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Thread: American River

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Rescue ,CA Cromberg, CA
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    1,857

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    Not sure what I missed on the old thread? Sorry if I offended anyone one but my only comment was harmless, on how ridiculous this state has become with laws, like trying to ban gas powered lawn equipment l! Must of missed some good arguments, sorry Bill!

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Norcal
    Posts
    909

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    Since a few people have got into some fish, I figure I'd give it another go. Was out Sunday morning in a few spots and had the runs all to myself. Nice walking speed water..I was hopeful. But alas, no bumps, hits or takes. Hopefully this rain brings in some pods of fish. The air temperature was sure nice and balmy due to the cloud cover.

    EricO

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    orangevale ca.
    Posts
    319

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    It’s definitely been a slow year. I’m going out tomorrow . Maybe I’ll get a grab! Lol

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Granite Bay
    Posts
    165

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    The slowest year since I started fishing the American in the early 90's. Fished yesterday for a few hours on different locations for nothing. Spoke to a gear guy who saw early in the day a fishing guide with a customer hooked a fish in the lower sailor bar/ upper sunrise. Last year by this time I already hooked three fish.......this year looks really bad.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    orangevale ca.
    Posts
    319

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    I’d like to see them release some water. That might bring in some more fish. Doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Granite Bay
    Posts
    165

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    Current water flows are at 2000 cfs. It seems to me fair but it could be better. Remember, that some years back we were fishing with less water and there were fish in the system. What I noticed is that the river's bed has filled up substantially and has become really shallow ........I guess all that gravel dumped up the river is making its way downstream. Upper sunrise channel has barely any flow at the top. Good luck to those salmon reds !!!!!

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    San Diego
    Posts
    1,765

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    Can't remember when I've seen such few (dismal) reports for winter steelhead. If I lived north of Sacramento,
    I'd probably keep a lot of my catching info on the qt, but, we're not seeing any decent salmon or steelhead
    reports. Is it that bad? Our San Diego surf fishing is experiencing the same. Is there a fishing shaman for hire out there?
    Best to all,
    Larry S
    San Diego

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Sebastian, FL, USA, Earth
    Posts
    23,837

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    Winter Steelheaders are pretty tight lipped, especially with the power of the Internet.
    Bill Kiene (Boca Grande)

    567 Barber Street
    Sebastian, Florida 32958

    Fly Fishing Travel Consultant
    Certified FFF Casting Instructor

    Email: billkiene63@gmail.com
    Cell: 530/753-5267
    Web: www.billkiene.com

    Contact me for any reason........
    ______________________________________

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    1,067

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Kiene semi-retired View Post
    Winter Steelheaders are pretty tight lipped, especially with the power of the Internet.
    It's not about tight lips this year...

    It's about dismal numbers of fish because the fishery is so grossly mismanaged by the agencies responsible for it.

    Up until 2018, I'd tagged 75-100 adult steelies annually BEFORE January 1st and it usually got better between the opener and early March. This year, I have landed ONE ADULT since the first... and it's not just me; I've talked to 50 or so regulars who have fished the AR for 20-30+ years and some of whom are well known and respected guides and their experience/numbers this year are similar.

    Of course, the lack of fish isn't entirely on CDFW as anything can happen (or not happen) in the ocean to take a chunk out of our escapement... but what I do know is that the quota for the Nimbus Hatchery has been slighted by 50% for the last two years. This is most unfortunate because water flows and temps have been more prime between 2016 and 2020 than they have been in the last 25 years prior.

    At a time when the watershed offered conditions which would have optimized success of out-migrating smolts, CDFW denied that watershed 445,000.00 of the 870,000.00 it should have planted in March of 2018 and of 2019 collectively.

    More fish should be raised and released into our river - which is not capable of hosting a self-sustaining population of natural-origin steelhead - but CDFW is instead cutting the HATCHERY-BASED fishery in half and pretending that gravel restoration is actually going to bring our fishery back.

    Nimbus now has TWO FULL nurseries (fingerling-rearing facilities) and enough acreage and the capacity to double its smolt-rearing ponds (races) but they won't do it.

    It seems to me they no longer care about providing opportunities for fishing and hunting in our state.

    This saddens me
    Last edited by STEELIES/26c3; 01-21-2020 at 09:22 PM.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Shatanistan
    Posts
    94

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    Quote Originally Posted by STEELIES/26c3 View Post

    Of course, the lack of fish isn't entirely on CDFW as anything can happen (or not happen) in the ocean to take a chunk out of our escapement... but what I do know is that the quota for the Nimbus Hatchery has been slighted by 50% for the last two years. This is most unfortunate because water flows and temps have been more prime between 2016 and 2020 than they have been in the last 25 years prior.

    (
    It's not just the American. The entire West Coast is having a down steelhead year. Along with the poorer than expected salmon runs throughout the West, its pretty obvious that the warmwater blob off the West Coast has negatively affected our salmonid populations.

    Quote Originally Posted by STEELIES/26c3 View Post

    More fish should be raised and released into our river - which is not capable of hosting a self-sustaining population of natural-origin steelhead - but CDFW is instead cutting the HATCHERY-BASED fishery in half and pretending that gravel restoration is actually going to bring our fishery back.

    Nimbus now has TWO FULL nurseries (fingerling-rearing facilities) and enough acreage and the capacity to double its smolt-rearing ponds (races) but they won't do it.
    (
    Its not just as simple as releasing more hatchery fish into the river. Hatchery juveniles can have a significant impact on other salmonids both hatchery and wild. This can be a problem on systems with listed species such as Central Valley Steelhead on the American. I don't know if this is the reasoning for doing this on the American, but it is on other systems in CA. Here's a link to a student's Master thesis on the subject on the Trinity:
    http://humboldt-dspace.calstate.edu/...pdf?sequence=3
    As a result of this, the Trinity hatchery has greatly reduced its Steelhead production.

    Unfortunately, hatchery impacts are much simpler to quantify than impacts due to water management. Again, the fish get the short end of the stick.
    “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
    ― Issac Asimov

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