Yakima River Steelhead — Run Timing, Counts & Forecast

Right now: 🟡 Active — 100% of a typical year's run still to come (peak Jan 10 at PRO)

How these fish move: Yakima-bound adults first hit this river's entry arrays a median 84 days after Bonneville (middle half 57–122; 961 tagged fish).

Run timing, year over year

Estimated cumulative Yakima returns by day of year — each line one season, this season darkest. Shaded band: how this season plays out if it keeps running like its most similar past years. Scaled at Bonneville; estimated, not a direct count.

Season totals by migration year

Estimated total Yakima-bound steelhead per migration year (Jun–May, labeled by ending year). PIT tags × published tagging rates — the same single source every chart on the dashboard reads.

How these numbers are made. Steelhead carrying PIT tags are detected at dams and in-river antennas; each tagged fish is expanded by its group's published tagging rate to estimate untagged fish traveling with it. Levels are anchored to the Bonneville census and cross-checked against independent published sources (IDFG/ODFW run reconstructions, dam-by-dam census bounds). Status timing for this river reads the Prosser count. These are estimates — treat year-to-year shape as more reliable than any single year's absolute level. Full methodology on the dashboard About tab.