Mokelumne?

[Oskar]

Hi, I will be near the Mokelumne in week or so. I have never fished this river. Does anyone have any recommendations where to go? Any good access points to trails?

thanks
Oskar

[El Rey]

So many options....

First, pick up the most recent issue of California Flyfishing Mag. It has an article about the Moke. Access the NF from Ebbitts Pass (Hwy 4), or downstream at Tiger Creek off Hwy 88.

Other options: some people fish along Electra Rd, off of Hwy 46. I've not done this area, so can't tell you much.

In the Valley, fish the Moke just below Comanche Res. There's a park area that can be pleasant, but it will be hot this time of year. It's just east of Clements off Hwy 12.

Good luck,
El Rey

[burl51]

Electra road is off hwy 49 just outside Jackson. Just a small correction. Fished electra rd a few times. The road is one lane in alot of sections be careful. The flows can change very fast also if ya hear the siren get out of the water PG&E is opening the gates to produce electricty. I have not done very well in that section either. But give it a shot.

regards Burl

[Ben Kobrin]

The flows can change very fast also if ya hear the siren get out of the water

I will second this caution. I was fishing electra road last year about 1/4 mile below the PG&E station so I couldn't hear the siren. I had waded across to the opposite bank and had fished that for about an hour. When I tried to wade back I quickly realized that the flows had been raised and I had no chance of getting back. Nothing to do but strip down for a very cold swim back to the other side. :cry:

[Dustin Rocksvold]

That's news to me, and I monitor Electra Powerhouse, and quite a few others, from my desk at work...

The only siren that we have is located below Strawberry/Pinecrest and it is only used for flow increases greater than 25 CFS out of the draft valve (in one shot).

The electrical generation from Electra Powerhouse is controlled by the California Independant System Operator in Folsom the majority of the time. The only times it is not are when the units are down for maintenance or repairs, system trouble, low flows coming downstream, or special conditions that necessitate constant flows (i.e. pulse flows or recreation flows for the rafters). The rest of the time the ISO can ramp the unit up or down between limits that we set based on the water coming downstream. The swing can be +/- 5-30 megawatts of generation. That is not much flow at the bottom end, but at the top it can be 350+ CFS.

If you were to look at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/res_PAR.html you can see the flow changes between Electra and Pardee Reservoir.

The other worry when fishing below Electra is that there are reservoirs that can fill & spill farther up in the canyon and the water has to go somewhere. With the current licensing arrangement normal flows are ramped up and down in a controlled fashion based on criteria in the license. Spill conditions can cause dam safety issues that can negate the ramp rate criteria. So I would be very careful when fishing here during the spring runoff and or early summer. Low water years are not as dangerous, but in higher snow pack years the flow can be monumental. See http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryF?s=PAR&d=31-Dec-2005+23:59&span=48hours for an example (14,000+ CFS). I am not sure if this gage is accurate at that high of flows, but this storm put water up onto Electra Rd. in some places.

Just a little FYI. Hope it helps.

[Ben Kobrin]

Then that would explain why I didn't hear a siren...I just assumed that I was too far away! :)