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The river bottom experiences terrific bed load shifts. Because of this, the aggregate never has a chance to compress and remains soft and very permeable - easy digging for salmonid tails if they belong to fish that are hardy and adaptable. These gravel-cleansing floods are essential to the health of the fishery. Because the riparian zone is in such good condition, the river drops and clears very quickly. It is fishable most of the time and fishes well from 700 to 4,000 cfs.
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The upper river basin has become a very popular sports fishery. Its intimate beauty appeals to all kinds of people. But, easy accessibility has posed real problems for whole populations of wild salmonids.
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Surprisingly, the size of the steelhead the angler will encounter varies
little through the seasons. About 80% of the annual run are fish that
have spent two full years in the ocean and will be 27 to 31 inches
in length or seven to 11 pounds. About 10 percent are fish that
have spent three years in the ocean and can be 32 to 39 inches
long and weigh 12 to 20 pounds. About five percent are fish
that have spent four or more years in the ocean and weigh 20
to 30 pounds. During the average year less than five percent
of the steelhead will have spent one year or less at sea and
weigh less than five pounds.
For a MAP of The Sandy River, click here. Credits: From Sandy River part of the Steelhead River Journal series, published by Frank Amato Publications. We greatly appreciate use permission.
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