Washougal River Steelhead Smolts Released Into Banks Lake

WDFW has once again shipped Western Washington hatchery steelhead smolts to an Eastside lake as a result of a lawsuit settlement.

Some 93,500 young winter-runs that had been reared for release into the Washougal River are instead swimming around sprawling Banks Lake near Grand Coulee Dam, “adding diversity to an already dynamic fishery,” the agency announced on a blog post today.

It’s a result of deal reached between WDFW and two litigious organizations, Wild Fish Conservancy and The Conservation Angler, in September over several hatchery programs on the Lower Columbia. It required the state to end a hatchery winter steelhead program on the Vancouver-area stream and a coho program elsewhere on the big river, as well as reduce fall Chinook releases on the Kalama, among other measures, and in exchange provides WDFW coverage against further WFC and TCA lawsuits over alleged ESA violations that occur before the end of the year or for hatchery fish in Lower Columbia tributaries through December 31, 2027.

WDFW plans to apply to try and get federal fishery overseers to sign off on a new integrated broodstock program for the Washougal using natural-origin steelhead, but acknowledges that the switch between fish sources “will result in a gap year” between when the last smolts released this spring return in winter 2025-26 and 2026-27 and the first of the new local-stock fish come back, hopefully later this decade.

It’s also the second lawsuit settlement affecting Washougal hatchery steelhead production in the last 10 years.

A 2017 Wild Fish Conservancy suit over Mitchell Act hatcheries that was ultimately withdrawn still led to the phasing out of out-of-basin/Chambers Creek stock winter steelhead in the Lower Columbia. In the Washougal, those fish were replaced with winter steelhead from a hatchery on Oregon’s Clackamas River system, and now that program is ending too.

Typically, lawsuit settlements require WDFW to place steelhead smolts into waters where they can’t inadvertently reach the sea. A 2014 deal between WDFW and WFC over Puget Sound early winter steelhead saw the state release 370,000 smolts into Sprague Lake and 255,000 into Rock Lake.

This go-around, WDFW said it considered releasing the Washougal fish into Rock, as well as Moses Lake, Potholes Reservoir and Riffe Lake – the latter of which would have been more germane to Southwest Washington steelheaders –– but landed on Banks “as the best location due to its size, habitat suitability, and existing sport fishery.”

Banks essentially fills a formerly dry valley between Grand Coulee Dam and Coulee City and serves as an irrigation tank for the Columbia Basin. WDFW says its 28,000 surface acres will provide diverse habitat and plentiful forage for the steelhead, its cooler water temperatures won’t poach them in the summer, and it will add to a destination reservoir already popular for its walleye, bass, lake whitefish and other species.

“Because these fish originated from anadromous steelhead, many anglers may find this particularly appealing, knowing that they’re fishing for a species with a migratory heritage, popular for their size and fighting spirit. For WDFW, this release also represents a commitment to maximizing the use of hatchery fish in a way that aligns with recreational goals while supporting conservation efforts in critical river systems,” the agency took pains to state in their blog.

Initial reaction on Facebook leaned heavily towards angry faces, with one person commenting “Sad!” An email to this chronicler of all things Northwest steelhead was subject-lined “Don’t p*ss on me and tell me it’s raining.” But another person online looked at the bright side: “Thank you for feeding the walleye they taste better than steelhead anyway.”

WDFW also stated it had successfully released steelhead as well as salmon into Banks in the early 2010s. Steelhead are sea-going rainbow trout. Returning adults over and above spawning needs are often released into Southwest Washington and Grays Harbor ponds for additional angling opportunities.

State fish managers must also find a home for around 75,000 Tokul Creek winter steelhead smolts following their and a local tribes’ decision to terminate an early-winter hatchery program on the Snoqualmie River tributary.

“We have not made that decision yet,” said Edward Eleazar, Region 4 Fish Program manager in midafternoon.