Yellow Creek

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

In the 1980s Cal-Trout did a 10 year restoration on Yellow Creek:

https://caltrout.org/timeline/yellow-creek-restoration


Here is a nice little video on fly fishing Yellow Creek.

In this video this guy is making some long casts and "down steaming " the flies so he is a veteran also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxQbPmLxALc


Veteran fly fisher Bob Long fished it for many year. He told me in June there was usually a Green Drake hatch.

He said you need to be super sneaky to catch fish there.

[Mark Kranhold]

After the cows left so did the big fish.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I have heard over the years that the big fish never really came back? Sad...........


Maybe those cows in the creeks are not as bad as we thought?

[Mark Kranhold]

Those big fish would feed on a red worm that was in the cow patties. They would get washed into the river and those fish would gorge on them. Now no worms no big fish.

[bearflag]

I was up there for several days 2 weeks ago having missed my annual visit last year. I found the creek to be in generally healthy condition with multiple hatches of drakes, stones, and caddis late in the day with fish eager for them. It's a tough place to fish with the clear water, weed beds, and high banks. Pretty tough to hit a target in the daily afternoon winds that seem to arrive just as it turns on. There are some nice fish in there if you have the patience for it.
The Mountain Maidu Consortium has been deeded much of the lower valley from PG&E and are now running the campground. Very nice folks hosting and keeping it up better than PGE did in the past.
My concern for the creek is the MMC has undertaken a project to bring back a creekscape that they believe existed at some time in the past. Namely, a series of beaver dams stretching the length of the stream on their property. These are known as Beaver Dam Analogs, BDAs, or fake beaver dams. I'm pretty lost in understanding how this is supposed to improve the creek and worry about increasing water temps and decreased oxygenation. I'm unenlightened here and maybe someone can help. 40 BDAs planned.
Mike R
Alameda

[Rich Morrison]

https://res.mdpi.com/d_attachment/wa...3-00990-v2.pdf

https://blog.nwf.org/2020/05/beavers...nging-climate/

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...252v1.full.pdf

Three studies I found right off the bat. In short the jury is still out but it’s not a clear loss and turning into the latest hotness for sure. In Oregon you must have a permit to place one based on fish movement. I’m guessing the same would be true in CA? Or can the Maidu ignore state laws on their land?

[bearflag]

From what I can tell, they have their ducks in a row with permits, etc. But 40 dams? Surprising to me that they allowed so many without some sort of trials.

https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/rwqcb...a32cr00205.pdf

[Darian]

An article in SF Estuary magazine shows the number of artificial beaver dams projected for Yellow Creek as more than 40. Check out link (good read):

https://www.sfestuary.org/estuary-ne...-yellow-creek/

[bearflag]

What puzzles the hell out of me is the question of what the problem could be that the dams are supposed to mitigate. The work done by Cal Trout over 30 years ago succeeded in stabilizing the banks and stopping any erosion caused by the cattle grazing. Willows are flourishing creekside to the point where a good bit of the stream is inaccessible. Fishing can be quite good if you're willing to pay your dues and learn the creek. It's a tough one but rewarding. If any part of Yellow creek needs attention, it's the freestone stretch between the cross-valley road and the spring creek. It's a textbook example of how cattle can destroy a stream. This may not be part of the Maidu land but has to be the main culprit in any downstream siltation. Above the bridge is the plug-and-pond section which has been greatly improved and stabilized. 2 photos here from the bridge, up and downstream.

[Fishtopher]

What puzzles the hell out of me is the question of what the problem could be that the dams are supposed to mitigate.

Darian's article provides the reasoning in the first paragraph:

"The idea behind the structures, which mimic beaver dams, is to slow erosion, catch sediment, and build up the river bottom to reverse the incised channel"

Further in the article:

"main goal for the BDAs on Yellow Creek is to raise the groundwater table and reconnect the main stem with its side channels (great habitat for fish) and its floodplain"

Rich is correct, YC has/had a severe whirling disease problem that was documented by CDFW. The report can be found here:
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.a...umentID=133104