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August 28, 2006

Frequently Asked Questions

As I’ve traveled the country, I’ve been asked a range of questions. I tend to get these five the most...

Question #5 is about eating

5) You must eat a lot of trout.

More of a statement than a question, I guess, but I get this one all the time from non-anglers. I occasionally eat a trout or store-bought wild salmon, but not “a lot.”

4) What happened to your ponytail?

Well, I’ve never had a ponytail. I think this question comes from the photo on the front page of the blog that shows a camera tripod behind my head that I’m told looks like a ponytail. But after so many months of inquiry about my ponytail, I think I need to grow one out!

Look closely, it's a tripod

3) How do you pronounce your name?

Luca is pronounced like Luke with an “uh” at the end. In fact, “Luca” is the Italian version of the name “Luke.” For extra credit, try pronouncing my last name (Adelfio)… It is easier than it looks, just break it into syllables: A dell fio.

2) What’s the best place you’ve been?

I consider this an unfair question. I can’t really choose between all the great streams I’ve visited this summer. I’ve had great experiences throughout my trip. Highlights definitely include the tremendous hospitality in Arkansas, the Hendrickson hatch on the West Branch of the Delaware, and hiking into the depths of Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

1) And how did you get this job?

This is by far the most frequently asked question, so here is the story: I was active in my local TU chapter in high school. I was also a fanatical angler and fly tyer. This all lead to a short internship in TU’s national office during the end of my senior year in HS. I got to know some of the many fine folks who work for the organization. Then half a decade later this whole blog thing just sort of fell into place. I had the requisite skill base, I knew the right people, and I was in a position to take off for 6 months, sleep in gas station parking lots, eat trail mix for lunch, and fish at all hours of the day and night.

CLICK HERE to see photos of some big volcanic mountains in Washington and Oregon.

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August 23, 2006

The Best Laid Plans

I was excited when my alarm went off at 4am. I was going fishing. Not only that, I was going fishing for huge salmon in the salt…

Dawn breaks over the Puget Sound, WA

After a quick stop for coffee and donuts, I was at the dock on the east side of the Puget Sound before 5. Mark Taylor, chair of the Washington TU Council, beat me there and we loaded his boat. Mark had been catching king salmon every morning all week and the tide was perfect on this particular day. We anticipated a fine morning on the water.

I’ve always considered myself to be a big time fish geek, but Mark definitely has me beat. An avid angler, Mark is attempting to catch as many species of fish as he can. I think he told me he is up to 237 or so. In addition, Mark guides anglers through his company, Raven’s Luck Guide Service. The rest of the time, Mark works as an aquarium fish distributor, so he spends time with fish from all over the world.

I was hoping to check Chinook salmon off my own, very informal, species list, but even the best laid plans…

Unfortunately, Mark’s boat was experiencing technical difficulties and we were unable to reach the fishing grounds. Such is life as the “Luckiest Guy in America.” These things can happen on any fishing trip, but they are particularly unavoidable during a 5+ month angling voyage.

While we were both disappointed about missing out on double digit salmon, all was not lost. I still had a fine TU project site to visit.

After another round of coffee and donuts (early mornings call for extreme measures), I met with Andy Batcho, a longtime TUer affiliated with the Des Moines Salmon Chapter.

Des Moines is a seaside hamlet on the south side of Seattle. Historically, the small coastal streams in the area held salmon runs. And now that the big rivers are obstructed by dams, small stream salmon populations are particularly important.

Andy and his fellow chapter members have undertaken an impressive, multi-faceted restoration project on two local small streams.

Walker and Miller Creeks flow behind houses and through a community park before finding the ocean. They were devoid of fish for 50 years, but thanks to the Des Moines Chapter’s restoration work, hundreds of adult salmon now return each year.

Andy is a retired Boeing engineer turned full-time “Fish-head.” When he is not out seeking state and world records with his fly rod, Andy is designing and implementing stream habitat projects.

Using his technical abilities as an engineer, Andy set about learning whatever he could about stream design. He tracked down experts from all over the state and tapped their brains about improving habitat, restoring native plants, re-establishing wetlands, and so on. Andy reports that experts from universities and government agencies are thrilled to share their own two cents about stream restoration plans, allowing laypersons (or retired engineers anyway) to design highly effective stream improvement projects. The best projects are usually a product of the best laid plans.

Furthermore Andy has found that “When you turn out a fantastic plan, money falls out of the sky.” Particularly when wetland restoration is involved, state and federal agencies have financial resources available for making these projects happen.

In a seemingly tireless effort, Andy and his fellow chapter members created great restoration plans for their two little creeks and secured the necessary funding. They then enlisted the help of the community to make their ideas reality.

Since 2004, they have built a saltwater marsh and a natural rearing pond, greatly increasing the success of salmon smolts and coastal cutthroat. During my visit, they were working on restoring pools in a section of stream in front of a community recreation building. The pools will provide cover for adult fish on their spawning run as well as protection for immature fish before they leave for the ocean.

In addition, the community has been involved in re-planting native vegetation and constructing a trail system around the newly improved stream.

Numerous boy scouts have completed Eagle Scout projects here. We visited briefly with one scout who was constructing 123 feet of raised plank trail to protect the stream’s riparian zone, yet still allow the community to use the park.

Details such as the construction of the trail loop have helped the project earn support from the entire community, even the residents who don’t necessarily care about fish.

And I’d bet that even those folks who only thought about fish while sitting in a restaurant had a change of heart when they first saw spawning salmon in their own backyard.

By empowering the community with a good restoration plan, the Des Moines Salmon TU Chapter is completing a large-scale effort that is producing real results. Kudos to Andy Batcho and the other hardworking TUers who made this fine project possible!

To see photos of the project site and coastal cutthroats, CLICK HERE.

To learn more about TU in Washington, CLICK HERE.

