

THE NEXT STEP IS the release of the fish, which has its own set of challenges. High water levels can be good for the fish, but it’s harder for the hatchery staff.

“Higher water – better for the fry being released – but then there is that safety concern with your staff having to wade out and try and set up this 20-foot section of aluminum pipe on a stand out in the river,” Galyean said. “A lower flow, which would be easier for the hatchery staff, isn’t necessarily good for the fish. You are trying to balance your current conditions with what’s best for the fish without minimizing your staff’s safety.”

With the fish released into the upper Sacramento River as fry, the hope is they will imprint as they rear and then return to spawn in the upper Sacramento as adults. With a steady decline in natural spawning in the upper Sacramento River over the past decade, this study is an attempt to determine if hatchery-produced fish can be used to increase the natural spawning population.

The fry will be too small at the time of their release to be clipped and tagged with conventional coded wire tags, so novel technology is being used. The tis-

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist collects a genetic sample from an adult salmon that will be used to gauge the effectiveness the new program has on future returns. (DENNIS WHITAKER/

GOLDEN STATE SALMON ASSOCIATION)

A hatchery staff member places salmon fry in a transport tank.

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A hatchery staff member preps a discharge pipe for releasing the salmon fry into the Sacramento River. “The fishermen out there were very interested in what we were doing, so it was a great opportunity to communicate with the public,” Coleman National Fish Hatchery manager Brett Gaylean said. “Everyone was so accommodating of sharing the boat ramp with the hatchery vehicles and release pipes.” (LAURA MAHONEY/USFWS)

sue samples taken from each adult parent salmon will be compared to tissue taken three years from now to identify salmon by matching DNA when they return as adults. Tagging is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of hatchery production programs, determine rates of survival, and calculate how many hatchery-spawned adults “stray” from their natal streams.

A KEY QUESTION RESEARCHERS hope to

answer is, How many of these small salmon survive to adulthood and where will they return as adults?

“In recent years, in-river salmon fishing has been extremely challenging and we are very hopeful that these additional releases will increase inland recreational angler opportunities,” said NorCal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association president James Stone, who represents river guides and the recreational angling community. “We thank the Service for investigating whether some alternative rearing techniques can make meaningful contributions to our ocean and in-river returning fish populations.”

Galyean, who has managed Coleman for five years, said he had a chance to interact with fishermen and other stakeholders while out on the site releasing the fish.

“The fishermen out there were very interested in what we were doing, so it was a great opportunity to communicate with the public. Everyone was so accommodating of sharing the boat ramp with the hatchery vehicles and release pipes.” CS

Editor’s note: John Heil serves as the deputy assistant regional director for external affairs in the Pacific Southwest Region headquarters in Sacramento. For more on the USFWS Pacific Southwest Region, go to fws.gov/cno and follow on Twitter (@ USFWS_PSW).

Even as winter is “our most challenging season, it can produce some epic days” for bass anglers, says Southern California guide Todd Kline, here with a double handful of largemouth. (TODD KLINE)

CHALLENGING TASK ACCEPTED

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF WINTER BASS SEASON

By Todd Kline

Winter can be a challenge when it comes to bass fishing. Luckily for us here in California, we don’t have to cut through ice to fish like many anglers around the nation.

Despite it being our most challenging season, it can produce some epic days. For the most part, the majority of bass go deep in the winter as the bait goes deep in front of them. I generally like to target lakes that have a good shad population, as it seems easier for me to find active fish on my Lowrance.

I also like to fish deep points, outside high spots/humps and rock piles. When you can locate the bait on these particular spots, you will usually locate bass.

HOW TO FISH BAITS

My key baits this time of year are Coolbaits Underspin, Spro Little John, a Spro Aruka shad, jig or a Neko-rigged Yamamoto Senko. I’ll cast out the Coolbaits and let it hit the bottom. Once it hits, I slow roll it in.

When fishing with a Little John, I’ll make the longest cast that I can and then try to get it down to bang the rocks. The key is using a long rod like the Okuma 7-foot, 11-inch PowerCrank rod, as this will allow you to make super-long casts. On your retrieve return, it allows the bait to get down deep and bang the rocks. That action could trigger a bite from hungry bass.

“What works today could go out the door overnight, especially if there is a cold front and temperatures really dip,” warns Kline. So it’s important to arm your tackle box with various crankbaits, jigs and other lures, with shad imitations a big hit. (TODD KLINE)

SHAD IMITATIONS ROCK

The Aruka shad is a lipless crank, which is a great option for emulating a dying shad. Just cast it out and let it sit. Then slowly lift the rod and then lower its tip. Reel the slack as you lower the rod. Do not rip! Just lift and drop almost like jig fishing.

Speaking of jigs, I prefer a ½-ounce jig most of the time and I pair it with a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog. I usually keep it simple with green pumpkin colors, as it is great for emulating both crawdads and bluegill.

This time of year I will usually cast it out, let it sink and drag it very, very, slowly! Cast out the Neko rig, let it sink and try not to move it while shaking it on a slackline. Then drag it about 6 inches and repeat the process.

While getting the winter bite going is challenging, I feel like one of the abovementioned tactics and setups will generally produce this time of year. Just have some patience and trust that the fish will tell you what they want to gobble up.

And remember that what works today could go out the door overnight, especially if there is a cold front and temperatures really dip. Good luck and happy winter fishing! CS