ODFW plans Crooked River trout, whitefish survey

Biologists from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) will sample the Crooked River below Bowman Dam for redband trout and mountain whitefish fromMonday, June 13throughFriday, June 17.

Biologists will be electrofishing the river between the Big Bend and Cobble Rock campgrounds. During the sampling, fish will be stunned and netted so biologists can record the size, condition and abundance of both redband trout and mountain whitefish. The fish are then released unharmed.

Fishing is likely to be adversely affected in the portion of the river being sampled but the remainder of the river will be unaffected. Due to safety concerns for anglers and the potential adverse effects to the fishing, ODFW requests that anglers avoid this stretch of river while the biologists are sampling.

The population assessment estimates the number of fish greater than or equal to eight inches in length per river mile for redband trout and mountain whitefish. In 2015, the number of redband trout per mile was 2,582 fish per mile while the number of mountain whitefish per mile was 7,467. The average length of all trout collected last year was just over 11 inches long and many anglers are reporting catching trout that are 16 to 18 inches long in 2015.

ODFW began sampling the Crooked River in 1989 in order to track the long-term health of the redband trout population.