Posted by ladelfio at 06:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 21, 2006

Dammed-nation

Flowing through the north end of Olympic National Park, the Elwha River is a beautiful wilderness stream. The water is tainted with glacial till, giving it a turquoise glint that contrasts with the rich green forest. The river looks like perfect salmon habitat and while walking along the Elwha’s banks, I half expected to see 50 pound Chinooks in the pool tails…

A Beautiful Pool, Elwha River, Olympic Nat'l Park, WA

Historically, the Elwha hosted some of the largest Chinook salmon in the country, but two dams now block salmon and steelhead from accessing most of the river. Fortunately, the National Park Service is planning on removing both dams. The removal project is slated to begin as soon as 2008.

To the best of my knowledge, a major Pacific Coast dam has yet to be removed, although several removal projects are in the works. While constructing fish ladders and trucking fish around dams are better than nothing, removing superfluous dams (like the Elwha dams) is the best way to help the fish.

Dam removal is not an easy process. For starters, decades worth of sediment is trapped behind the structures and the sudden release of this sediment could damage freshwater or marine life. In addition, flood control and many other factors must be considered. If dam removals are done sensibly though, they could greatly improve numerous fisheries in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Closer to home, the Milltown Dam on the Clark Fork River near Missoula, MT will be removed soon. The sediment behind Milltown contains high concentrations of heavy metals, threatening Missoula’s water supply and a fine trout fishery. In the end, removing the dam will improve the health of the river and the trout fishery.

I hope that after a few dam removal projects are successfully completed over the next decade that the “ice (or the dam) will be broken” and more dam removals will follow.

For now, rainbow trout and dolly varden char (a species that is very similar to the bull trout) still live above the dams on the Elwha River. I hiked 9 miles up the trail, in search of these beautiful native fish. I only encountered small rainbow trout, but I’ve heard of 14-18” rainbows and even larger dolly vardens in this river.

Perhaps the larger fish are in a different stretch of river, or maybe they migrate up from the reservoir seasonally. Although the fishing was less than spectacular, I enjoyed exploring this beautiful valley and wading in the cold, clear river.

I hope to return after the dam removal just to see the large ocean-run fish in this beautiful place. Take a look at these photos to get a taste of the Elwha… and then go visit it for yourself.

Posted by ladelfio at 07:46 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 20, 2006

Seeing Green: The Value of Salmon

Above the Tacoma Water supply pipe, much of the Green River watershed is closed to general public access. Not only does the closure keep the city’s water pure, but it also creates a beautiful forest reserve. While this section of the Green River appears pristine, one of the largest pieces is missing from the ecosystem. Two dams block migrating salmon… for now anyway…

The Upper Green River Watershed

In 1989, the South King County Chapter of Trout Unlimited sued Tacoma Water, the city of Tacoma’s public utility. Fortunately, this is one of those rare cases where a friendship has evolved out of a lawsuit. Both parties quickly realized it was in their best interest to get along and a valuable partnership was formed.

Until the lawsuit, Tacoma Water did little to help the salmon and steelhead in the Green River. In fact, their water diversion was designed to block salmon, to prevent the accumulation of post-spawn fish carcasses upstream of the municipal water supply pipe.

Salmon are crucial to the ecosystem in the Northwest. Nutrients from the dead fish are important to aquatic life, as well as the surrounding forest. All sorts of animals feed on the salmon carcasses, bringing the nutrients ashore, where even giant old-growth trees benefit from the marine-derived energy.

Today, Tacoma Water is committed to restoring salmon and steelhead runs in the Green. Paul Hickey, Tacoma Water’s Water Resource Planning Coordinator, and Dana Smith, President of the South King TU Chapter, gave me a tour of a few of the many coldwater conservation initiatives in the Green River system.

The most important step towards restoring the salmon runs is getting the fish around the dams. Tacoma Water and the Army Corps of Engineers are in the process of constructing a fish bypass system that will open 100 miles of upstream spawning habitat to Chinook and coho salmon, as well as steelhead (ocean-run rainbow trout). To do this, the fish will need to pass Tacoma Water’s dam as well as the Army Corps’ Howard Hanson Dam, a large flood control structure located just upstream.

The only way to get adult salmon around both of these obstructions is to load them into trucks and drive them to the upstream side of the Army Corps dam. The returning adult steelhead (unlike salmon, many steelhead survive the spawning run) and the juvenile steelhead and salmon will also need to be loaded into trucks and delivered to the ocean side of the dams.

While it may sound simple, Tacoma Water and the Army Corps of Engineers are investing a lot of money in state-of-the-art fish capture stations, to ensure the safe handling of the salmon and the overall success of the effort. Tacoma Water’s station has already been completed and Paul showed me how it works.

Here is the simplified explanation: The adult salmon are lead into a fish ladder, where they climb a series of waterfalls and rest pools to a chute. One at a time, the fish slide through the chute into a loading tank. The entire tank is then picked up and put on a truck and the fish are driven upstream.

The Tacoma Water fish station also facilitates the downstream passage of juvenile salmon smolts. The smolts are screened out of the water supply pipe on the upstream side of the diversion. They are then run through a pipe and trough network that resembles that kid’s game “Mousetrap” before they take a 10-15 foot plunge over a specially designed waterfall, safely re-uniting them with their natal river.

Paul is anxiously awaiting the passage of the first wild salmon; however, Tacoma Water must wait for the Army Corps to finish their structure. After all, it doesn’t make much sense to move the fish upstream if there is no way for their offspring to make it back down. Hopefully, the Howard Hanson Dam fish bypass will be completed in 2009.

We visited the construction site at the Howard Hanson Dam where Tom Wilkin and Mel Lathan, two of the Army Corps’ Quality Assurance personnel, described their side of the project. From the rim of the dam, Tom and Mel pointed into the abyss of the construction site, describing where the fish transfer station will soon be built. I know these things can go up fast, but it was hard for me to imagine the final product while looking into the massive gap beside the dam.

In the meantime, both Tacoma Water and the Army Corps are doing what they can to improve the upstream habitat, so the stream will be ready once the salmon arrive. Paul, Mel, and Tom proudly described the habitat work much like expectant parents show off a pastel colored room outfitted with a new crib. Both organizations are placing large woody debris (a.k.a. logs) to create juvenile salmon rearing habitat. Tacoma Water is also replacing road culverts with bridges, re-opening small tributaries to salmon passage.

