Naturally-Produced Issaquah Creek fall Chinook
- Adults enter the Ballard Locks from Puget Sound in July-August, then swim through and hold in the deeper, cooler waters of Lake Union and Lake Washington as their bodies transform to spawning stage.
- Adults continue up the Sammamish River and through Lake Sammamish and into Issaquah Creek in late August and early September, with the end-of-summer rains.
- In late September and early October, adults search for suitable spawning gravel with adequate water supply and pair up with a suitable mate for spawning.
- In November-December, fry hatch and remain in gravel.
- Fry emerge in February-March and fish spend approximately 3-4 months in fresh water before migrating downstream to the ocean.
- Estimated survival of naturally produced salmon (egg to smolt): Less than 5 percent.