January 27, 2021 3:40 a.m.

Staff from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking information and anglers who help, could net a reward.

A release said those who harvest a hatchery winter steelhead and return the snout to an ODFW collection barrel have the chance to win a $50 gift card if their fish is coded wire tagged. Monthly prize drawings run through April.

Collection barrels are located at popular boat ramps around the Umpqua Basin. In Roseburg they are also at the Sportsman’s Warehouse and outside the ODFW office on the North Umpqua Highway. Bags for the snouts and tags with date and location of harvest are in the barrels.

The release said hatchery winter steelhead were coded wire tagged this past spring and released in four groups at acclimation sites in Canyonville, each at a different time. ODFW scans collected snouts for the tags which contain the release date and group. This information shows which release timing is the most beneficial to anglers, particularly those fishing the South Umpqua River.

The release said ODFW began getting that data during the 2018-19 winter steelhead angling season with anglers returning about 200 snouts. That number doubled during the 2019-20 season.

ODFW STEP biologist Evan Leonetti said “We expect to collect harvested hatchery winter steelhead snouts for at least another five years”. He said the longer length of the study gives a better picture of the fishery and what, if any, adjustments need to be made to the release timing.

Go to www.odfw.com for more information about the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.