In addition to improving the upstream habitat, Tacoma Water and the Army Corps are working on the habitat below the dams. Dams not only block salmon, they also impede the movement of logs and gravel. Large woody debris creates pools and provides overhead cover for trout and salmon of all sizes. It also traps nutrients in the system, increasing the productivity of the entire food chain. Placing woody debris downstream from the dams helps mitigate the negative effects of these structures.

Behind the wood, they deposit large loads of gravel. The dams also block the movement of the substrate, reducing the accumulation of the fine rock that salmon and trout require for spawning. By improving the spawning and rearing habitat below the dams, everyone is hoping to increase the number of fish that might someday take the drive around the obstructions.

Why are these projects receiving so much support from city and federal agencies, non-profits including TU, and the general public? As Dana Smith puts it, “Salmon and steelhead are a large part of the culture of the Northwest.” Salmon are important economically, recreationally, and even socially. We can’t take back the mistakes of the past, but by restoring these magnificent creatures to the upper Green River and other waters, we can improve the future for both humans and the environment.

Please take a look at my photos by clicking HERE.

Posted by ladelfio at 11:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 18, 2006

Play to Win II

Requests are pouring in for the limited edition "Got Milt?" t-shirt. This fashion necessity is sure to be the next big hit in Paris, New York, Milan, and West Yellowstone. Get yours today by submitting the best story...

Share your most humorous "fishing adventure gone wrong" in the comments section below. Did a porcupine get your cork rod grip? Did your vehicle catch on fire? If it was bad, I want to hear about it. I'll award the best entry with a "Got Milt?" t-shirt (complete with the TU logo on the front).

Waiting for the hatch... A recipe for disaster...

Posted by ladelfio at 01:47 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

The Rainier the Better

Mount Rainier National Park is not an angling destination. Walk along a park road with a fly rod in hand and passing drivers will gawk at you like you are nuts. Trust me, I personally experienced this a couple days ago. Still, there are fish in the rivers draining this massive peak. Some of the trout are rare, a few are even big, and many are undiscovered…

Ben Wright night snorkeling for trout, Rainier Nat'l Park, WA

My friend Ben Wright works for Mount Rainier National Park, assessing fish populations in the rivers, streams, and lakes. I’m not the only one with an enviable fishing job; Ben has a good gig as well. His work involves “hook and line sampling,” electrofishing, and snorkeling for the park’s cutthroat, rainbow, and bull trout. Ben, his boss Heather Moran, and Tracy, a Student Conservation Association intern, capture fish to make population estimates as well as collect samples for a genetics study.

Ben spends much of the field season with a fly rod in hand, trying to catch as many fish as possible.

The bull trout are of particular interest since they are listed as “Threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. Ben and Tracy took me to Fryingpan Creek, a glacier fed stream known to host bull trout. We tossed olive and black streamers into the milky flow.

The habitat quality in this stream is marginal. The water runs fast and off color thanks to its glacial origins. But surprisingly, Fryingpan holds fish and every now and then a bull trout would attack our offerings. We fought the fish quickly and gently, collected the fin samples we needed for the genetics study, and let these rare trout go unharmed. If you haven’t seen a bull trout, CLICK HERE to see my photos.

That night, we returned to the water to night snorkel for coastal cutthroat in a small creek. Ben and Heather did the snorkeling while Tracy and I assisted with our heads above water. Snorkeling is an effective research tool… and it is a lot of fun!

Ben and Heather donned dry suits, masks, and snorkels. They crawled along the stream bottom, scanning likely pools with a high-powered flashlight. Much like deer, trout are stunned by a bright light in the middle of the night, making them relatively easy to net. It was interesting to observe how comfortable trout are in the dark. These fish were sitting in the middle of pools and they seemed to have little fear of predation.

The following day, we hiked into another small coastal cutthroat stream for a second session of hook and line sampling. The challenge was keeping the little buggers on the hook! When you are collecting samples for scientific purposes, it is important to get the fish in the net. Ben and I were able to land half a dozen, but we lost many fold more. I finally resorted to holding my net in my line hand while casting. When I hooked a 3-6 inch trout I would immediately hoist it out of the water and into my waiting net. It was sort of like playing some odd form of trout basketball.

In addition to these populations of small fish, Rainier is home to lakes that hold 18” rainbows. However, the Mud Mountain Dam has obstructed most of the big fish from entering the park. Historically, anadromous (ocean-running) bull trout, steelhead, and Chinook salmon were found in these waters.

Of course, the obstruction of fish passage is a major problem caused by dams all over the country, but in the Northwest in particular. Stay "TUned" to the blog as I’ll be writing about the creative and ambitious projects TUers have undertaken to help fish travel around these structures.

In the meantime, enjoy THESE PHOTOS from Rainier National Park.

Posted by ladelfio at 01:00 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

August 17, 2006

Where?

I haven’t been living in Montana for long, but I have been here long enough to have adopted the local vernacular. When I say I want a Moose Drool, I know I want a beer and it doesn’t occur to me that outsiders might consider it an odd request. Likewise, the terms of fly fishing are so engrained in my vocabulary that I forget normal people don’t know what a “6x tippet” is, or even a “5 weight.” So when I say “I’m going to the Yaak,” I forget that most folks don’t know the Yaak is a valley in Northwestern Montana. I highly recommend you check this place out...

Columbia River Redband Trout

The Yaak Valley is unlike any other place in Montana. Snuggled against Idaho and British Columbia, the Yaak has a Pacific Northwestern feel. Morning fog is common, although it often breaks into classic Montana blue sky.

The aptly named “old man’s beard” lichen hangs from the larch, fir, and spruce. Larch, also known as tamarack, is a deciduous conifer that loses its needles each fall. In the protection of the forest, enormous whitetail deer, many mountain lions, and even a few grizzlies live in relative peace and isolation from man.

I find the Yaak to be a magical place. And the term “magical” is not a word that a scientist like me banters about lightly. There are plenty of writers far more capable than me (i.e. Rick Bass) who wax philosophical about the Yaak, so if you are interested, I suggest you read their fine works. I’ll just say that the Yaak is one of those places that I might someday visit and never leave.

