Fish with JD » River Restoration Projects

Condit Dam on White Salmon River Breached!

JD — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:43:29 +0000

Salmon and steelhead on Washington State’s White Salmon River are going to have over 33 miles of new spawning habitat thanks to the breaching of Condit Dam on Oct. 26. The dam has been blocking anadramous fish runs for over 6 decades and now the White Salmon is again running free! The video is bad-ass. Check it out!

Fishing for Science: Tagging Fall-Run Chinook Salmon

JD — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 22:26:57 +0000

In the March 2011 issue of Salmon Trout Steelheader Magazine, I did a photo essay of the spring-run Chinook tagging project I was involved with last year (and again coming up this year as well). The basic gist of the whole deal was: Capture kings, quickly outfit them with acoustic tags and then let ‘em go. At that point, biologists could track the fish as they moved upstream, providing them with lots of good data about the migration habits of the fish. We also captured and tagged fall-run fish last year as well. Here’s a little look into the project…

Guest Shot: Monterey Bay Salmon & Trout Project doing good things!

JD — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:58:30 +0000

Matt Hansman and Mike Baxter prepare a wild steelhead for transfer to the hatchery.

Every now and then, I like to bring in somebody to do a guest editorial here…you know, to get a fresh perspective on something; a little “fresh meat.” This time around, we’re going to hear from Allen Bushnell (listen to him Friday mornings at 6:45 on KSCO radio 1080 AM), our main man on the ground in the Monterey Bay area, to give us the 411 on the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project:

The MBSTP was established in 1976 with the vision of restoring and enhancing salmon and steelhead habitat and populations within the greater Monterey Bay area. The project maintains a hatchery and rearing facility, producing thousands of juvenile steelhead, silver and king salmon that are returned to the wild each year. With the recent rainfall, the decision was made to initiate this year’s fish trapping program, to collect wild steelhead trout, both males and females that are transported to the hatchery for propagation.

The fish trap is located at the Felton Diversion Station, just south of downtown Felton. Operated by the Santa Cruz Water Department, the Diversion Station employs an inflatable dam and collects water for storage at Loch Lomond. Alongside the dam is a fish ladder for migrating steelhead, and at the top of the ladder is the removable trap. A group of volunteers will spend the next few months monitoring the trap when the river flows are sufficient. Working in shifts, crew members watch the trap overnight, collecting fish for the hatchery as well as DNA samples from those fish that are released.

Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project volunteer Jim Tolonen hoists another beautiful fish from the Felton trap.

With cutbacks in the state budget, the MBSTP is experiencing a shortfall of funding from the Department of Fish and Game. Volunteers are always welcome at the project, and avenues of support can be fun as well. The Project sponsors a yearly Albacore Feed in fall, and most years, the premier “Big Fish Derby” in summer. Memberships are available ranging from an inexpensive “youth” association up to business and corporate sponsorship. Connect with www.mbstp.org for contact details and full information about the Salmon and Trout Project.

Coming soon will be the springtime Perch Derby. The 7th Annual Sandcrab Classic is becoming one of the largest fishing derbies in Northern California, hosting upwards of 300 anglers, vying for the coveted surfperch trophy. All proceeds from this derby go to the MBSTP. The contest includes a tri-tip dinner, custom t-shirt and tons of fishing gear and prizes for winners and via raffle. Coordinated by Captain Mike Baxter and me, co-hosts of The Let’s Go Fishing Radio Show, this year’s derby is scheduled for March 12.

Further info and entry forms can be found HERE

The Greatest Job in the World, Part 2

JD — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:34:48 +0000

It's not every day you get to custom build salmon spawning habitat!

You guys seemed so stoked by the Stanislaus River Gravel Restoration piece I did a while back in the Greatest Job in the World post, so I dug deep into the archives for a bunch of other photos (I have something like 1,200 of them!) from that project. So, without further adieu, here’s round two…

We started the project carefully sifting and washing 200 tons of perfect spawning cobble and then added a couple hundred boulders in 1- to 7-ton range…

Then we went to work…

Here’s a look at what a lot of the river looked like before we started…

And, from a slightly different angle, when we were done…

Check out how dismal this side channel looked before…

Here’s how she looked after the work…

Before…

After…

Again, much of this stretch of river was sluggish and silted in before the work began…not exactly pristine habitat…

What a world of difference, eh?

When it was all said & done, we added 33 new riffles to a short 2-mile stretch of river…

On the last day, Dennis Hood of KDH Environmental and I toured the site & admired our handiwork…

Apparently, the salmon like their new home…

The Greatest Job in the World!

JD — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:02:06 +0000

I'm still playing with Tonka trucks...they're just a little bigger these days!

A few years back, I was blessed with having the world’s greatest job…I was hired as a consultant to a spawning bed restoration project on the Stanislaus River in California.

My responsibilities: Direct two front loaders on where to dump gravel and boulders. Not only was the pay outstanding, but taking a thrashed river and making it pristine for Chinook and trout was awfully good for the soul! And, let’s be honest here, driving those big tractors around was pretty fun too! Here are some before and after pix…

We basically took a 2-mile stretch of river that was void of gravel and made it new again. We added hundreds of 2- to 7-ton boulders and zillions of tons of gravel. When it was all said and done, that section of the Stanni had 33 new spawning riffles and some amazing new flood plain and side channels. It was awesome…it’s not every day you get to “buld” a river. Here’s a side-channel before we started working on it…

Before: Carp water at best...

