Minnesota Steelheader

2022 Trap Notes: Knife and French Traps open as of April 11, 2022. The first steelhead captured was on 04/18/22. Clipped stocked fish (CL) reported separately with any remaining Kamloops likely reported under clipped (TBD). Wild steelhead (SH) and presumed coaster brook trout (BT) as noted. We're having trouble keeping up with the river temps and flows given the absurd conditions as of 05/14/22  DATE: 5/06/22 Knife Flow: CFS Avg Temp: °F French River - SH - - CL - - BT - - Total - Knife River - SH - - CL - - BT - - Total - Number Captured 9 10 0 19 Number Captured 145 5 0 150 Total Captured 9 10 0 19 Total Captured 156 5 0 161 DATE: 4/28/22 Knife Flow: CFS Avg Temp: 34.7°F French River  SH  CL  BT   Total Knife River  SH  CL  BT  Total NO REPORT 0 0 0 0 Number Captured 5 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 Total Captured 11 0 0 11 DATE: 4/21/22 Knife Flow: 522 CFS Avg Temp: 33.5°F French River SH CL BT Total Knife River SH CL ...

2021 Trap Notes: Seining at French River has been suspended for 2021 due to Covid, totals are expected to be lower. All Lower Shore temperature packages are currently down, DNR creel temps have been substituted where we are able. French River trap closed on May 5th, 2021. No further Knife trap numbers publicly reported after May 12th, 2021 although the trap is likely still in operation. Final numbers TBD DATE: 5/15/21 Knife Flow: 22 CFS Avg Temp: °F French River SH KL Total Knife River SH KL Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 FINAL French Total 44 45 89 Last Knife Reported 664 16 680 DATE: 5/12/21 Knife Flow: 26 CFS Avg Temp: 48°F French River SH KL Total Knife River SH KL Total 0 0 0 Number Captured 20 0 20 FINAL French Total 44 45 89 Total Captured 664 16 680 DATE: 5/05/21 Knife Flow: 44 CFS Avg Temp: 50°F French River SH KL Total Knife River SH KL Total 0 0 0 Number Captured 53 0 53 FINAL French Total 44 45 89 Total Captured 644 16 660 DATE: 5/03/21*** K...

DATE: 6/01/2019 FINAL FINAL French River SH KL Total Knife River SH KL Total RECAPS REPORTED 0 0 0 RECAPS REPORTED 81 13 94 Total Captured 76 254 330 Total Captured 407 60 467 DATE: 5/21/19 Knife Flow: 205 CFS Avg Temp: 50.76°F French River SH KL Total Knife River SH KL Total Number Captured 0 3 3 Number Captured 17 5 22 Total Captured 76 254 330 Total Captured 488 73 561 DATE: 5/16/19 Knife Flow: 124 CFS Avg Temp: 5 4.95°F French River SH KL Total Knife River SH KL Total Number Captured 0 2 30 Number Captured 8 8 16 Total Captured 76 251 327 Total Captured 471 68 539 DATE: 5/13/19 Knife Flow: 206 CFS Avg Temp: 52.24°F French River SH KL Total Knife River SH KL Total Number Captured 7 21 28 Number Captured 30 7 37 Total Captured 76 249 325 Total Captured 463 60 523 DATE: 5/6/19 Knife Flow: 194 CFS Avg Temp: 48.67°F French River SH KL Total Knife River SH KL Total Number Captured 10 39 49 Number Captured 29 3 32 Total Captured 69 22...

DATE: 05/10/2018 Knife River Flow: 106 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 3 62 65 Total Captured 130 552 682 DATE: 05/10/2018 Index River Avg Temp: 49.18°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 17 2 19 Total Captured 287 40 327 DATE: 05/07/2018 Knife River Flow: 117 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 88 109 197 Total Captured 127 490 617 DATE: 05/06/2018 Index River Avg Temp: 52.24°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 89 16 105 Total Captured 270 38 308 DATE: 05/04/2018 Knife River Flow: 168 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 31 226 257 Total Captured 39 381 420 DATE: 05/03/2018 Index River Avg Temp: 46.60°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 77 9 86 Total Captured 181 22 203 DATE: 05/01/2018 Knife River Flow: 464 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 8 155 163 Total Captured 8 155 163 DATE...

DATE: 05/19/2017 Knife River Flow: 461 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured TRAP CLOSED 0 Total Captured 142 1562 1704 DATE: 05/19/2017 Index River Avg Temp: °F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 11 0 11 Total Captured 761 39 800 DATE: 05/15/2017 Knife River Flow: 45 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured TRAP CLOSED 0 Total Captured 142 1562 1704 DATE: 05/15/2017 Index River Avg Temp: 50.41°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 24 0 24 Total Captured 750 39 789 DATE: 05/12/2017 Knife River Flow: 51 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured TRAP CLOSED 0 Total Captured 142 1562 1704 DATE: 05/12/2017 Index River Avg Temp: 54.02°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 15 2 17 Total Captured 726 39 765 DATE: 05/09/2017 Knife River Flow: 68 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 4 28 32 Total Captured 142 1562 1...

