L American R going down now.....3/7/17-3/10/17

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Please make the following release changes to the American River

Date Time From (cfs) To (cfs)

03/07/2017 0800 8,000 7,650
03/07/2017 1000 7,650 7,300

03/08/2017 0800 7,300 7,000
03/08/2017 1000 7,000 6,700
03/08/2017 1200 6,700 6,400

03/09/2017 0800 6,400 6,150
03/09/2017 1000 6,150 5,900
03/09/2017 1200 5,900 5,650

03/10/2017 0800 5,650 5,400
03/10/2017 1000 5,400 5,150
03/10/2017 1200 5,150 5,000

Comment: Inflow management

Issued by: P. Manza

[Sheepdog8404]

Wonderful! Now if it will just clear up, we'll be in business.

[Chukwithak]

Bill, is this info on the web anywhere? I follow the releases from Nimbus damn, but that does not match what you have here. Just trying to keep my self educated. Thanks for the heads up.

[Sheepdog8404]

Bill, is this info on the web anywhere? I follow the releases from Nimbus damn, but that does not match what you have here. Just trying to keep my self educated. Thanks for the heads up.

Chuck,

This is what I was able to come up with... Looks like it'll be down to 5K on Friday.

https://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/...:26&span=7days

[Terry Thomas]

Yesterday the county was forced to close many access points to the parkway due to pulse flows coming down from Nimbus to clear debris. They were concerned that people could be stranded on islands again. Not sure how long this will continue.

[Chukwithak]

Hit the sunrise run for a bit this morning. No action swinging a black OCD. Flowsdropped from 7k to 6k while I was out there. Left at 10am. Visibility about 10". A lot of salmon turds running around.

[Salmonriver]

Hit the sunrise run for a bit this morning. No action swinging a black OCD. Flowsdropped from 7k to 6k while I was out there. Left at 10am. Visibility about 10". A lot of salmon turds running around.

What is a salmon turd?

[Chukwithak]

What is a salmon turd?

Baby, fingerling, 6"r

[STEELIES/26c3]

Baby, fingerling, 6"r

Probably trout and definitely parr or smolt not fry to be technical...

Caudal fin forked, usually tipped in black > King salmon vs Caudal fin not forked, with rounded lobes > Steelhead

Parr marks large, vertically oblong, wider than the intervening spaces, and centered on the lateral line > King Salmon vs Parr marks nearly round, centered on lateral line > Steelhead

Large, oblong spots above lateral line but not on back (dorsal region) > King Salmon vs Large, oblong spots on the back (dorsal surface behind gills and forward of dorsal fin) > Steelhead

Lack of dark spots on dorsal fin and fewer on caudal fin (tail) and area above lateral line > King Salmon vs presence of dark spots on dorsal and caudal fins and generally spots more numerous throughout > Steelhead

There's some others but those are usually enough to decipher.

Also knowing the life cycles of the fish and hatchery protocol on the river... Naturally-spawned King Salmon will be 3-4" MAX right now... Hatchery salmon raised in pens from this year won't be released as smolts (5-6") until May. Last year's salmon should be 15" long and in the salt regardless if hatchery or wild-spawned.

Most naturally-spawned Steelhead are still a week or two away from emerging as sac-fry and the ones in the hatchery are either in incubation trays or the nursery. The races are empty of steelhead as the smolts were all planted below the I Street Bridge on the Sacramento River in February.

Whereas some of those may have come back upriver... the vast majority of them surely went downriver and what we are seeing/catching in the river (besides adults...) are I believe last year's naturally-spawned and/or CDFW-planted trout which spilled over both Folsom and nimbus Dams...

[Sheepdog8404]

Probably trout and definitely parr or smolt not fry to be technical...

Caudal fin forked, usually tipped in black > King salmon vs Caudal fin not forked, with rounded lobes > Steelhead

Parr marks large, vertically oblong, wider than the intervening spaces, and centered on the lateral line > King Salmon vs Parr marks nearly round, centered on lateral line > Steelhead

Large, oblong spots above lateral line but not on back (dorsal region) > King Salmon vs Large, oblong spots on the back (dorsal surface behind gills and forward of dorsal fin) > Steelhead

Lack of dark spots on dorsal fin and fewer on caudal fin (tail) and area above lateral line > King Salmon vs presence of dark spots on dorsal and caudal fins and generally spots more numerous throughout > Steelhead

There's some others but those are usually enough to decipher.

Also knowing the life cycles of the fish and hatchery protocol on the river... Naturally-spawned King Salmon will be 3-4" MAX right now... Hatchery salmon raised in pens from this year won't be released as smolts (5-6") until May. Last year's salmon should be 15" long and in the salt regardless if hatchery or wild-spawned.

Most naturally-spawned Steelhead are still a week or two away from emerging as sac-fry and the ones in the hatchery are either in incubation trays or the nursery. The races are empty of steelhead as the smolts were all planted below the I Street Bridge on the Sacramento River in February.

Whereas some of those may have come back upriver... the vast majority of them surely went downriver and what we are seeing/catching in the river (besides adults...) are I believe last year's naturally-spawned and/or CDFW-planted trout which spilled over both Folsom and nimbus Dams...

Wow. Thanks for the super informative post Steelies! I guess if there are that many Smolts in the river, we should take out the 1wt and at least get some action...