Feather Low Flow section 11/10 - 11/12

[janbfishinfolk]

Well - Our club members met on Friday for my first trip to the Feather. Fished the Wildlife Area for Steelhead but only one was caught - maybe 17". Lots of Salmon spawning and it was neat to have fish swim up to you even though they were pretty beat up. We heard from some folks that a few steelies were caught but never saw anyone actually catching.

I was both pleased and disturbed about this river. The river and color of the trees were beautiful - the amount of trash on the shore was the worst I've ever seen. So much line laying around it was hard to walk without getting tangled in it. Lures with giant treble hooks that would put you in the hospital if you stepped on them. I guess it's because it is so accessible and heavily fished that there is so much garbage but jezz man it's like spitting on Mother Nature.

The wife managed to land a 20# salmon on an October Caddis and had several hookups of salmon on it as well. They were pretty beat up and I was glad not to have to touch it to get the hook from the side of it's mouth. It did give her a good tussle for 10 minutes or so and was her largest fish on a fly rod.
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[Darian]

There's really no excuse for the dumping of all that trash. The amount of it in the Wildlife area and along the river has always bothered me. It seems that people up there view the river as equivalent to the city/county dump. :( :( In some of the places along the river that I like to fish, it's so trashed that I can't make myself fish there. I've found everything from appliances/furniture/bedding to a stolen/stripped BMW near the Palm Avenue access....

I've made it a personal practice to pick up trash along the way (especially mono line tangles/wads) but it never seems to be enough. Once, while wading, a mono tangle caught the laces on my boots and dumped me into the water. :lol: :lol: I wonder what the impact of all that trash is on the fishery..... :?: :?: :?:

The area cleans itself up to a certain extent by flooding but I'm sure there're local clean-up outing's for FF clubs and conservation organizations. :) :) It just seems to get really bad at this time of the year (when the fall runs start). :? :?

[janbfishinfolk]

I got so angry I fired off an email to the city Directors of Parks. Something I've never done before.

If anyone else wants to chime in his address is millercl@cityoforoville.org

Maybe he will start a "Leave no Trace" Campaign?

[slimfishin's]

Speaking of the Feather,
Has anyone heard about the new launch ramp facility in Oroville? I guess they were redoing Bedrock Park (or whatever that park is called above HW162 bridge?) I also heard there were plans to re-do Thermalito.... supposed to be pretty fancy.

SF

[Tony Buzolich]

The park you are referring to is not Bedrock Park but is called River Front Park and is located at the west end of Montgomery St. off Hwy.70.

It is a beautifull park with a new paved lauching ramp with a dock and hand rail. Water sculptures for the kids to play in during the heat. A frisby course, and just a really nice clean place. It also has a jogging/walking path that does go east to Bedrock park and then all the way up to the hatchery. At the south end of the park they have developed a pond with a dock for wheel chair access and fishing bluegills. They have also relocated most of the low life that used to live under the bridges around there.

The problem with all the line and debris comes from Oroville's "finest" that still fish there and don't give a damn about how much leader they loose or where they loose it.

It seems Oroville is trying but as long as guys fish with 12+' leaders and beads, there is always going to be trash left behind.
TONY
This is probably the nicest thing in Oroville besides the dam.

[David Lee]

It seems Oroville is trying but as long as guys fish with 12+' leaders and beads, there is always going to be trash left behind.


Sad , but true .

David

[Frank Alessio]

Tony Buzolich puts things in a nutshell... I am am proud to have him for a brother...... Frank

[janbfishinfolk]

It seems Oroville is trying but as long as guys fish with 12+' leaders and beads, there is always going to be trash left behind

I'd like to believe this Tony but what we saw could have filled dump trucks. I think if trash cans were located closer or a "Leave No Trace" program with stiff fines were started there maybe it would improve.


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[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

It's the salmon anglers using spinning tackle who leave all the piles of mono in the area, not fly fishers, or I would be retired.

[Frank Alessio]

It is amazing to see what happens to a town where they decide to distribute The Wellfare Checks...........
Dunsmuir

Oroville

Rio Linda

Arkansa

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Heh Frank

Some of my best customers and better anglers on the river are off work on some kind of disability?? Can you believe it.

[Frank Alessio]

Hey Bill

I am sure you know what I am talking about if you have ever driven down the two main streets of Oroville or gone down town to do laundry in Dunsmuir. Don't get me wrong, I was born in Dunsmuir and I have some fine friends in Oroville..... Frank

[Darian]

Actually,.... I realize it's easy to lay the blame for all of this on a certain group of people but most recipients aren't a lot different than anyone else. It's the low cost of living in a particiular area that concentrates people on limited incomes.... Retirement, disability, welfare, etc. Sometimes recipients behave badly. Believe me, most don't. 8) 8)

If you really doubt that we're all cpable of bad behavior just go to any gym/workout facility in Sacramento and take a gander at the used/wet towels laying around on the floor and trash left on benches/floors/sinks, unflushed toilets.... :( :( :? :? The members of my club are generally young to middle aged professionals/workers. Makes you wonder who raised 'em or what they do at home or when they're out fishing.... :?: :?: :x :x

[janbfishinfolk]

It doesn't matter whether the rich or the poor do it - they are still fishermen and as such I believe we should hold to a standard which protects the beautiful places we have to enjoy our sport.

I for one want my Grandson to be able to enrich his life with the beauty and wonder of nature that enriches the fishing experience. And I hope his children and grandchildren can have that as well. His Dad is a bit of a putz and I could care less if he ever catches a fish but my daughters children deserve as pristine a world as I can leave them.

