Steelhead Dividend

The wily steelhead

Steelhead are more amenable to reason than salmon. Salmon barred from home waters will strive as long as there is life in them to surmount the barrier and will die unspawned. Steelhead will give up the attempt when their sexual products ripen, and find an alternate spawning spot. The main channel of the Skagit suits them, as do any number of tributary streams flowing into the upper Skagit above the slough. It is entirely possible that some of these Barnaby-raised fish will start new natural runs in the river with their spawn.

Perhaps the most cheerful part of the fabulous Barnaby Slough story is the price. The initial investment in land purchases and in preparation of the slough as a rearing area was only $40,000. The annual cost of operation is about $10,000. Weighed against the expected yield, this figures out to be a small price per fighting pound of fish, and one that anglers will be happy to pay.