The Yaak is also home to the only native rainbow trout in the state. The Columbia River redband trout still inhabit a few headwater streams as they have for thousands upon thousands of years. In the larger rivers, introduced rainbows have diluted the genetics of the original stock, but these fine trout fisheries are still of great interest to the angler, of course.

The Kootenai River is home to the rainbows that probably take the award for the strongest, pound for pound, in the state. The Yaak River is a smaller system that holds feisty trout up to 18 inches. Smaller streams and lakes complete the list of options for the angler.

And the best part is that the Yaak often feels like a private playground. Float the Kootenai and you’ll only see one or two other boats the entire day. Fish the Yaak River or the headwaters and you’ll have the place to yourself.

My friends the Linehans operate a top-notch outfitting business in the Yaak. You may know Tim Linehan as the host of the Trout Unlimited TV show that aired for a few seasons around the turn of the century.

In addition to being the face of TU on TV, Tim is a fine guide and a tremendous human being. Tim and Joanne Linehan are two of the kindest folks I’ve ever met. They have been very generous to me personally over the years. And they do a ton for TU.

On this trip to the Yaak, I searched out a few Columbia River redband trout. While the larger trout in the Kootenai and the Yaak Rivers provide better sport, I wanted to see the native fish.

Tim directed me to Basin Creek. This tributary to the East Fork of the Yaak River is a TU project site. The Kootenai Valley TU chapter worked with the Forest Service to replace the road culverts that cross the creek, making them more fish friendly. Hybridization with non-native strains of rainbows and habitat loss have reduced pure redband populations to a few isolated creeks. The Basin Creek project is just one initiative taken on by the local TUers to protect the remaining stock of these beautiful trout.

Each well-placed cast drew a ferocious response from the redbands. These little guys are obviously hungry! In hand, the redbands show off their richly-colored sides and intricate black spot patterns. They swim off with zest, ready to attack the next poor caddisfly that lands upstream.

Take a look at my photos HERE to see a few of these neat fish.

I have a humorous (sort of) tale of life on the road for you. Every locale has certain creatures that residents would prefer to live without. Black widows, hobo spiders, rattlesnakes, Norwegian rats, and yippy lap dogs come to mind. In western Montana, pack rats are towards the top of the list.

While in the Yaak, I stayed in a rarely inhabited vacation cabin that the Linehans watch for a friend from out of state. Well, no one had been there in a few weeks, so Joanne went to check things out before I arrived and discovered a female pack rat and three big babies nesting in the propane grill on the back porch.

A pack rat looks like a hybrid between a regular city rat and a squirrel. I’m sure that those folks who keep chinchillas and the such would find them quite desirable as pets.

Unfortunately, they are rodents and they like to chew and poop, making them less than desirable neighbors and even worse roommates. Well, Joanne completed the unpleasant task of cleaning the nest out the grill, displacing the four pack rats.

Enter Luca’s pickup. When I arrived, one of the baby pack rats decided my truck would make a fine place to nest and start a family of her own. Overnight, she crawled up into the motor space and built a nest of lichen and dried grass behind my battery. I guess it didn’t fit quite right because she decided to chew through a few wires to attain the proper hominess.

Well, I didn’t discover this until the town of Libby, a 45 minute drive from the Yaak. It’s a good thing she didn’t build the nest on the engine… I’ve had steam come out from under the hood, but smoke is another story!

So when I popped the hood to check my oil in Libby, I was greeted with the sight of the nest, woven and shaped like a bird’s nest. Oh yeah, she had also stashed a mushroom under the alternator.

I cleaned it out and took the truck to the mechanic to get the wires fixed. When I told him why I was there, a look of horror came over his face. It was that look that manly men give when they know they have to do something, but they are really dreading it.

When this guy opened an auto garage, I don’t think he anticipated he’d spend so much time dealing with rodents.

“Is it still in the car?” he asked, “They usually stay with the vehicle.”

“No, I cleaned out the nest, besides, I drove from the Yaak.” I replied.

“It doesn’t matter” the mechanic looked pained, “they’ll just scurry up and down the vehicle the whole way here.”

Well the mechanic took a look and decided it was safe to allow my truck in his garage. He told me a story of impaling a rat with a screwdriver once when one ran out of a patron’s vehicle on the lift.

He fixed my wires and left me with half a dozen humorous pack rat stories and the ominous warning, “Once they pee in it, they’ll always come back.”

So I drove back up to the Yaak and parked as far from the cabin as I could without blocking a public right of way. I listened as my engine cooled down and heard some additional scratching noises. It seems the rat actually had stuck with the vehicle. She was tucked into the space between the frame and the body above the driver’s side front wheel well. I could see her in there with a flash light.

Well, it was time for action. I closed the propane grill (leaving the lid open prevented the rats from nesting there again) and opened my truck’s hood. I had stumbled across an interesting paradox in rat behavior: What happens if a pack rat urinates in both a grill and a Nissan pickup? I wondered if the mechanic, my expert in pack rat nesting habits, knew the answer.

I borrowed the Linehan’s Hav-a-Hart trap, which I set under the truck with a piece of tin foil, a new penny, and a Cheez-it cracker for bait. Why the tin foil and the penny? Pack rats are notorious for collecting shiny items.

That evening I watched the rat make a couple trips for nesting materials to and from my truck. She used the trap as a step ladder, causing me to lose a little faith in my methodology. For a few minutes I stood out there with my bow, hoping to shoot the little bugger, but I felt a little too much like Elmer Fudd to keep at it for long.

In the end, the trap worked and I caught the pack rat overnight. Now that my truck is safely located 500 miles away, I almost wish that I actually Had-a-Heart, but at the time, I wasn’t taking any chances.
I pictured releasing the rat somewhere out in the woods and then racing it back to my urine-laced truck, hoping to get out of there before the rat hopped back aboard.

So I drew the pack rat a bath in the Rubbermaid I use to disinfect my waders. I don’t know if pack rats can swim, because Hav-a-Harts sink, but next time I’m in Libby, I’ll ask the mechanic.

