The county operated hatchery on Redwood Creek was actually on Prairie Creek and closed about 30 years ago. The costs for the hatchery were very high especially the power cost of pumping water. It produced lots of coho and steelhead but very few chinook. Coho Salmon have been closed to fishing in CA for over 20 years. The steelhead fishery benefit was limited to the lower few miles of Redwood Creek. There were plenty of unanswered questions about broodstock origin, genetics, disease and associated potential impacts but it was closed for budgetary reasons. The county couldn't afford it.
According to Bill Bakke, "You can have wild steelhead in a watershed or you can have hatchery steelhead in a watershed. You cannot have strong populations of both in the same watershed. Choices must be made."
Aron-
"I own a time machine, but it only moves forward at regular speed..."
"So many rivers to fish so little time!"
Thanks cutthroat22,
Great information
I pray for a few completely wild rivers.
In the past 50 years, they dammed up almost every small, short coastal river for development or AG/wine/dope?
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Our un-dammed Smith river has California's largest size winter-run Steelhead and largest size Fall King salmon.
And it has or had a King salmon hatchery on it?
It is also one of our cleanest clear rivers with no AG on it.
According to locals, it has a small run of smaller Fall Steelhead.
Some say that it is so clear that it is hard on fly fishers.
Local anglers push back on any serious protective regulations.
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........
______________________________________
Which dam? Shasta or McCloud? Shasta dam cut off the food source for bull trout (salmon eggs, fry and carcasses). McCloud dam bifurcated their habitat by separating spawning areas and cold water sources (Big Springs a constant 44 degrees in midsummer) from the lower river holding and feeding areas. It also includes diversion of a large percentage of the flow thus decreasing habitat and increasing temperatures in the lower McCloud. Additionally, we introduced a competitor (brown trout). We cutoff their spawning area, decreased their habitat, eliminated their food source, increased water temperatures and introduced a competitor. It is no wonder that bull trout are gone from the McCloud. We could not have been more efficient if we had intentionally tried to extirpate them.
Have they ever tried re-introducing bulls to your knowledge in the upper watershed or is the habitat too degraded to do so?
Based on my experience, bulls will eat a lot of different things given the opportunity. Obviously losing salmon and the food sources they provide is big. With the different life histories bulls have, it would be interesting to see if re-introduction would work if attempted.
SF
Bull Trout were introduced into Star City Creek in 1990 from some Upper Klamath strain fish and were never seen again. If it could even possibly work you would need a Lacustrine population and that would probably fail as well because of the lack of biomass. The McCloud Bull Trout were a completely isolated unique population from all others in the PNW with a specific life history pattern. They need a ton of Salmon fry/smolts to keep a population. It was amazing they lasted 20 more years after construction of Shasta Dam but McCloud dam for sure sealed their doom. Such a shame
No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity
But I know none, and therefore am no beast
-William Shakespeare
Good info and I appreciate the reply.
I was thinking more that maybe fish with a resident life history may be successfully re-introduced in the upper watershed, since they spend most of their lives in smaller creeks etc and are generally smaller in size.
I’d also imagine finding bull trout with a resident life history in California would be highly problematic if not impossible.
They would be available from elsewhere though, but introducing out of basin stocks can be a slippery slope as well.
I don't know the systems all that well other then driving around and through the area on past camping and travel trips.
SF
Last edited by stonefish; 03-28-2023 at 03:50 PM.
I’m sure if bull trout were introduced into Mcloud Reservoir there could be a sustaining population.
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