second (cfs) of water was reported as flowing through the river; this was only slightly less than the massive flood event in 1984, which saw 29,000 cfs of water rushing through the river. River levels during early fall are typically between 350 and 700 cfs. There were reports and photos of salmon seen swimming in flooded parking lots and roads, and of anglers targeting these fish. History of fisheries management Salmon River Atlantic salmon populations declined rapidly in the mid-19th century due to overfishing, pollution, and the construction of numerous dams preventing access to spawning grounds. By 1872, these native salmon were extirpated from the river. Between 1873 and 1898, approximately 1.1 million Chinook salmon were stocked in the Salmon River; however stocking ceased once it was demonstrated that no natural reproduction of these salmon was taking place. This same period of time saw the stocking of 144,000 Atlantic salmon fry, however poor survival of these fish led to this program being discontinued as well. By 1898, all salmon in Lake Ontario were apparently extirpated. Several additional attempts to establish spawning populations of Chinook, coho and Atlantic salmon in the river took place between 1939 and 1959. In each instance, failure to document subsequent natural reproduction led to each program being discontinued. Poor river conditions, pollution, and the impacts of parasitic sea lampreys contributed to the failure of these stocking programs. The extirpation of lake trout from Lake Ontario in the 1950s left the large lake without an apex predator, leaving prey fish such as alewife and smelt with no natural means of control. Alewife populations exploded, sometimes to the point of causing die-offs large enough to require the use of bulldozers along Great Lakes' beaches. Seeking to control prey fish populations, the aggressive stocking of coho and Chinook salmon resumed throughout the Great Lakes and their tributaries. In 1968, 22,000 coho salmon were stocked in the Salmon River, marking the beginning of the current era of salmon sportfishing on the river. Chinook salmon were stocked beginning in 1970. Initial returns were poor, and would remain so until successful sea lamprey control began in 1972. By 1974, large salmon runs were observed regularly in the Salmon River, and steelhead were initially stocked beginning in that year as well. To support the growing Lake Ontario sportfishing industry, the Salmon River Fish Hatchery was built in 1980 on Beaverdam Brook, a tributary