So here I was hoping to let folks know about how great the Yaak is and now I’m scaring them away with pack rat stories. I’ll close with this:

Even while I was drowning a rat, I was looking forward to my next trip to the Yaak. It is truly a unique fishing destination. Go fish the Kootenai, stay in one of the Linehans’ homey and pack rat-free rental cabins (not their friends’), and enjoy this amazing lost corner of Montana.

See photos of redband trout, pack rat trapping, and other classic Yaak Valley scenes by clicking HERE!

Posted by ladelfio at 01:05 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

August 11, 2006

Dear Jeff

Over a decade of drought has been tough on Southwestern Montana’s trout. Each summer, the air seems to get a little warmer and the water a little skinnier. Arguably, the Jefferson River has been hit the hardest. The trout population has declined 75% in my lifetime. While the situation is dire, those in the know have hope for the Jeff. After all, it still holds 10 pound browns…

An Irrigation Diversion and the Beautiful Jefferson River, MT

The Jeff is another river benefiting from TU’s Home Rivers Initiative. Bruce Rehwinkel, Project Coordinator for the Jefferson Home River effort, is no stranger to the area. He was the region’s Fisheries Biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) from 1978 until 1990.

Working for TU provides Bruce with the opportunity to continue to assist the trout fishery he knows so well.

Like many western rivers, the Jefferson is over-appropriated during drought years. In other words, irrigators hold water rights for over 100% of the water. My mother is a math teacher, but none of us need her help to understand that this doesn’t leave anything for the trout.

Before TU hired Bruce, the Jefferson River Watershed Council (JRWC) was already working closely with irrigators on a drought management plan. Just like with other initiatives from coast-to-coast, TU recognized the good work that was already happening and jumped in to assist with a full-time staffer. Bruce works closely with the JRWC to help the Jefferson cope with the drought.

The fundamental first step during low summer flows is working with the irrigators to leave a little water in the stream. Bruce and JRWC aim for 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) at Waterloo Bridge, just below the head gate of a big irrigation ditch. Fifty cfs is still a very low flow, but it is certainly an improvement from the late summer flows, or lack thereof, in the mid-80s when the stream was reduced to damp gravel.

When the water gets low, representatives from the ditch companies, the local irrigators, FWP, JRWC members, and Bruce sit down to try to work out how a little more water can make it down the streambed.

The objective is to coordinate consumption. For example, if one ranch has already cut a crop of hay, they might be willing to let some of their water flow down the channel. The next week, another ranch might cut and then their water can stay in the river while the first ranch begins irrigating the new crop. The meetings are designed to figure out who is using what water when so the ditch managers knows exactly how much water is needed.

Bruce told me the ditch companies have been “wonderful.” “Without them, we wouldn’t have a drop in the river,” he added.

The river is the lifeblood for these ranches, but many local ranchers are willing to sacrifice some of their water to keep the channel wet. These families have lived here for generations and most of the locals have great respect for the land.

Furthermore, these agreements are made with a handshake and faith in the other parties involved. The ranchers are willing to give up their water during low flows with a gentleman’s agreement, not a common occurrence in the water-poor west. Everyone has heard the Mark Twain quote (paraphrased): “In the west, whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over.”

Bruce and the JRWC have also brought in engineers to assess the water delivery system for efficiency. If less water is lost during delivery, more can be left in the river. Bruce hopes to help the ditch companies implement some of the recommendations, such as new headgates. Unfortunately, a lot of the inefficiencies in the system are upstream, on the Beaverhead River. Negotiations with irrigators in the Big Hole, the Beaverhead, and the Ruby Valleys are in the works, but these things take time.

During drought years, the 0-1 year old trout are hit the hardest. Fish surveys have shown that recruitment of young of the year is next to nothing after a low flow. It is this loss of baby trout that has led to the overall decline in the total trout population.

To help the young of the year, Bruce and FWP have been working with landowners to restore the valley’s spring creeks. Most of these streams are very small and they flow through private land, but with in-stream improvement work, Bruce has proven that they can produce young rainbow trout.

Bruce started restoring spring creeks in the Jefferson Valley while working for FWP in 1984. There is no way he could have anticipated the success of these efforts. Work includes narrowing the stream channel, restoring the natural meanders, and fencing livestock out of the riparian zone. These improvements create holding water and help the system flush out sediment, exposing quality spawning gravel.

Thanks to spring creek restorations, juvenile rainbow trout populations have increased, despite the overall decrease in total trout numbers.

The river is predominantly a brown trout fishery and the brown trout don’t utilize the spring creeks like the rainbows do. While brown trout numbers have decreased, the size of the average fish has increased. Anglers can't expect to catch many trout on the Jeff, but a high percentage of the fish caught will be hogs.

Bruce and his crew did the first stream improvement with hand tools. Now heavy machinery is used, speeding up the process considerably. At most sites they “finish Friday evening and there are fish in the stream Saturday morning,” Bruce reports.

Trout Unlimited and FWP are currently planning additional spring creek restorations for future field seasons to build on these successes.

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks also utilizes voluntary and mandatory closures to protect the fish when high water temperatures become stressful for trout. When I visited the Jeff, the river was too warm to fish. By respecting these closures, anglers can help the river in the long run.

The fact that there are any trout in the Jefferson at all is a testament to the resilience of the fish. As I visit project sites from coast to coast, I am constantly amazed at how well trout do in the face of adversity. We just need to give them a little help and the trout will do the rest.

On the Jefferson, we need to keep enough water in the stream to keep the trout wet. If we can carry the fish, including the young one, through the low flows, we can slowly start to re-build this fine fishery.

Trout Unlimited made a smart decision when they hired Bruce Rehwinkel. It is yet another case of TU hiring the right person and giving them the tools they need to do the right thing. Thanks to the hard work of Bruce, other TUers, the JRWC, FWP, and the local ranchers, the Jefferson is on the mend.

