STEELIE LOVE MAKING

Well I had to call in sick today due to one of the kids being ill.  When Mahi called to tell me that the DFG was going to make Steelhead babies, I loaded up the sick boy and off we went. The crew up at the dam were very cool, and allowed me and my son to get some close up shots and they were happy to tell us the process.

more pics

Booom chik a waw waaaaw!

Cool pix. Are the fish alive or DOA? If alive do they get re-released? Just curious.

Z

Cool fishercourse shots!   

Sean knows the mortality rate, I hear they return but the percentage is low.  All of these fish were subjected to CO2 ( i think) being released from a nearby tank.  This seemed to Chill the fish out a bunch, making them more manageable to milk.  They also poke the bellies and introduce more gas to make them easier to milk.  VERY cool set up.  They toss them back into the tanks, and release them with a complementary cigarette.  All the males then roll over and goto bed.

They all appeared to be healthy but skinnier

KB

This is way cool. They do this every Thursday morning around 9:00 or so. It's a cool way to spend a rainy morning.

CHEERS!

  Way cool KB, Thanks for the report and good pics.  Doesn't look very romantic for the fish though.     Hope your son is feeling better. 

Where is this happening at?

It's at the base of the Lake Mendocino Dam.

They also poke the bellies and introduce more gas to make them easier to milk.

Is this what is happening in the last picture?

That is some amazing stuff happening there.  And those seemed to be some bruisers too.  Of fish milked, what was the percentage of wild vs. hatchery?

Michael

Yep, the last picture is the "BELLY POKE" Thingy.  I'm pretty sure thats not the scientific name but it works.  As far as the Hatchery Vs Wild???  I could have sworn that I saw a wild fish being milked, but I would think that would go against the grain?  I did not want to ask a stupid question, but I should have.  I would guess that all the fish in the hatchery were HATCHERY made fish, but I would also guess that some wild ones make it up from time to time.  If the Wild ones do go up into the hatchery and they milk them, then all of the offspring would be half hatchery, half wild, and when it came time to release, they would have their adipose fin removed making them a hatchery ID-ed fish?????  Sean, Bluefin17, insane, seahunter, and the rest of the fish Guru's unite and post up!!!!

PS, after they mix up the white and the orange, they let the medley sit for about 10-15 minutes.  They then drain off the male's stuff and wash they eggs ever so gently.  They then dip the fertilized eggs into a bin of iodine (looked to be diluted) to kill any unwanted bacteria.  These eggs will then be taken to the Warm Springs Hatchery in Sonoma Co. for incubation.

Wew Andy you were starting worry me.  

Did you grab me any bait?????

So many thoughts and questions, now I just need to articulate them into words.

Kickin Bass, in retrospect, my wild vs. hatchery question was stupid.  I was so enthralled with this thread I completely forgot that I've toured a hatchery in Davenport, near Santa Cruz.  I believe that their operation has a pen downstream that catches all steelies and then somebody releases the wild fish to do their thing and they then take the hatchery fish to the facilities where they are milked.  This way hatchery fish aren't populating with wild fish, even though they're progeny of wild fish.

Although if the hatchery return rate is low, I think they pull a few wild fish in order to get enough eggs.

The Davenport operation might be a little different because they rear Coho as well, so I don't know.

Unfortunately during my visit to the facility I wasn't able to see the actual "fishercourse!" Just a tour, nothing more, nothing less.  Although I still consider myself lucky for having been.  It was Monterey Bay Salmon & Trout's facility in cooperation with the DFG.  As a teacher, I participate in MBS&T's Salmon & Trout Education Program where we raise steelhead eggs and release them into the San Lorenzo River.

Michael

Did you grab me any bait?????