In the world of fly fishing, few things are as sacred as the mighty salmon. As a game fish, there are few things that rival it on a fly line.
Unfortunately, these are fish that are highly susceptible to environment changes.
That’s why this recent news out of Northern California is so wonderful. Field biologists are reporting numbers of Coho Salmon returning to spawn in the Russian River and her tributaries, the likes of which have not been seen in over 10 years. Biologists tracked and recorded these record numbers over the recent winter spawn.
These outstanding figures are the results of the efforts of the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock program which began in 2001. In the program, the offspring of hatchery-reared adults were released into the Russian River system.
Perhaps even more promising than this news, is the sighting of Coho in unstocked creeks and tributaries within the system. Biologists are taking this as an encouraging sign of the strength of the population.
Officials at the California Sea Grant are hopeful these trends will continue. The captive breeding stock program will also continue, in efforts to rescue the Coho from extinction in Central California.