Click HERE to see my photos of the Jefferson River

Click HERE for more information about TU's efforts on the Jefferson

Posted by ladelfio at 01:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 08, 2006

BCT: Big Carnivorous Trout

My first cast produced a big flash. My second resulted in a hook-up. From a distance, the large golden fish looked like a carp. Carp-sized trout are always appreciated by the angler. With the 21.5” Bonneville cutthroat trout in the net, I took a second to look around. Let’s just say that this section of the Thomas Fork of the Bear River doesn’t resemble your typical Rocky Mountain trout stream…

We are standing in a rancher’s field. Algae and sediment give the water the turbid look of a bluegill pond. The distant trees may be a mirage in the 100 degree heat. Dust floats off the ground like anthrax. And yet, this beautiful cutthroat, one of the largest I’ve ever seen, calls this place home.

Well actually, this fish is just passing through. Bonneville cutthroat are marvelously adapted for surviving in the harsh, semi-desert conditions of the Bear River system. The Bear River drains the intersection of Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah on its way to the Great Salt Lake. It is tough country for trout and people alike. Migration is one of the characteristics that allows this species to thrive here.

The adult Bonneville cutthroats feed in the main river, growing large on a diet of forage fish. Some individuals exceed 24 inches and 20 inchers are relatively common. Then, in the spring, they migrate upstream into the headwaters. Some individuals move 90 kilometers. The Bonnevilles spawn in the small tributary streams, where their young hatch in a cooler and safer environment than the Bear River proper. After a couple years in the headwater streams, many of the surviving offspring will migrate to the river in search of forage, continuing the cycle.

Until just a few years ago, no one really knew how far these fish were traveling. Warren Colyer’s master’s project shed light on the annual migrations of these amazing fish. Today, Warren works for TU, coordinating a recovery and monitoring effort for the Bear River Bonneville.

The Bear River Bonnevilles face an uphill battle. Water is a limited commodity in the basin and the rivers have been dammed and diverted for over 100 years. These obstructions were not constructed with fish passage in mind and the migratory routes to essentially every tributary were affected.

Migratory fish entering the tributary rivers, such as the Thomas Fork, are stuck between a rock and a hard place. In dry years, the irrigation diversions are in operation during the spawning run, and the headgates block migration entirely. If it is a wet year, fish make it past the gates before irrigation has commenced, but almost 50% of the fish will get stuck in the irrigation ditches and die on their post-spawn journey back to the Bear River.

After a century and a half of neglect, the migratory Bear River Bonneville population is hanging on by a thread. Fortunately, TU hired Warren to continue his study of this amazing fish. His objectives are to both gain a better understanding of the species and implement solutions to give them a leg up.

In just the last few years, Warren has worked with landowners to construct fish screens on three irrigation ditches in the Thomas Fork. The screens allow the ranchers to take the water they need for irrigation, but prevent fish from getting trapped in the ditches.

Last year was the first season that all three screens were operational. The results? An increase from 6 Bonnevilles observed in the stream to 200 in just one year! A true scientist, Warren modestly points out that better water flows were probably a contributing factor, but this figure is certainly a good indicator that the screens are helping the Bonneville spawning run.

The Smith’s Fork of the Bear is the last tributary to hold a healthy run of Bonnevilles. In fact, in dry years when fish have been turned away by the diversions on the Thomas Fork, Warren has tracked them over 75 kilometers up the Smith’s Fork. This stream provides the migratory Bear River fish with the toehold they need to avoid extirpation.

Warren studies the Bonneville cutthroat in the Smith’s Fork and the Thomas Fork, providing an interesting comparison between a relatively pristine fish run and a stream in recovery.

Twenty-five miles from the nearest paved road, Adam Sepulveda and Warren Colyer are huddled over a metal box filled with wires and computer parts. I’ve often heard folks lamenting that kids spend too much time in front of computers and not enough time outdoors these days, but as we played with this radio-tracking antenna, I almost wished I had spent more time futzing with electronics when I was younger.

Thanks to Adam’s expertise, the whole operation went relatively smoothly. Adam is a PhD student at the University of Montana. Part of his project involves the Bear River Bonnevilles. Adam is looking at the ratio of different types of nitrogen and carbon in tissue samples to tell where in the river system a fish has been feeding. Hopefully, this research will lead to an easy, unobtrusive way to test if a fish is migratory. Somehow, Adam also knows about radio antennas.

Warren and his field technicians currently operate fish weirs on the Thomas Fork and the Smith’s Fork. With the weirs, hook and line sampling, and electrofishing, Warren and his crew capture Bonnevilles and tag them with P.I.T. tags, little radio transponders that are inserted into the fish’s belly (see the photos HERE). The P.I.T. tag gives the individual fish a code, allowing it to be tracked throughout the migration, or even year-to-year.

If the crew captures the fish again, they have a wand-like device that will detect the P.I.T. tag, allowing them to keep track of where and when this particular individual has been captured.

The radio-tracking antennas will ease this process considerably. The antennas automatically detect if a P.I.T. tag moves by and records the data in a palm pilot. The use of two antennas in tandem reveals which direction the fish is moving.

These slick devices are another tool that will not only make Warren’s life easier, but will also shed light on the time of migration for the Bear River Bonnevilles. Understanding when these fish move is a crucial piece of information when working to keep the fish out of the ditches.

After installing the first antenna, Warren, Adam, and I grabbed our fly rods and headed upstream. We alternated pools, casting streamers and hoppers to likely lies. The Bonnevilles were spread out and not every good cast produced a fish, but when one did chase the fly, it was certainly exciting.

These fish are ambitious. Their toothy mouths want a meaty meal. Warren likes to throw mouse flies towards dark, and even the 13” Bonnevilles will attack a small mammal imitation. We slipped P.I.T. tags into the fish that we caught, hoping that soon they would put the new antennas to the test.

Unfortunately, even the pristine Smith’s Fork is at risk. The state of Wyoming is pushing a proposal to construct a dam on this river that would effectively eliminate the last healthy run of large Bear River Bonnevilles.

Despite the fact that Bonnevilles currently occupy only 5%-30% of their original range and key populations (including the migratory fish in the Smith’s Fork) are at risk, the US Fish and Wildlife Service turned down a petition to list the Bonneville cutthroat under the Endangered Species Act in 2002.

The denial of federal protection and the proposed dam are just two new additions to a long list of assaults on the Bonneville cutthroat. Fortunately for the fish, Warren isn’t crying in his beer. He is studying their numbers and habits, working with landowners and government agencies, and doing what he can to help this incredible species.

