Why we fish the Upper Sacramento River

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Here is Nor Cal guide Bill Carnazzo and client with a wild Rainbow trout that is way too big.


**Many locals thought that the Rainbows in the Upper Sac never got much bigger than 20-22 inches but after the big chemical spill they found some monsters floating dead on top. I think the biggest was 32 inches. The fact is that we usually don't land the Steelhead size wild Rainbows on the Upper Sac. Some of those big ones might be migrating up from Shasta Lake.

[Ed Wahl]

Wow, that shot gets the blood pumping!

We'd all like to be that guy.

Ed

[fj40]

That rod is BENT.Thanks for sharing. Great upper sac picture. Anyone been up there lately?

[Sammy]

ah come on Mr. Kiene!!

You can't just set up like that and not deliver! Is there a picture of whatever was caught? (if it was actually landed)

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I think they lost it......

**We had a cabin in Dunsmuir for 10 years and during that time we saw Rainbows that looked to be 10 pounds swimming in big holes were the vistiblity in the day time was perfect. They looked like Steelhead.....

[Frank Alessio]

The Business People downtown had some monster fish planted in the Town strech of the river this year to promote the area and stimulate tourist trade... They may have been Triploids... I talked to a Warden up there that confirmed the planting of Sterile Fish so they would not breed once in the river just eat and get big...I hooked one of those fish and there was no way I could land it on my 3 wt. Rod....The Railroad has also closed off all the parking at Shasta Retreat...

[Scott V]

I hooked one of those fish and there was no way I could land it on my 3 wt. Rod

You should have tackled the fish!:D

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I check with Bill Carnazzo today at the shop and he said they did land that fish and would send me a photo.

Here it is....you can see it's head in the net.

Bill said it was beteen 4-5 pounds.

[aaron]

That's a cool sequence of photos!

[Yard Sale]

The Business People downtown had some monster fish planted in the Town strech of the river this year to promote the area and stimulate tourist trade... They may have been Triploids... I talked to a Warden up there that confirmed the planting of Sterile Fish so they would not breed once in the river just eat and get big...I hooked one of those fish and there was no way I could land it on my 3 wt. Rod....The Railroad has also closed off all the parking at Shasta Retreat...

Awesome fish! looks like the rajeff rod testing video!

I really hope what Frank said is not true. If I caught a big fish there(have caught a few over 20") I sure would want to feel sure it was a natural fish. Pellet heads have no place on such a pristine river....

[Frank Alessio]

Most big fish in the Lower river come up from the lake...They are silvery and very bright in color...I believe they are refered to as a Kamloop...

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

They did plant some big fish in the Upper Sac last summer.

[NorCalDrifter56]

Yes, they did plant some big (and smaller) triploids this last season in and around Dusnmuir. And yes they were planted with the intension of stimulating the local economy. I am sure it worked to a certain extent as I did have a few clients that expressed interest is finding one of those lunkers.

I wonder how those fish will compete with the natives and what the long term impact will be. Always good fodder over some single malt....... After a year in the system they should adjust, feed and with exception of a damaged (or removed) fin or two most will not see the difference between them and a native or lake run fish. Perhaps it is a case of no harm no foul.... But if the idea of planting were to be practiced on a larger scale our natives could be displaced and the long term health of that fishery could be challenged.

I am reminded of that line from an old BOC tune (that's Blue Oyster Cult for those unfamiliar)......'Godzilla'......."History shows again and again how nature points out the folley of man". Or the one we all know..."don't fix it if it ain't broken'.

We are an arogant species that feels intitled........

Of course the other side of the coin is that it is already irrevoccably broken and we are just managing the damage control.

...now its back to the vice.....

Curtis Cole
NorCalDrifter56@yahoo.com

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

The CA DF&G has reported to us that after about 2 weeks all hatchery planted fish in streams are gone? I guess they are caught by anglers or eaten by preditors.

Lake are a different story....they do well there.

[slimfishin's]

[QUOTE=Pellet heads have no place on such a pristine river....[/QUOTE]

So if the entire Upper Sac was wiped out by train wreck and a chemical spill (not that long ago)... how did the trout population come back?

