Little Truckee

[Bull_Dog]

The flows have gone down to 15 CFS. This is a crime to those who have put in time to resore this river and to the fly fishing community. Does anyone have an idea how to combat this issue. The fish are in huge trouble.

[jayclarkflyfishing]

Rob-
Unfortunately the Bureau of Reclamation is exempt in this case because it is a maintenance issue with Stampede Dam( they found a leaky gasket that needs replacing during a 6 year maintenance check) . TU Truckee Chapter #103 may seek mitigation from B of R for losses of fish from this fiasco.

Until the flows come up please DO NOT fish the LT.

A side note...the Upper LT(above Stampede) has been flowing at around 10-12 cfs for over a month and there has been no outrage. Flows out of Independence were dropped to 7 cfs in mid August and the Sierra Valley Water Company diversion was only allowing 3 cfs( their mandated base flow per the Truckee River Operating Agreement)below their dam. These type of flow regimes are no good for fish or aquatic invertebrates.

Jay

[bigfly]

I constantly ask, who's in charge?
Never seen a fishery so plagued with mismanagement of flows,
(If you think of habitat first.).
Large step drops to a trickle, followed by the random gush.
I understand dam repair, but this happens pretty much every year.

Should be mandated minimum flows for all the tribs, and graduated flows mirroring seasonal changes.

Personally I won't fish the LT under 80 cfs.
Pretty tough on the fish/bugs.
And at these flows the browns spawning will be super challenged.
The big T is fishing very well now, dries, indy style, and streamers.
Please give the LT a break.....

[Ralph]

There ARE minimum flows on the tribs but they not enough. An "emergency" reduction in flow can happen just about any time the water purveyors find it convenient. We spent over a decade negotiating the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA) and tried in vain to get Truckee watershed anglers to actively engage in the process.

No matter how many times we asked, exactly zero fly shops and only a couple of guides could even bother to write a letter much less show up at meetings. In the end the flow regimes were largely decided by the agencies, Indians, farmers and downstream M&I users. The TROA is an "act of Congress" and nothing short of a Congressional decree will change the flows no matter how much you whine. We got what we deserve (but the fish didn't).

Next time some conservation group asks you to spend 5 minutes writing a letter, remember the Little Truckee and pick up a pen. Your input does make a difference.

[bigfly]

So Ralph, is it going to be a hundred years before we can re-negotiate the water pact?
I won't hold my breath for an act of congress.
You just let me know what I/we can do now......I can write a little.
Could we create a little heat with a press conference next to a trickle....

[Ralph]

TROA was ratified three years ago. It certainly won't be reopened in my lifetime. Tom McClintock will be the only influential audience of your PR. He'll be pissed to learn that trout get any water.

[JasonB]

Ralph, that's a pretty good wake up slap. Pretty sad state indeed, and really a shame that there wasn't a stronger case made by the FF community. I'm not exactly an "activist" type myself, but I am always interested in making a positive impact when I can. I'm concerned that water issues are only going to become more and more heated as more and more interests fight for "their share" of this precious resource.

One thing that might be a good idea for the FF community would be to network a bit more outside our own little niche; build some stronger alliances with other groups where there may be some shared or similar interests. I only mention this because it seems to me that FF groups alone are probably pretty small on the political level, and we are often at odds with some who might at times actually share some common interests in regards to stream/ecosystem health. I don't want to stir the pot, as I know that this is directly indicating some current issues that are heated and controversial to say the least. Just pointing out that we could certainly use a lot more allies than enemies in the coming years with regards to water flows and overall health of the resource.

Looks like I wont be doing any fishing on the LT for a bit :(
JB

[Frank R. Pisciotta]

Ralph---I fully agree with your comment about our congressman. He definitiely does not represent my politicial interests...besides he is a classic "carpet-bagger"; having termed himself out in Thousand Oaks (I think that was his former district).

As for local fishery-conservation (or fishery conservation generally); I personally, am a firm believer in giving back to a resourse that has been good to you. In this case...your "home-water". If in fact you fly fish a specific area or water...Put your body or $$$ where your flies are.

Whether one makes $$$, as I do from guiding in the Truckee area, or whether one regularly fly fishes the Truckee area...give-back via:

1---Getting politically active in ensuring that your local fishery and its habitat is protected, preserved and enchanced.

2-Volunteering your body for hands-on projects relative to protecting and preserving the fishery

3---Give $$$ to an organization that has your local fishery in mind. I give 1% of my gross revenue from fly fishing guiding & instruction to the Truckee-Tahoe Trout Fund which was seeded ($10,000.00 worth) by Richard Anderson; Truckee's current mayor.

Minimally one, of the above indicates that you care about your fishery; doing all three...Great!

[Bayou Boy]

I subscribed to the USGS Waterdata alert for the Little Truckee above Boca bacause I'm leaving saturday afternoon to fish that area for a few days and hoped to fish the Little Truckee. I got an alert 2 hours ago that the flow is now above 60CFM. It's still rising slowly. What's good flow to fish this area?

LINK TO FLOW DATA (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?cb_00060=on&cb_00065=on&format=gif_default&period=1&site_no=10344400)

[JasonB]

I subscribed to the USGS Waterdata alert for the Little Truckee above Boca bacause I'm leaving saturday afternoon to fish that area for a few days and hoped to fish the Little Truckee. I got an alert 2 hours ago that the flow is now above 60CFM. It's still rising slowly. What's good flow to fish this area?

LINK TO FLOW DATA (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?cb_00060=on&cb_00065=on&format=gif_default&period=1&site_no=10344400)


Thanks for the link, I think you meant 60CFS (cubic feet per second)? Still sounds kinda low to me, but I've only fished that stretch a couple of times. Once was about double that flow and the other was when the flow was about 600CFS (ten times the current flow). Have to say that I found the "high" flow to be far more enjoyable to fish, spread both fishes and anglers about a lot more. The low flows really kind of had the fish kegged up and pretty much surrounded on all sides by strange creatures flinging fur and feathers of all sizes, shapes, and colors at them. I didn't last long before heading back to the main Truckee...

Just my limited experiences, so take that with a grain of salt, but based on that I don't think I personally would go out of my way to fish there at those flows when you have such a high quality fishery like the main Truckee right there.
Good luck either way,
JB

[Bayou Boy]

Up to 157 CFS now.