Migratory Bear River Bonnevilles have survived for thousands and thousands of years in this inhospitable environment. I hope that we don’t squander their entire existence in a few short decades.

For photos of the 21”+ Bonneville, a 13-incher with a mouse fly in its mouth, as well as a glimpse of the scenic Smith’s Fork, CLICK HERE.

Posted by ladelfio at 07:34 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 03, 2006

Magic Act

Say “abracadabra” and the river disappears. Both the Big and Little Lost Rivers flow into sink basins, where they percolate into the ground before reaching another waterway. The isolation of these watersheds from other surface water facilitated the evolution and survival of genetically distinct populations of rare salmonids. I visited these beautiful basins to learn about the local TU work and “hook and line sample” some nice fish…

The Big Lost River, Mackay, ID

The Little Lost
I liken bull trout to lions on the Serengeti. They lounge around for hours at a time, but when they are on the feed, watch out. Bull trout can be voracious. I once watched a 16” bull take a silver dollar-sized chunk out of a 11” whitefish. And this is not a unique story. Every serious angler in the upper Columbia River Basin has a few good bull trout tales.

The bull trout in the Little Lost have been isolated from their brethren. How did these fish end up in a landlocked basin? Well, that depends on who you ask. The general consensus is that geologic shifting and a mountain uplifting event trapped bull trout in this basin a long time ago. The less elegant possibility is that a hungry settler simply brought the trout over in a bucket.

Regardless of how they got here, these fish are now an important population for conservation biology purposes.

In the past, bull trout were outright persecuted because they eat “more sporting” fish like rainbows and cutthroats. While the bounty has been lifted off the bull trout’s head, habitat degradation is still an issue.

Bull trout are highly sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances, especially sedimentation. Sedimentation from over-grazing, poor timber harvest practices, and road-building have severely reduced bull trout habitat over the years. Today, roadless areas are strongholds for bull trout, yet another important reason to protect these areas.

The construction of dams has also negatively impacted bull trout. Bull trout are highly migratory and dams have reduced the ability of these fish to move from feeding habitat to spawning grounds.

Because bull trout have been reduced to a fraction of their original range, we need to do what we can to protect the remaining populations.

Based on outward appearance, Kim Goodman and Jim Gregory form an unlikely dynamic duo. Jim wears the uniform of a western rancher. His button-up shirt and Wranglers are dusty from working hard on his ranch. Kim embodies the “new west” in her Chaco sandals and shorts. Her legs are ripped from mountain biking and skiing.

However, when you talk with these two, you quickly realize that they aren’t as different as their choice in garb implies. Both are Eastern Idaho natives and both earned master’s degrees in fish-related disciplines. Furthermore, Kim and Jim are both committed to preserving the bull trout in the Little Lost.

Kim serves as the Director of TU’s Idaho Water Project. Jim is an independent Fisheries Biologist who TU has contracted to help with the work in the area. The two are working closely with the irrigators in the valley to increase irrigation efficiency and help the bull trout.

A big part of the effort is replacing old irrigation diversions with models that are more fish friendly. Just like dams, irrigation diversions can block fish passage. Kim and Jim are working with landowners to replace 7 irrigation diversions to promote fish passage in the drainage.

Kim and Jim are also currently spearheading a project on Badger Creek, a tributary to the Little Lost. Historically, much of the water in Badger Creek was diverted for irrigation purposes. Kim and Jim have worked with the irrigator to divert from the Little Lost instead, allowing the water from Badger Creek to flow into the river. This is beneficial to the trout because the water from Badger Creek is colder than the water in the mainstem, so it recharges the Little Lost with a healthy flow. The Badger Creek project is certainly a creative solution that helps the bull trout without negatively impacting the local ranchers.

The next phase of this effort is in-stream restoration work on Badger Creek. The plan is to restore the natural stream channel, opening up new spawning and rearing habitat.

To orchestrate these efforts, Kim and Jim must work closely with landowners and state and federal agencies. Without the cooperation of irrigators and the technical support and funding of the government, these projects would not be possible.

After touring the project site, we headed upstream to try our luck with the fly rod. Our party of five was a little big for the little stream (Chris Hunt, TU’s Public Lands Initiative Communications Director and an avid angler, and John O’Connell, a writer and editor for the Great Outdoors section of the Idaho State Journal, also enjoyed the educational tour on the Little Lost), so we opted to split into two groups.

Jim and I headed upstream, trading shots at spunky rainbows and a couple brook trout. The sight of brook trout in the stream is a little disheartening as this species can hybridize with bull trout, diluting the genetic purity of the native fish. Jim and I did not see any bulls, but when we met up with the rest of our cohort, we learned that Kim caught and gently released one!

It was a beautiful day on a sparkling mountain stream. I hope you will take a look at my photos be clicking HERE.

A Little Lost River Basin rainbow

The Big Lost
Most anglers consider whitefish to be “trash fish.” In actuality, whitefish are a native species and they are members of the Salmonidae (trout and salmon) family.

I find it fascinating how the tastes of sports-men and -women change with time. Not too long ago, hunters preferred cow elk over bulls and anglers persecuted bull trout. Now, bull trout and bull elk are revered. I wonder if the under-appreciated whitefish will ever gain such respect.

There is one population of whitefish that needs our support now. The whitefish in the Big Lost River are so genetically distinct that one day they may even be recognized as a unique species. They are the only native salmonid in the Big Lost River Basin.

A decade long drought coupled with high water demand for irrigation has severely impacted whitefish (and other introduced trout) habitat in the Big Lost River. Whitefish numbers are down so dramatically that a petition has been filed to protect this population under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Regardless of whether or not the Big Lost River whitefish get listed under ESA, local agencies are doing what they can to help the fish. Chris Hunt and I joined Jim Gregory and fish sampling crews from Idaho Fish and Game and the US Forest Service to assist with a whitefish rescue.

High spring runoff trapped about a 1000 juvenile whitefish in a gravel pit near Mackay, ID. The government crews were electrofishing the gravel pits to capture the whitefish and move them back into the river. Electrofishing is a commonly used scientific research method that involves sending an electrical current through the water to momentarily stun the fish, causing them to float towards the surface where they can be netted. After the fish were collected, they were loaded into a fish stocking truck and driven back to the Big Lost.

