The Crooked River is a special place for anglers in Central Oregon. For me it is where I was first really introduced to the sport, and where I caught my first fish on the fly. Gabe Parr just finished up putting together a new site that provides some great information about the push to provide better fish passage at the Opal Springs dam above Lake Billy Chinook.
This year 80 steelhead have been passed into Lake Billy Chinook and 39 steelhead have been passed above Opal Springs Dam using a trap and haul system.
Arguably the chance of a strong run of steelhead being re-established in the Crooked basin is going to be a difficult battle – it is exciting to see the changes happening. Hopefully future generations of anglers will benefit from the movement, and other watersheds around the Pacific Northwest can be inspired by this movement as well.