Fella on the other forum seeing 10 to 20 'dead floaters' a day DOWNRIVER  for 3 days straight.
NOT just released -nobody else around.
Another fella chimed in that he saw it as well where he was fishing.
Looks to be a real problem arising and not just in the upper zones areas. 

To correct any wrong assumptions, I did not mean that the zones are the problem... But given the fact that added stress of fighting a fish is quite detrimental to its survival, the zones would be the most prone to "killing" fish. Does anyone remember when they closed the zones in 2007??? I remember every time looking off that bridge while it was closed that year to see nothing but large amounts of healthy unstressed fish. Fish congregate naturally above that bridge more so than any other spots I've ever seen. Its quite apparent that what they did that year was a good move as great some of the best I've ever seen) returns of all species came for the returning years after that...

Didn't think  you only meant the Zones Andy, but were indicating the issues of added stress on the Steel, and that the zones were areas of heavy fish populations and fishing.
Unfortunately what others are seeing elsewhere kinda seems to indicate the issue is manifesting itself regardless of the added stress of c and r- even downriver.
As the deads don't generally float down the entire river but die and drop it seems to me the problem is  large throughout the system.
Don't know that I have ever seen 30 floaters even when Kings were in real good and fishing great spots. Yea, deads are all over but 30 actual just dead  floaters-----no.
I may well agree -save as many as we can and shut it down for the sake of the future.
 Sad stuff.

Again, reading around- some have been seen like this low in the DSR in the early AM- It aint just the river but clearly a lake issue too, they are coming in with the lice.
Perhaps its the added pressure of running or that they just haven't been noticed dead in the large lake, but the lice seem to be out there attaching to the fish as someone mentioned earlier.
As this has only seemed a minor thing  in the past the lice must be increasing for some  reason-  one may well think it isn't just the Steel being affected.
Ontario does not appear to be the first Great Lake affected by this.
Always something, but still sad stuff.
 
Similar reports from other Ontario tribs ?????

Thanks Bob--good read.
In a closed system like a brook or stream it makes sense when the fish are residents..
Gotta wonder bout an ocean sized lake that the fish run from though ??
 Did they control it in Erie ??

Here is a list of articles ect I have come across on this. FWIW they do not think it is gill lice as the issue was worse in 2012.
http://www.syracuse.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2014/12/scientist_puzzled_about_whats_killing_steelhead_in_the_salmon_river_and_other_la.html
 
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3868#.VI-rFJU5DIX
 
 
This was an e mail received from Scott Prindle, the Biologist in charge of the SR.

 There have been steelhead acting strangely and dying for several weeks now. We
sent an initial sample to Cornell University Vet School to see if was being
caused by a disease, virus or parasite. They found nothing conclusive on those
fish.

We think it may be related to thiamine levels in the fish. Similar observations
have been made in other Great Lakes in the past. Last week we captured several
fish and took muscle and liver samples to be sent off to a Federal Fish Health
lab to determine their thiamine levels. Additionally we are holding some fish in
a pen at the hatchery that are acting sick and have injected them with a
thiamine solution. This has worked in the past to revive fish that were
suffering from thiamine deficiency.
 
Here is a set of articles about  the great lakes salmon . it I old but  has some good stuff
http://www.jsonline.com/n...97825z1-284550501.html

Unfortunately while we may be able to determine that thiamine is the culprit,
there is not much that can be done from a practical standpoint.

I'll let you know what we hear from the Feds. 

Scott" 

  

So if that was the issue for a few decades on the atlantics , whats the real issue ? A lake wide crash ?
Hope the stripers run strong but then again I hear there are issues there too of another sort..
Guess the best hole for a hopeless fisher like me is ice but the dang weather seems to being a big problem of late .
Geesh , can't catch even a break . Lol

It definitely has potential for disaster. Since 2005 the DEC really started keying in on wild stocks in the system. Maybe they were too late? 3 years in a row of phenomenal salmon runs followed by the worst ever... Lake trout populations are up... Could the lake be running out of bait??? Notice the question marks.

There it is again  " The worst ever".  Where is the data or are we just talking a coupe of people who got out every couple of weeks impressions of it? 

For those who knew where and how there were Salmon- but clearly NOT like any normal year.
 There WERE dead Steel early on and more than normal too. I attributed it to improper release and play but ???
Did see many coming down on top while upriver in the first parts of the run and also attributed that to improper release and tired fish from above.
There were a LOT of Steel in October including very  many shorts- now somebody says there are no jacks around ???
Really looking to the day the question is answered - even if we don't like it at least we will know why.