By Ashley Lodato
I’ll never forget the first time I attended the Methow Kids’ Fishing Day. It must have been 2007 or 2008, because I had a baby on my back and a toddler by my side, and the toddler (now my 13-year-old) caught a giant trout on her first cast. We were down at the end of the pond and, as I am not a fisherman, I didn’t know what to do, so I kind of hopped around wringing my hands as my toddler somehow reeled in what must have been a 3- or 4-pound fish and deposited it, flopping, on the bank.
Eventually someone came and clubbed the fish for us, gutted it and sent it home with us all nice and clean in a bag. At home, my toddler got in the bath and brought the fish in with her, so enamored was she of her catch. It’s quite possible that we then grilled and ate it for dinner. Because that’s the sort of thing you find yourself doing in those early kid years.
I tell you all this because with memory-making opportunities like this, you won’t want to miss the Methow Kids’ Fishing Day on Saturday (June 9) at the Winthrop Hatchery. The free event features fish art, fly tying, boating safety, smoked salmon, and — the highlight for most kids — fishing in a fully stocked pond.
Julia Pinnix, the Fish and Wildlife education outreach manager in charge of Fishing Day, tells me that this is the 75th anniversary of the Winthrop Hatchery. She also provided me with some interesting history of the area’s hatcheries as well as current projects they oversee.
When Grand Coulee Dam was built on the Columbia River in the 1930s, hundreds of miles of river were closed to migrating fish. Three hatcheries were built to compensate for lost habitat and keep fish numbers high, and to serve tribal, commercial and sport fisheries; Entiat, Leavenworth, and Winthrop national fish hatcheries still do this today.
The hatcheries were constructed from 1939-1942, with Winthrop National Fish Hatchery (NFH) the last to be finished. Each hatchery raises different fish. Right now, Leavenworth raises spring Chinook salmon. Entiat raises summer Chinook salmon.
Sockeye salmon were the primary species produced at Winthrop until 1957. From 1959-1969, coho salmon were the primary focus. Production switched to rainbow trout until 1976. After that, spring Chinook were raised, as they still are today. Winthrop currently also raises coho salmon and steelhead.
Winthrop NFH supports innovative projects through partnerships. The Yakama Nation cares for some steelhead at Winthrop, collecting broodstock after spawning and caring for them in circular tanks until another spawning season comes around, aiming to boost numbers of spawning local steelhead.
The Yakama Nation, U.S. Forest Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Okanogan Conservation District, and Mid-Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office joined the hatchery in the Methow Beaver Project. Beavers were relocated from troublesome areas to high-elevation zones, improving habitat and reducing human-wildlife conflict. The hatchery provided temporary homes for the beavers during this process.
Another important partner is Douglas County Public Utility District’s Methow Fish Hatchery (MFH). Together, MFH and Winthrop NFH raise spring Chinook salmon to provide fish for tribal, commercial, and sport fisheries and to boost the wild population. This is done through a “stepping stone” conservation model, in action since 2010.
Come see the Winthrop NFH for yourself on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
