SOL 2013 Summary is now posted on the DEC website.  Full report by May. 
 
http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/lou2013hilights.pdf
 
Go to the Lockport or Pulaski presentations if you can, a lot of great information.  A couple of points:
 
Coho returns were good last fall, higher than usual egg take toward mid October, but poor egg eye up.  DEC thinks this was because eggs were for the most part taken at higher than optimum temperatures (either take them or lose the fish, they were starting to weaken and get fungus in the holding ponds)  As a result no fall fingerling coho stocking in 2014, numbers will be made up with Chinook which are at 100% plus of target now.  New protocol for 2014 will continue egg taking later if temps not optimum and if they get enough late eggs, they will dump the early ones. 
 
Conditions and numbers of salmon and trout were comparable to prior years, down a little but close enough to just be measurement error, I thought.
 
Alewife populations and conditions stable.  They did not say it but, I interpret that as an indication that the right numbers of fish are being stocked in relation to the amount of natural reproduction.
 
Highest Catch per unit effort recorded for lake trips in the history of the fishery.  Average catch per charter trip was approximately 8 fish, private boat average more like 2 fish per trip.  The pros know their stuff, and the technology and internet are definitely helping.
 
Average 3 year old king returning to the hatchery was 37" long weighed 23 lbs.
 
3.5 hour meeting and discussion, I can't get it all here, get to one of the remaining meetings if you can, check the summary and devote a few nights (ha!, maybe a month of nights) to reading the full report when it is released later in the spring.  And tell all the newbies you see on the tribs how much better it is out off the boats!
 
L13

Good stuff 13, thanks for attending and sharing your highlights . I will read the complete report when published.
BTW: while I haven't had huge success ( about the 2 per trip ratio ) on the lake, yes I think the lake fishing for salmon is awesome !!! Wish I had a bigger boat..

Thanks Chuck!
 
First thing I notice is a decrease in lamprey scars.
I thought I saw quite a few this year and my memory is that others seemed to feel the same.
Maybe the fish I caught were biters because they were weaker because of lamprey attacks?
 
Over 75 % of chinooks caught in SR were wild fish.
 Overall 7-20% wild.
Given proper conditions ( better summer flows, overhead shade lowering temps) other streams wild number would grow to match?
 
New well at SR hatchery is good news!
 
Did they mention exactly what portions if I C banks they were looking at rebuilding?

By the way I logged on to post that it seems this prolonged river had finally caught up to the board and it was running out of energy and non fishing things to talk about.
Perfect timing for your post!

I think the State portion of the IC work is in Powdermill where there are a couple of spots (up toward the camp is one), where debris and beaver action have been causing a lot of erosion.  US Army Corps had a lower creek project in Ellison, but I think they dumped it, too low a habitat score or something. 
 
I spoke with Mike Connerton about the fin clip work and some western tribs.  Lower success of natural reproduction is also a function of substrate.  Long stretches of some WNY tribs are mainly bedrock or finer gravel.  Kings like cobble (think softball or grapefruit), and some tribs have very limited amounts.  He said he walked on WNY trib last November and there were still kings spawning, but there were limited spots. SR has large areas of cobble (think about the area upstream of the William Perry Memorial hole, there are salmon out there almost to Thanksgiving).  Shade and temp are also factors, that is why the Atlantics went extinct in LO to begin with, but without the right size substrate, there is nowhere for the eggs to develop. 
 
L13   

I C has spawning gravel all the way up thru Fishers with salmon all thru the fall.
At least they were in the early days when I was more gung ho looking for them and learning their habits.
Silt load can be a problem there of course.
Dady creek looked like it had plenty of spots for redd making.
Silver hammer creek not so much til above the dam.
Joke not much and all of it walked on.
Further west lots of bedrock to be sure.
My comment was intended for the creeks nearby with decent spawning habitat but elevated temps due to lack of shade.
 
I was wondering if they were looking at the old Russo area you were trout fishing last year.
Lots of spots filled in with silt up toward the ballfields that might make decent fishing with some work.
 

This also brings up another question to my feeble mind.
With only 6-13 % straying (and I assume that is the number straying to the SR, one of the bigger flows)
Where do all the kings in I C come from?
Some years fairly significant numbers  other years only dribs and drabs.
 
 
 

Straying is really only measured at the hatchery.  There they don't have to go after the fish.  It costs a lot of Money to go out and field sample, much less to analyze tags on fish that swim right up to you.
 
Daddy creek is the one we spoke about, definitely places where the fish can spawn, but many miles, at least 2x's the length of SR, with lots of it bedrock.
 
IC fish could be natural repro from strays from GR stock.  Remember 20 lb salmon still has a brain about the size of a pea!
 
L13

Lucky- What about Shipbuilder's?  I remember trolling off that area for Spring Browns and was told that it gets a good run of fish provided the water levels are good.

That was what I meant about assuming that6-13%was based on SR.
,My point being that if only that percentage finds their way into one of the bigger flows the number of strays would be less in the trickles making me think most of those fish in I C are natural.
Have seen what I am sure are natural steel there for decades.
 
Question in my mind is what would repo be like if Dady creek was shaded better keeping temps lower, not just for kings but steel, could parr over summer with enough shading?
 
Not a lot of flow there except after a good rain