And here’s how she looked when we finished…

Now, that's what I'm talking about!

Find plenty more pix of the work and the full story at the following: STANISLAUS RESTORATION PIX And more HERE

Salmon so thick “You could hear them coming”

JD — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 09:33:24 +0000

Salmon Film Teaser from Epicocity Project on Vimeo.

Filmmakers at the Epicocity Project are currently working to finalize a short documentary chronicling the epic migration of Snake River salmon – from the rugged coastline of Alaska to Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountain Range. Here’s the trailer…

Preparations begin for Elwah River dam removal!

JD — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:54:08 +0000

Blocking steelies & salmon for decades...but not for much longer!

One hundred pound king salmon (and massive runs of coho, pinks, chums, sockeye, steelhead, bull trout and cutthroat trout) used to swim up the Elwah River on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula…that is, before Elwha and Glines Canyon dams were built just 5 miles up from saltwater in the the early 1900s. Once one of Washington’s most prolific salmon producers, the Elwah took a huge nosedive after the dams were erected.

But that’s about to change…

After a long fight, the two dams are scheduled to be removed in 2011 (with work already starting now…see the story in the
SEATTLE TIMES) in what is going to be the largest project of its kind in the U.S. What’s really freakin’ cool is the river above the dams flows largely through Olympic National Park, where the spawning and rearing habitat is as pristine as it was before the dams! I’ve been up in that part of the world and the river is amazing! Think about it for a second: 70 miles of river plus endless tribs that are in primo condition. This could be one of the greates fishery restoration successes in history!

Of course, there are some inherent problems with dam removal…like what the heck do you do with all the sediment built up behind the dams? Water treatment facilities are being built now to help but it’s not going to be a small task.

For a lot more info on the Elwah restoration project, check out the National Parks Service

Good to see you again, Chinook #14!

JD — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:47:45 +0000

Kyle with our ol' pal No. 14

As most of you probably know, I’ve been involved with a multi-agency salmon project in which I’ve been hired to capture (with rod & reel…I know, cry me a river!) Chinook salmon and then outfit them with acoustic tags so their progress upstream can be monitored and tracked.

Well, we tagged 60ish spring-run kings in May and June and now we’re onto fall-run. While fishing for falls the other day, I encountered an old friend, Chinook 14. I hooked and landed him back on May 25 on sulfite-cured eggs and then on Aug. 31 he decided to sample a sardine-wrapped FlatFish. Proof positive that catch & release works.

Take a closer look of these two pics of him with my crew member Kyle holding — it’s not often that you get to see the same salmon at various life stages. Notice how many more spots he’s developed since he was a freshie. Overall, he looks pretty good considering he’s been hanging around for three months. Now, Fourteen…get upriver and make some babies!

Why salmon should wear helmets

JD — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:25:48 +0000

Our pal from the other side of the Pond, Franklin Moquette (our European correspondent), sent in this video of Atlantic salmon absolutely bashing their brains in against a weir on the Varde Aa in West Denmark as they try to leap it.

The frame above is grainy because I screen captured it off the video, but the movie has much better resolution. Read on for the link…

But first, let’s have Moquette set the table for us:

“This is a short movie that shows what can go wrong if a fish ladder is built the wrong way (too little water, too little attraction),” he says. “This situation existed at a weir in the Varde Aa but now has been drastically changed thanks to these pictures that were shown on Danish TV some years ago. The Varde Aa still has a small run of its native strain of Atlantic salmon. As you can see, there is a high percentage of big Multi Sea Winter salmon (that spent 3 to 4 winters at sea) in the Varde Aa!”

To watch the movie, CLICK It’s kind of a funky format that may not work for everybody. On my screen, it didn’t automatically play, so I had to click in the upper right corner of the image and manually hold down the right arrow on the screen.

Good footage if you can make it work, though!

Klamath Salmon Derby: A Huge Success!

JD — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:12:47 +0000

The American Fishing Foundation held its second annual charity Klamath River Fishing Derby Sept. 18-19 and the event was a huge success! The final numbers have yet to be crunched, but the event raised money for several good causes, including the Yearling Chinook program at Iron Gate Hatchery, the Chinook Marking program and upgrades to the Roy Rook launching facility on the lower river.

While fishing wasn’t red hot, the boats scratched and clawed for some biters. Out of the 18 four-person teams, 105 fish were caught and 100% were released. The breakdown was 77 salmon and 28 kings. Additionally, a lucky man from Redway, CA walked home with $50,000+ FishRite jet/pro combo boat in the grand finale raffle.

Here are some pix…

Capt. Mike Moore (R) guided his team to victory in the fishing portion of the event

Guide Steve Huber finished second

Kenny C and the Country Club Gals...ask us sometime about the white bikini top!

Harvey Young (R) got his dudes into some chrome

Super Mario, my favorite South of the Border Super Guide Deluxe, finished near the top.

I forget this guy's name...

Team Salmon Trout Steelheader...we're the biggest slackers on the creek!

To all of you who attended and helped out: A hearty thank you from all of us at AFF. And if you think this year’s event was cool…just wait until 2010!!