More on Steelhead and Wind Knots

Lessons to be learned?

By: Joe Healy

We published a short first-person essay by fly fisher Peter Harrison in the March 2010 issue (page 18 of the “Short Casts” section) titled “Steelhead and Wind Knots,” which included an introduction by Fly Rod & Reel editor-at-large Joan Wulff. The piece brought some feedback… enough for a follow-up comment.

Last summer, Joan called me about the International Game Fish Association line-class-record steelhead Peter Harrison caught and she felt her intro text about losing a big fish to preventable tackle failure would nicely set up Harrison’s essay. You see, Joan was fishing with Peter when she had neglected to change her leader after noticing a wind knot in it; inevitably, that knot failed when she was fighting a large Atlantic salmon; she lost the fish. Peter witnessed this… and learned from it. Fishing Washington’s Hoh River, Peter landed the steelhead because he put on a fresh leader after detecting a wind knot. It was a cautionary tale by Joan, with a happy ending for Peter. Though we considered that some passions might be ignited because Peter killed a large steelhead, overall we judged the piece to be helpful and entertaining.

We’ve since received letters. Several applauded the piece and congratulated Peter on his catch; a couple pointed out that Peter got his geography wrong, and that the Hoh River flows to the Pacific, not the Strait of Juan de Fuca; several others were critical that a breeder-age steelhead was killed, and questioned why FR&R and Joan Wulff would “condone” such an act. You’ll find a range of these letters beginning on page 7 of this issue.

Of course, we published one angler’s story, intending only to entertain our readers. We didn’t interview the angler or analyze his motives, we didn’t glorify his catch—we simply published Peter’s own words, letting him tell the story. We’re all bound to abide by fishing laws, and Peter did: Killing and keeping the fish was legal in Washington State.

We’ve re-published Peter’s piece on our Web site at www.flyrodreel.com/fly-fishing/steelhead-wind-knots and we’d like to hear your further thoughts. We all treasure our fishing resources, and steelhead have been sorely hurt in the Pacific Northwest, for any number of environmental and fisheries-management reasons and blunders. To me, Peter’s words show that he didn’t take the decision to kill the fish lightly. But the discussion might continue to help all of us anglers examine our feelings about fisheries resources today. Send e-mail to editors@flyrodreel.com. We’ll post your comments at flyrodreel.com.

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More on Steelhead and Wind Knots: Lessons to be Learned.

Submitted by Russ Osenbach (not verified) on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 21:12.

Mr. Healy I doubt if you know this, and I don't even know if you care to know, about the Hoh River's wild steelhead. The Hoh River has not met minimum wild steelhead escapement goals (i.e. the lowest number of steelhead the biologists determined need to be allowed to survive and spawn to insure the fish maintain a healthy population) 80% of the last 15 years. Yet, despite this, Washington State has continued to allow wild steelhead to be killed on the Hoh River. Therefore, it matters not to me, a resident of Washington State and avid steelhead fly fisher, whether Peter Harrison was within the law when he killed that magnificent steelhead last year.

Mr. Harrison killed a magnificent fish that would have provided much needed genetics and progeny to the Hoh River. It seems to me that a truly conservation minded individual who cares about the steelhead of the Hoh River, as Mr. Harrison claims, would have released this fish instead of killing it. A true conservationist would have taken a picture of it, took length and girth measuements, and then made a calculation of the fish's weight, not kill it.

Yet, here you are justifying Mr. Harrison killing this fish. Afterall, as you point out, he did so legally. Thus, implying that it is OK to do anything as long as it done within the laws of a state. Hmmm… I wonder if you apply this logic to minining companies putting things like arsenic and cyanide into fish bearing streams when they do so within the law? Or real estate developers moving and channelizing a stream because it is in the way? I don't think so.

I know the Hoh River very well and I've never killed a wild steelhead I've caught in it because of what I mentioned in my first paragraph about the minimum wild steelhead escapement not having been met on the Hoh River nearly every year for 15 years straight. Yet despite the easy availability of the steelhead escapement data, you didn't mention anything about the Hoh River not attaining it wild steelhead escapement goals in your response. Instead, I dare say, you provided justification and appologetics for Mr. Harrison killing the steelhead he did.

Plus, by you publishing Mr. Harrison's self-promotion article showing what a great angler he is by having caught and killed a world record steelhead while doing so with a fly simply tells your many readers from around the US, Canada, and the world that if you want a chance to catch your own world record or trophy steelhead on a fly, go to Washington's Hoh River. Nothing like increasing the number of fisherman out looking to kill trophy size wild steelhead in a river that hasn't met minumum escapement goals most years. But hey, it sells magazines, right?

Why not at least ask the question: Do wild steelhead need to be killed in Washington State?, which sadly you did not. Nor did you bother to take the small amount of time it takes to look up how the Hoh River has done regarding meeting minimum wild steelhead escapement goals via the internet. Shame on you.

Harrisons Steelhead

Submitted by ADK FLIES (not verified) on Wed, 06/23/2010 - 20:36.

Dear Russ Osenbach,

I agree with your essay whole heartedly.....with one difference.

I believe a true conservationist would not angle for steelhead in that particular river knowing the reproduction statistics that you seem to have such great knowledge about. An angler of your assumed knowledge should know the effects and strains on such a fish during a fight. It appears to me that youre more ticked off about Hoh River publicity than anything else.

Just my opinion