The amount of garbage in the Oroville Wildlife area is like leaving steel jawed traps to maim and kill animals for no reason.

I'll get off my soapbox now - never heard back from the parks Director by the way - go figure.

[Pimpinmeat]

I think janbfishinfolk is also refering to the trash that get's dumped in the wildlife area in general. Refrigerators, washing machines, garbage, old cars and what ever else people need to get rid of and don't want to pay for it to be done properly. It' sad to see all the trash around the roads in there. You would need a tractor and a dump truck to clean that place up. This has nothing to do with where you get your income, it just makes you a low life if you doing it.

[Ed Wahl]

Do you people really want to do something about that mess, or is this just a crying fest? I've helped out on several clean ups in my adopted homewaters, the Upper American river drainage. The last two I was in we did target the large crap that has been dumped in the canyons/rec areas. I'll post an address to the group that organized the last one. I'm sure you can get help as to how to organize and coordinate the people and equipment necessary pull this off. There's a member of our board that specializes in the coordination part. That's Bill Templin, watershed coordinator for the American River Watershed Group. You can get tons of advice from these guys if you'r willing to put yourself out to help a river you love. The group that I mentioned is Protect American River Canyons. Add. is //www.parc-auburn.org/. There link is on the American River Watershed Group site. Look at their latest newsletter, that's me holding the twenty. I'll be the first to volunteer if you want to put it together. Put up or shut up time folks. Ed

[Ed Wahl]

Yeah, that's what I thought. :cry:

[David Lee]

Hey Ed -

A little cranky today ?? :)

I would HOPE most people here carry a garbage bag and use it . I do probably 75% of the time .... and that isn't enough :oops: . We could ALL pick-up everything we see and still not fix the problem .

I totally agree that everyone should take part in a group cleanup ..... but I also think that if the mass out there were not slobs , we wouldn't have the mess to begin with . I don't have any answers as to how to get folks to pull their heads outta the darkness (so to speak) .

Ahhhhh .... the things we could do to make the world a better place ....


David

[Ed Wahl]

Hah! Yeah maybe a little. Thanks for pointing it out, I gotta lighten up a bit. It's just that I bitched and moaned about the state of my favorite river for years until someone suggested an alternative. I know it galls everyone to clean up someone else's mess but the results can be truly spectacular. It seems to me that as popular as the low flow section of the Feather is, someone would have stepped up long ago to take care of it. Look at how many responses there were about the Feather, there's gotta be hundreds of fly fishers using that stretch regularly. Aren't they're any willing to give something back? There, that's enough now, it's off my chest so I'll let it go now.

[PaulC]

Don't they have some form of dumpster program out there? Been years since I fished the feather, but I recall there was limited foot access outside of oroville.
Just having a dumping point near by might keep that stuff away from the river.
Without something like that, its been my experience on local rivers that trash collection can be a losing battle.
-Paul

[Darian]

Actually,.... A dumpster program would only address a portion of the volume and type of trash left in the wildlife area.... It literally is covered with worn out appliances (refrigerators, etc.) and stolen/stripped cars. Shopping carts and sunken boats and vehicles in some of the deeper ponds.... Tires too. It will take an organized effort.

Here's where I depart from the proposal.... The lower Feather flows through several cities and three counties. monetary resources and people are available. The Rubicon doesn't flow through many townships. There's a demonstrated need for volunteerism in instance.

I believe that oroville should initiate the effort to show some community pride. I'll be glad to contribute my own effort/money when the city/county shows me they're interested. The State, Butte County and the City of Ororville could generate some good will/revenue for themselves if they gave a little thought to this.... 8) 8)

Adding additional fines for dumping/littering hasn't worked anywhere in this state, so far as Im aware. Just ask any highway worker..... :( :(

[Hairstacker]

A depressing subject to be sure. Reminds me of this one area I like to fish on the Delta where there's a garbage can that's always only 1/3 - 1/2 full with trash strewn for 50 feet on either side and around it. I've concluded there are tons of folks who aren't willing to walk 5 feet to use the garbage can, which doesn't even have a lid on it to slow 'em down. I usually fill a bag on the way out but it's never enough. :(

[David Lee]

Still , a good subject .

I know that I have a new #1 on my list of things to do for 2007 -

Pack a 55 gallon plastic bag on every trip .... and USE IT . Thanks for the wake-up call , Ed !!

David :D

[steve sullivan]

Hah! Yeah maybe a little. Thanks for pointing it out, I gotta lighten up a bit. It's just that I bitched and moaned about the state of my favorite river for years until someone suggested an alternative. I know it galls everyone to clean up someone else's mess but the results can be truly spectacular. It seems to me that as popular as the low flow section of the Feather is, someone would have stepped up long ago to take care of it. Look at how many responses there were about the Feather, there's gotta be hundreds of fly fishers using that stretch regularly. Aren't they're any willing to give something back? There, that's enough now, it's off my chest so I'll let it go now.

The problem with the low flow, is not with fisherman. Oroville, like any city, has trash like walmart carts. The city of Oroville, which has a CONSIDERALBLE amount of Meth addcts, greatly increases crime and trash.

[Frank Alessio]

Hey Bill...... You would not believe how many people read this board but do not chime in.... Well here goes..... I need to apologize to all of my friends in Rio Linda for my DUMB post awhile back... It was not in good taste.... Thank you for providing this fine Board Bill.... Frank