Russian River Adult Steelhead Floy Tag Project

California's Russian River, which flows from southern Mendocino County through Sonoma County, has two steelhead hatcheries.  Warm Springs Hatchery , also known as Don Clausen Fish Hatchery, on Dry Creek was completed in early 1981, while  Coyote Valley Fish Facility  on the East Fork Russian River was completed later in 1992.

These facilities are designed to mitigate reduced fish populations due to habitat loss caused by dams and to increase recreational angling opportunities. Each spring, juvenile hatchery steelhead are released into the river and migrate out to the ocean, where they typically spend two years before returning to the Russian River facilities to spawn. Each winter, thousands of adult hatchery steelhead return to these hatcheries.

Hatchery steelhead can be distinguished from wild steelhead by looking at the adipose fin, the small fin located between the dorsal (top) fin and the caudal (tail) fin. The adipose fin is removed from juvenile hatchery fish for identification.

Unlike other species of Pacific salmon, steelhead have the ability to migrate back to the ocean after spawning and can return to rivers to spawn in future years. Due to this behavior, both hatcheries "live-spawn" returning fish. After they are spawned, steelhead are recycled back into the mainstem Russian River to provide additional angling opportunities. Some fish that are not yet ready to spawn when they return to the hatchery are also released back into the mainstem.

To better understand the movement of these steelhead that are released back into the river, CDFW began Floy tagging fish beginning in the winter of 2018/19 and will be repeating each year to improve information on the harvest of recycled hatchery steelhead.

A hole punch in the lobe of the caudal fin is applied to each adult steelhead that has returned to each hatchery (i.e. Warm Springs marks the upper caudal and Coyote Valley marks the lower caudal) and have been released back into the river.

T-bar anchor tags, also known as Floy Tags, are a visual-based marking method commonly used in fisheries. These tags are partially embedded into the flesh behind the dorsal fin. The color, and printed information on the tag can then be observed, or "recaptured", by anglers and biologist.

This effort was targeted specifically to educate anglers to keep hatchery steelhead and to report their harvest, however anyone who observed a tag is encouraged to report. Local biologists were also looking for these tagged individuals on the tributary spawning grounds.

The informational flyer below breaks down what information should be reported:

Warm Springs hatchery released a total of 1,625 Floy tagged steelhead and Coyote Valley Fish Facility released 843 Floy tagged steelhead during the winter of 2019-2020. 

Releases occurred in three sections on the main stem Russian River, with each group being marked using different colored tags (orange, yellow, and green). Releases occurred throughout the season as hatchery-origin fish returned to facilities for spawning. 76% of released fish possessed a Floy tag during the winter of 2019/20. Release timing ranged from the last of week of December to the first week of May as shown on the graph below:

1. Anglers targeting Russian River steelhead
2. Russian River tributary spawner surveys from California Sea Grant and Sonoma Water
3. Hatchery facilities documenting multiple returns

During the winter of 2019/20, California Sea Grant and Sonoma Water conducted  tributary spawner surveys  on 72 reaches in 53 streams throughout the Russian River basin. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic surveys were suspended 21 days earlier than normal, and over a month before the last release of tagged steelhead. During these surveys field crews observed 29 steelhead with Floy tags, in 6 different spawning tributaries. These observations account for 12.3% of all steelhead observed during surveys.

3% of tagged fish returned to the hatchery facility after being released into the river. All returning fish went to the same facility they were released from. 86% of returning fish were males.

Of the 2,468 tagged individuals released into the Russian River, 187 (7.6%) were “recaptured” as of June 1, 2020. 73 tags were reported by anglers, 29 observed during tributary surveys, and 85 were observed back at hatchery facilities.  

Call Warm Springs Hatchery at 707-433-6325 to report your tagged steelhead.

For more than a decade,  California Sea Grant ’s Russian River Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring Program at the University of California has been monitoring salmon and steelhead populations within the watershed to provide science-based information to everyone involved in the recovery of these critical native species. Our program supports the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive  Broodstock Program , the statewide  Coastal Monitoring Program , the Russian River Coho Water Resources  Partnership , and other recovery efforts throughout the watershed. This update provides an overview of the steelhead Floy tagging effort being led by our partners at California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ).

Special thanks to the anglers who reported their tags as well as our partners in the project:  Sonoma Water , California Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ( ACOE ), Redwood Empire Trout Unlimited ( TU ), and the Russian River Wild Steelhead Society ( RRWSS )

Please contact Warm Springs Hatchery (707-433-6325) about Floy tag related questions and recommendations.

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