In Astoria, we’re less than an hour from some of the best fishing rivers in the country. Native and hatchery runs of Chinook begin in the spring, with late summer and fall runs of Coho and Chum salmon. Fish counts begin to dwindle by late fall. At this time anglers still braving the blown-out rivers and less-than-ideal conditions have often turned to Steelhead fishing.
In 2025, Fort George sponsored an ocean-bound Steelhead Kelt as part of The Wilderness Calling Conservation Initiative’s 5-year research and data collection project. The aim of the tagging project has been to collect information on the ocean migration patterns and behavior of Steelhead Kelts. From TWCCI:
Steelhead are unique salmonids that have the potential to spawn and return to the ocean, at which point they are referred to as “kelts.” They can spawn and return to the ocean up to 5 times in their life, which makes the potential spawning output for each individual steelhead more prolific than that of other salmon species, which spawn only one time before dying. The freshwater life history of steelhead has been studied extensively, however the saltwater portion of their life history is under-studied…
…Unfortunately, a sharp decline in steelhead numbers in Oregon has been observed over the past 50 years. Despite the decline, much of steelhead life history, and the factors that contribute to lower abundances, remain a mystery.
At Fort George, the only thing we love more than beer is beer that helps solve a mystery.
We live at the meeting point of many different waters and most of those waters are full of fish. Our rivers, streams, lakes and shorelines are critical habitat for thousands of species (including humans). In addition to supporting nonprofits in our community through fundraisers, benefit nights, collaborations and free public talks every Thursday from October through May, we donate 1% of the proceeds from all of our 12oz cans to local, environmentally-focused nonprofits with a focus on research, conservation and restoration of our water systems.
Our Steelhead Kelt was caught by spey cast fly after spawning in March 2025, tagged and released. They named her Georgette. She probably looked something like this:
Spey Casting for Steelhead
Steelhead water in the Pacific Northwest is famously treacherous and difficult to fish. Fishermen in this region are always developing and improving special equipment and new methods to fish for Steelhead. Tom Flanagan, fly fisherman and board member of Rainland Fly Casters, a 40 year-old nonprofit fly fishing club based in Astoria, says spey casting is the hardest way to catch a fish. Which does not imply that there’s an easier way, just that when it comes to Steelhead, every way you fish is the hardest way to catch a fish.
Spey casting and its requisite equipment were developed in Scotland on the River Spey and the River Dee in the 18th Century but have long been associated with Steelhead and the North Coast. When spey casting, an extra long rod and a long and heavy leader cling to the water and give the fisherman’s D-shaped cast the momentum it needs to launch a fly into the path of potential fish without the need for back casting. In shallow water, against steep banks with tall brush and frequent obstructions – a spey casting fly fisherman walks down the frigid winter waters, stalking a fish that may or may not exist. Tom says that even armed with decades of experience and deep knowledge of your river’s seasons and moods, a Steelhead is still the fish of a thousand casts (maybe two thousand casts).
Recreational Steelhead angling in Oregon and Southwestern Washington has a long history and is still a huge draw for the region, despite years of steep decline in populations. But recreational fishing is far from the reason that 10 of the 13 Distinct Population Segments of Steelhead on this coast are threatened. There’s a laundry list of factors influencing the success of Steelhead populations that includes habitat destruction, dams, changing ocean temperatures and other points of human interference.
The Wilderness Calling
In order to effectively protect and rehabilitate endangered populations of North Coast Steelhead, more research and information is needed. Fort George, through our partnership with 1% for the Planet, was proud to answer the call this year by helping The Wilderness Calling Conservation Initiative catch, tag and track Georgette.
Here’s a summary of Georgette’s voyage from TWCCI:
Georgette spent 12 days migrating down the Nehalem River before reaching the Ocean. Once in the Ocean, Georgette turned north hugging the shore, then once hitting a point near Westport, Washington turned Northwest and swam about 30 miles off coast parallel with Forks, Washington. Georgette travelled roughly 300 miles in total in just 24 days. Georgette’s tag popped off and started downloading data on April 16th.
Along with specific migration data, Georgette’s satellite tag recorded both depth and temperature data, this is critical data when exploring the migration behavior of Steelhead in relation to climate change and what waters Steelhead are using in relation to the warming ocean.
Steelhead Kelts in the ocean typically stick to the top 15 feet of water being surface oriented. Generally Georgette behaved this way as well. Interestingly she took 5 distinct deep dives of over 300 feet. A similar study of Satellite tagged Kelts in Alaska didn’t see dives nearly this deep, likely Georgette was diving for food or avoiding predation.
Questions remain unanswered. Did someone or something eat Georgette? Did she just shed her tag and continue on her way? What magical, mystical or monstrous things did Georgette encounter in the dark and murky depths of the Pacific? We’ll never know. But thanks to Georgette and TWCCI, we know a whole lot more about the ocean behavior of Steelhead Kelts and the changing ocean environment on the North Coast.
Our beer is made from the water and the water is what makes our beer great. A healthy coastal ecosystem means thriving populations of native species and land and water that speak loudly through the voices of the humans who love and use them. We take a lot of pride in designing, crafting and packaging a product that has the potential to help the land and the water, to protect the most vulnerable parts of our environment and our community.
Sources and more about Sustainability at the Fort, 1% for the Planet, Spey Casting, TWCCI, Steelhead on the North Coast and Rainland Fly Casters:
Dave Kilhefner on Spey Casting
The Wilderness Calling Conservation Initiative – Donate here
Tom Flanagan & Rainland Fly Casters
Sustainability at the Fort