DATE: 04/15/2016 Knife River Flow: 349 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 19 204 223 Total Captured 103 1108 1211 DATE:  04/15/2016 Index River Avg Temp: 41.36°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 386 1 387 Total Captured 531 2 533 DATE: 04/11/2016 Knife River Flow: 166 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 84 231 315 Total Captured 84 904 988 DATE:  04/11/2016 Index River Avg Temp: 33.43°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 2 0 2 Total Captured 145 1 146 DATE: 04/06/2016 Knife River Flow: 130 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 0 673 673 Total Captured 0 673 673 DATE:  04/06/2016 Index River Avg Temp: 31.81°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 0 0 144 Total Captured 143 1 144 DATE: 04/05/2016 Knife River Flow: 142 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Total Number Captured 0 0 0 Total Captured 0 0 0 ...

DATE: 05/18/2015 Knife River Flow: 213 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Number Captured 7 43 Total Captured 117 774 DATE: 05/18/2015 Index River Temp: 50.31°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Number Captured 34 3 Total Captured 708 13 DATE: 05/11/2015 Knife River Flow: 560 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Number Captured 2 12 Total Captured 110 731 DATE: 05/11/2015 Index River Temp: 42.78 °F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Number Captured 16 1 Total Captured 674 10 DATE: 05/08/2015 Knife River Flow: 145 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Number Captured 5 15 Total Captured 108 719 DATE: 05/08/2015 Index River Temp: 52.1°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Number Captured 39 0 Total Captured 658 9 DATE: 05/04/2015 Knife River Flow: 41 CFS French River Steelhead Kamloops Number Captured 2 29 Total Captured 103 704 DATE: 05/04/2015 Index River Temp: 52.74°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Number Captured 22 2 Total Captured 619 9 DATE: 05/01/2015 Knife Riv...

    We finally found a little time to do some analysis, but there's much more to be done and much more to come, so bear with us...     Short of getting some late additions to the Creel Project, the numbers are pretty much in and there are some very interesting items to note. 2014 is shaping up to be one of the more unusual runs I can remember. Everyone is scratching their heads over the weather, the late ice, the sustained high flows, and the apparent mystery of the disappearing year classes of adults, both Steelhead and Kamloops all across the Big Lake; it is just plain strange.     I guess I don't want to do too much speculation on the mystery of the missing year-classes because I'm thinking that we just won't know if they are truly missing until we see some reports on trap efficiency. With the sustained high flows, it's entirely possible that quite a few fish simply bypassed the traps, so we'll just have to wait and see what ...

    Just some preliminary trap information. One of the things I discovered early on in my quest to better understand North Shore fishing was that simply plotting trends just wasn't well, understandable....     It's not that it doesn't provide good information, in fact trends are where you see those granular details and interactions between temperature, flow and fish movement. However it's not quite as intuitive as the weekly analysis format I finally put together; so here's the combined Knife/French trap numbers in that format:       Overall there are a couple things to note: Once again you can see that things really don't get rolling until after the upstream temperature intitiation thresholds are met. Flow averages this spring were crazy-high throughout the run, and most definately had an effect on fish movement throughout. But again, the weekly format filters out the granular so that you can see the big picture bette...

Just some quickie analysis of the Trap trends for 2014...     No surprizes here with respect to inititation temps and trap numbers, but I want to throw a new concept at you.     If you read the technical literature closely, you'll find a concept which helps you understand when to change tactics and where to fish under certain conditions. Stream temperatures give you a window on when adult steelhead begin that first big upstream migration, but what happens once those conditions are met and maintained? Well, this is where flow takes over.     Once steelhead begin entering the rivers, they have one goal in mind - reproduction- and they are on a mission. Few things influence their drive to move upstream like flow. Steelhead are biologically programmed if you will to move on high flows. Over time, higher flows have allowed steelhead to reach those areas of the stream which are most conducive to spawning and rearing, and those areas are ...

DATE: 05/13/2013 Knife River Flow: 188cfs Sucker River Temp: ??°F French River Steelhead Kamloops Unclipped Clipped Number Captured 22 349 Total Captured 726 62 DATE: 05/09/2013 Knife River Flow: 827cfs Sucker River Temp: ??°F French River Steelhead Kamloops Unclipped Clipped Number Captured 6 145 ? ? Total Captured 40 377 ? ? DATE: 05/06/2013 Knife River Flow: 724cfs Sucker River Temp: ??°F French River Steelhead Kamloops Unclipped Clipped Number Captured 34 232 ? ? Total Captured 34 232 ? ? DATE: 04/29/2013 Knife River Flow: 1560cfs Sucker River Temp: ??°F Knife River Steelhead Kamloops Unclipped Clipped Number Captured Trap Closed 2013 Trap Closed 2013 Trap Opened French River Total Captured 0 0 05/06/2013 DATE: 04/29/2013 Knife River Flow: 1560cfs Sucker River Temp: ??°F French River Steelhead Kamloops Unclipped Clipped Number Captured 0 0 Sucker Gage Total Captured 0 0 Not Operable 2013     Trap Numbers are rolling in for 2013. Unfortunat...