I suspect the pellet heads played a major role in that recovery effort. Now the river is a great fishery that provides both recreation for anglers and economic benefits to local communities.

Lots of people like to drop hate on the CA DFG hatchery program, but there are also lots of benefits to it that don't often get mentioned.

[Troutstalker55B]

So if the entire Upper Sac was wiped out by train wreck and a chemical spill (not that long ago)... how did the trout population come back?

Don't forget the feeder creeks, many spawning trout use them instead of the main river.

Jon.

[Clark]

I fished the Upper Sac for a few days last July. As soon as I got to the cabin we had rented, I strung up and headed to the river right out back. First cast, four inch trout. Second cast, this slab. He went 21". Needless to say, I was a little suprised. I am guessing he is a product of the Dunsmuir Economic Stimulus Package. Still put a smile on my face.

http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac62/clarkb27/UpperSac7-22-11008.jpg

[slimfishin's]

Oh son!
That's a big ol' bass!

[Siskiyoublues]

I was actually reading about the rehabilitation of the upper sac recently and the recovery really is remarkable.
At the time of the spill most of the mature spawning trout were in the tributaries and less then 50 wild fish were captured and spawned in the mt shasta hatchery. They managed to plant about 7000 fingerlings along with native sculpin to jump start the river.
Sometimes level heads prevail and as a result the river has spent some time under the microscope getting some much needed attention.

[KJE]

As someone who fishes the Upper Sac fairly often (at least for not living there), this is not something I think we need to be concerned about.

The city plants those within city limits and pretty much within maybe 1-1.5 miles. While there are a few stretches that don't get overwhelming pressure, most of the river through town gets absolutely pounded by gear folks - and they keep their catch. I doubt that there are too many wild trout in town to impact or that these bigger fish will have much of an effect. I was surprised to hook one in a fast pocket, however, as I've seen most of them come from a couple of big pools.

Edit: Looks like Clark beat me to it. That puppy looked like a shark when he was bringing it in.

[pgw]

What the Upper Sac needed was the current gear and take restrictions that went into place when the river opened up again after the spill...if I could find the engineer of the train that caused the spill, I'd shake his hand because without that spill, the entire river would still be a put-n-take fishery where the limit was still 10 a day regardless of what type of bait, lures, or flies were used.

Paul

[Clark]

As someone who fishes the Upper Sac fairly often (at least for not living there), this is not something I think we need to be concerned about.

The city plants those within city limits and pretty much within maybe 1-1.5 miles. While there are a few stretches that don't get overwhelming pressure, most of the river through town gets absolutely pounded by gear folks - and they keep their catch. I doubt that there are too many wild trout in town to impact or that these bigger fish will have much of an effect. I was surprised to hook one in a fast pocket, however, as I've seen most of them come from a couple of big pools.

Edit: Looks like Clark beat me to it. That puppy looked like a shark when he was bringing it in.

Yeah. KJE the poor bastard. He takes me up to there for my first time, and I immediately hook this thing while he's still rigging up. I think I made him go get my net for me too. I'm a bad friend. If it helps, I didn't catch a fish over 13" the rest of the trip. I guess the Dunsmuir Economic Stimulous Package can only help a guy so much.

[jbird]

Pellet heads have no place on such a pristine river....

Triploids are incapable of breeding. Their impact on a fishery is minimal unless they out compete wild fish for food. Unlikely in a healthy stream environment.

[Clark]

The CA DF&G has reported to us that after about 2 weeks all hatchery planted fish in streams are gone? I guess they are caught by anglers or eaten by preditors.

Lake are a different story....they do well there.

I would argue this is not true. Every year the small stream in front of my cabin is stocked with rainbows and browns the week before the Fourth of July. Lots of these fish are still around come late October. This is despite the fact the river gets hammered by catch and keep anglers and the fish tend to school-up in fairly shallow pools making them easy prey for birds and other predators. However, they don't seem to be in the river the following spring. I have always attributed this to shallow freezing water, and massive snowpacks followed by extreme runoff. Anyone else have any ideas why these fish don't stay in the river year round? I am pretty sure they are not triploids.