After the rescue, we dropped downstream to fish the Big Lost River below Mackay Dam. This tailwater stretch of river holds big fish, some of the biggest in the west, but public access is limited and relatively few anglers fish this river.

The fly of the day was the Mackay Special, a local cranefly imitation. Midge larvae and small grasshoppers also produced a few nice trout.

While the possibility of hooking a trout as thick as your thigh makes angling the Big Lost an appealing proposition, it is not the only reason to visit this remote river. The Big Lost drains the highest peaks in the state and the views are stunning.

These unique fisheries have certainly found a beautiful part of the country to call home. It’s good to know that folks like Kim Goodman, Chris Hunt, and Jim Gregory are working to conserve these important coldwater resources.

Take a look at THESE PHOTOS to see electrofishing in action under the highest peaks in Idaho.

Posted by ladelfio at 12:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 01, 2006

Save 100 Cutthroat Trout, Kill a Rainbow

I like to use blunt force to the head to kill a trout. My goal is to dispatch the poor bugger quickly, but without causing its eyes to pop out. Idaho’s South Fork of the Snake River is a great place to perfect one’s trout whacking technique…

SF Snake River, ID

Hybridization with non-native rainbow trout is a huge problem for native cutthroat trout. Both rainbow and cutthroat trout spawn in the springtime, making hybridization a common occurrence in certain waters. The species are closely enough related that the hybrids are viable, but these “cutt-bows” dilute the genetic stock of the native species. Non-native trout also compete with cutthroats for habitat and food, further threatening the existence of our native fish.

In most large Rocky Mountain rivers, introduced rainbow, brown, and brook trout have totally displaced the native cutthroat trout. Dams have complicated the issue in many systems by blocking access to the tributaries where cutthroat prefer to spawn.

The South Fork of the Snake River is an anomaly. This tremendous tailwater hosts native Yellowstone cutthroat trout, including some really big ones. Over the last five years, TU has been working with Idaho Fish and Game (ID F&G) and numerous other conservation organizations to help this population of sensitive native fish.

While Yellowstone cutts have persevered in the South Fork, their successes must not be taken for granted. Damage to spawning tributaries, low winter flows from Palisades Dam, development in the valley, and hybridization with rainbow trout are very real threats to these fish.

Matt Woodard is spearheading TU’s Home River Initiative on the South Fork. Like all of TU’s “Home River” projects, this one takes a comprehensive approach to coldwater conservation.

I spent a day with Matt and I tired out my fingers while taking notes on all the great conservation work in the valley.

To reduce hybridization with rainbow trout, TU and ID F&G have been advocating that anglers keep rainbows and cutt-bows from the river. The state changed the creel limit so that an angler can keep as many rainbow trout as they’d like.

No one has any illusions about removing rainbows from the system entirely, but angler harvest has proved to be an effective way to help keep the non-native fish population in check.

At first, anglers and guides were reluctant to harvest the rainbow trout, Matt told me, but the initiative has become quite successful. While rainbows will always be known for the aerial acrobatics that follow a hookset, let me tell you, I have fished all over Yellowstone Country and the cutthroat in the South Fork are the strongest I’ve ever hooked.

Besides their broad shoulders, anglers have embraced these fish for their willingness to suck down dry flies and the rich colors on their flanks.

Most importantly, catching a native trout is enjoyable in and of itself. It is nice to know that the fish belongs in the river and that its ancestors have eaten stoneflies here for thousands of years.

The heart of the South Fork River Initiative lies in the restoration of the stream’s tributaries. Cutthroat trout prefer to spawn in tributaries, even the really small feeder streams. Some of the tribs to the South Fork have been disconnected from the main river for irrigation purposes.

A big part of Matt’s job is working with landowners to gain permission to restore the natural stream channels on their land. Most of the landowners in the valley want to do what they can to help the fish, but it’s Matt’s job to assure them that TU will work with them as a constructive partner.

Fortunately for all, Matt is great at this aspect of the job and the trout are truly benefiting from these partnerships.

Matt showed me Garden Creek and Rainey Creek, two of the channel reconnection projects. Work has included replacing culverts under the highway to allow fish passage, updating irrigation systems to increase water use efficiency, and screening the diversion inputs to prevent fish from entering irrigation ditches. In addition, a key irrigator has promised not to divert water from Garden Creek until after July 1st, leaving more water in the stream during the cutthroat spawn.

These projects depend on support and funding from many groups and agencies including the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the One Fly competition.

Local volunteers from the Upper Snake River TU chapter have also been actively involved in tributary restoration. Matt Woodard was chapter president before taking his post as a TU employee.

Early results are promising. This last spring, only weeks after the reconnection was complete, a mature cutthroat was observed in Garden Creek.

The adult cutthroat trout are the attraction for the thousands of anglers who visit this river each season. Matt floated me down an upper stretch of the river in his driftboat, a big aluminum steelheading boat that worked great in the South Fork’s powerful flow.

We threw hoppers, yellow sallies (small yellow stoneflies), and general attractor dry flies to likely lies. The weather was scorching hot and we didn’t have one of those epic South Fork days where every fish in the river is looking up, but we stuck a few trout.

I hooked one large cutthroat. We watched it slowly and deliberately rise to my hopper imitation and suck it down. If I close my eyes, I can still re-play this "picture perfect" rise in my head. Well, the fish went upstream while the current carried the boat towards the ocean and the hook pulled out. Still, it was nice to see such a fine native trout.

I got a little taste of the river and saw its potential. I can’t wait to get back and fish the South Fork again. Likewise, visiting the first stages of the South Fork improvement efforts was inspiring. I look forward to following the progress of this impressive conservation effort for decades. This project is the real deal.

I encourage you to visit the South Fork for yourself. Catch beautiful native cutthroat trout on dry flies and enjoy a rainbow cooked over the campfire.

Visit the photo gallery HERE

Click HERE to read more about the SF Snake Home River Initiative

Posted by ladelfio at 10:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack