Upper American

[Ed Wahl]

Just saw an article in the Bee about the relicencing for the Smud dams on the Upper American River. It's looking real good for the fish. If it all holds together my favorite watershed is about get a bit better. There are a lot of stretches of the South Fork along hwy 50 that aren't even worth the time to fish because of the lack of water in the late season. The stretch below Slab Creek dam was pretty good during good water years, except for all the silt that built up down there. In the dry years the streambed went completley dry from the dam down to the first trib. There's a lot of potential there, it even has a decent Salmonfly hatch, if your there on the right day. Can't wait to see how all this plays out.

[David Lee]

Good stuff there , Ed -

ANY break the fish can get is a good one .....

David :)

[Digger]

These types of stories compel me to wonder what the various opinions are from the members on organizations like CalTrout, Trout Unimited, Friends of the River, American Rivers etc.

How many of you belong or support?

Are these worthwhile organizations?

Do you believe they make a difference?

Are there detractions/negatives?


personally speaking, I support a couple of them financially on an annual basis, and would like to believe (perhaps naively) that they do make a difference and that they deserve at least some credit for their efforts as watchdogs of legal wrongdoings, legislation sponsorship, restoration/dam removal efforts, etc.

[Darian]

I have some of the same concerns/tyhoughts about so-called conseervation organizations. :? :? Of course, this is an even more emotional subject than "bead fishing", politics/religion. :( :(

At the risk of raising the hair on eveyones neck, I was a member of Trout Unlimited during the late 60's and a charter member of CalTrout when they started up 8) CalTrout was begun as an alternative to what was perceived to be an unequal distribution of membership dues by Trout Unlimited by favoring east coast issues/waters.... :? Trout Unlimited seems to be an organization the puts a lot of effort into self promotion, even now.

I resigned from Trout unlimited to join CalTrout but, finally, came to the conclusion that, while doing some good stuff for California Fisheries, it was really a group of elitists (my perception). Their Board still is made up of some people from large corporate interests. :( :( At any rate, I've decided that what I want to support are organizations that acquire land for public trust and put it to good use. Such as The Nature Conservancy an Ducks Unlimited. 8) 8) 8)

IMHO, one of the major problems facing fisheries, today, is the simple fact that there are so many splinter groups/organizations; each with their own agenda/issues/constituency and frequently working at cross purposes, that they render themselves ineffective.... :( :( Of course, they all seem to want to play fair with the government..... Maybe they should get smart, pool their funds and buy a politician or two.... :shock: :shock: Everyone knows that's what works.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Rob]

I know trout un-limited has done a great job on the rivers here in the Cache Valley Area in Utah.

They put up miles of fencing on both sides of Spawn creek to keep the Cattle off the banks.

http://www.tuutah.org/cas_spawn_creek.htm

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/rgkempton/Fly%20fishing%20Utah/DSCN0043.jpg

Also a lot of work has been done on the Temple Fork.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/rgkempton/Fly%20fishing%20Utah/resized3.jpg

And they have been transplanting Salmon flies from the Blacksmith to the Logan river for the last 5 years. Something killed the Salmon flies years ago ( not sure what) and they are trying to build them back up.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/rgkempton/Fly%20fishing%20Utah/CodyontheLogan.jpg

[Darian]

I've been thinking about the isuue of relicensing/removal of dams.... It seems that everything is a two sided sword. :? :? Removal of SMUD dams means a reduction in the volume of electricity produce by hydroelectric sources. Given the growth rate (population/housing, etc.) in California and the rest of the country, is that a prudent thing to do :?: :?: :? If we're not ready to accept brown outs and power outages, what is the alternative :?: :?: Back to nuclear power :?: :?:

Even if nuclear power generation is supposedly safe, frequently, the management of the facilities is not. Does anyone here recall the toxic releases made by Rancho Seco down Clay Creek thru farming/ranching areas without notification/permission or the amount of time the station was "down" due to the failure/maintenance of parts:?: :?: even in view of all that, I'm really not trying to eliminate consideration of nuclear power as I believe that nothing should be left off the table. 8) 8)

Are wind, solar or geothermal sources for power generation ready to take over :?: :?: Maybe, but the volumes produced by those sources just aren't up to it, yet. :( :( Plus each of those sources presents problems of their own for us to address....

Gotta admit, I don't have a clue what the real solution is but we better consider the consequences before we support removing those dams..... :? :? :?

[Ed Wahl]

Hey Rob, that Spawn Creek is small, but I think I got it beat. Here's my buddy Phil workin Slinkard Creek for Lahontan Cutts. http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Phildappingafly.jpg http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/thirdcutt.jpg

[Digger]

From what I understand there are about 1100-1200 dams in Ca, with only about 1/4 of those being hydroelectric. I find it interesting that there have been no brown/black outs recently, even with such a strong economy and people still moving here.

I'm guessing there are probably hundreds of dams that are derelict, and serve no real purpose at all.
I'd like to see as many dams knocked down as possible where they provide no value, and return things to a somewhat natural state as much as is practical.

Darian, I pretty much agree w/you.
I believe that every alternative has its pro's/con's. I think the current, best source of energy is natural gas. In reality, wind/solar will never amount to much. I'm all for a return to nuclear, with 'lessons learned' in hand.

[Rob]

Ed Wahl

How do even cast in a creek that small? :shock:

Or do you ????????


I love Spawn creek .

Its so beautiful in the spring when all the grass is green and the wild flower are in bloom !!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/rgkempton/Fly%20fishing%20Utah/th_DSCN0042.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v636/rgkempton/Fly%20fishing%20Utah/?action=view&current=DSCN0042.flv)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/rgkempton/Fly%20fishing%20Utah/resizedsp.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/rgkempton/Fly%20fishing%20Utah/cropped2resized.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/rgkempton/Fly%20fishing%20Utah/DSCN0012.jpg

[Ed Wahl]

It's easy. The casts are all straight down. :D When the wind is blowing you can stand back about 20 feet and let the line stream straight out, lowering it to your target. You've gotta have the prettiest places to fish in the country right in your back yard. As to the original subject of this thread, the Rubicon should get better in the next few years. It's already good, but maybe it'll upgrade to great. Ed