It would seem to me that the Yakima would be a prime river for a good wild broodstrock steelhead hatchery program. The Yakima went through a couple of decades of lean years--some of them with the run teetering on the brink. Lately, the run has rebounded, but it still has a ways to go. The current thought is that allowing hatchery fish and wild fish to interbreed is detrimental to the fitness of the wild genepool; from what I've read, I agree. The exception is that if the hatchery fish can be segregated from the wild fish, then little or no harm occurs. A hatchery run on the Yakima could easily be segregated at the counting facility at Prosser dam, where the wild fsih could be allowed to pass, and the hatchery fish could be recycled downstream for the sport fishery. Does this seem like a good idea, or am I missing something?

Curious to hear the opinions of fellow Easter WA anglers.

I have often wondered why there is not a steelhead hatchery program on the Yakima. I would in favor of that for sure. I am not familiar if there is a scientific or a financial reason for this.

A Steelhead hatchery on the Yakima would be nice, but what we really need is a net pen for acclimating smolts down here at Leslie Groves Park. Water could be pumped out of the river, an identifying odor added, and allowed to flow back in just above the net pen to bring Steelhead back to the release spot. To keep crowds down, it would have to be a fishery reserved for Steelheaders 65 and older.