You must be mad all the time

If you wanna get mad, search #putahcreek on instagram.  You'll see whats been going on this winter.

I know what you mean Ross.  Can't un-see that.

lol,

Those images are both pathetic and hilarious. Why? Because those posters (poachers) genuinely feel they achieved something to be proud of. They feel no shame in posting pics of females squirting eggs in an act of desperation before looming death.

With such a big push to get Putah "blue ribbon" status, and with the creek most accessible during the winter, a winter closure seems far off...so long as the primary interest resides in $450 guided trips, prestige, and fishermen who have been led to believe impale, torture, repeat is a harmless practice...

...don't toss a treble, but redd raping with a fly is "acceptable"...so long as you don't harvest your catch...

Being the one who mentioned the instagram thing, It only seems right to say that I was guilty of doing the same thing on the redds.  It was my first time fly fishing, at Putah late November 5 or 6 years ago.  Me and a friend were at a spot watching other guys fish, trying to learn a thing or two.  One guy comes up and asks if we were going to fish right where we were standing and we said no, (we wanted to watch and learn).  He proceeded to pull a few big rainbows out and release them in about 5 minutes.  We were in awe of the fish, and this guy.  He split right away and left us to fish that same spot which later, months later, we realized was a redd and those were spawners we were targeting. 

Trying to make a long story short, ya some people really don't have a clue.  I don't recall seeing all the signs around the access spots back then.   I went on this board and was educated on the ethics and the spawn and how to be a responsible angler.  We should all try and educate when we can, and be open to keep learning.

 

 

You know what--I have read this thread and it is just really un-becoming all the judgement and mudslinging going on! We all fly-fish because of the beauty, the mystery, the challenge, the obsession of hooking a fish on a fly--- some people make their living doing that and some do it for fun only. And guess what else? Trout have been spawning and breeding in Putah and all those thousands or rivers for millions of years......they AREN'T threatened because people fish the creek in the Winter; they ARE threatened because of Poachers, Pollution, Pesticides, Fertilizers, lack of spawning habitat due to human-related issues, and because we have built dams which make reservoirs and "kill" normal rivers, and many other factors which I don't have the ability to speak to. 

This forum was created to create a COMMUNITY of Fly-Fishers; and threads like these when people start calling people names, judging others who they have no right to judge, and more mudslinging are just hurtful to everyone and to the sport we all love. Let this be the END of this thread and the END of the mudslinging. It's really not cool. Enough.

Prettyfly,

 

A voice of reason. Thank you. 

That being said, IMHO knowingly targeting spawning trout on the PC is really disrespectful to the trout and all of the people who put hard work into recovering this gem. It's selfish. 

 

I do do think that fishing away from the beds is kosher  - just not terribly productive anyway during this time.  I figure, why even bother. There are other waters that more productive. I also think that PC benefits from the presence of enlightened fisherman/ nature lovers during this time that can keep the miscreants at bay.

 

Dan

-- Edited by drdan on Monday 26th of January 2015 08:15:40 PM

Why the chuckle:

For a forum on the internet, there is very very little "mud-slinging" in here.  Keith runs a pretty tight ship, we don't always see eye to eye but I can respect him for what he does.  I'm also pretty sure Greg started this site to promote his business, not sing kumbaya with other people that like to flyfish.

Monticello dam was built between 1953 and 1957.  I might be wrong but if my old man memory serves me right, prior to the dam being built, Putah creek was similar to Cache creek and not exactly a trout paradise.  Monticello dam transformed Putah creek into the fishery we all know today.  The 50's just weren't millions of years ago.

The oddity is that Monticello created this fishery, while other dams are blamed for the decline of fisheries.  Imagine hooking steelhead or salmon (ick)  on the upper Sac, McCloud or Pit rivers.  Think of all the spawning habitat there or above Engelbright and Bullards Bar.  Columbia river!  The point being that Monticello did not "kill' Putah.

So the woes of Putah?  Poachers--yup, Pollution, pesticides and fertalizers--I doubt it.  Nobody likes looking at garbage in and around the areas they fish and Putah is no different.  Short of illegal dumping of leaking car batteries and ag chemicals were not looking at major fish die-offs.  Lack of spawning habitat, ding ding ding.

I'm sure somebody at UCD or with F & W have looked at the long term ecology of Putah.  It would be interesting to see the info but it's probably buried in archives somewhere or found in old scientific journals.  I just can't believe that there haven't been at least a few grad studies done considering the proximity to Davis.  Ah, but let's digress back to lack of spawning habitat.

Sarah, you mentioned "lack of spawning habitat due to human-related issues".  I'd guess the biggest culprit would likely be sedimentation.  Invasive species such as NZMS and I imagine certain types of plants probably also play some sort of a role.  I majored in wildlife management and not fisheries so I probably fail to get the full gist of stream dynamics.  It seems like some sedimentation would be a good thing for vegetation, hence bugs and ultimately fish and other critters, but with most things in life, too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing.

Putah hasn't had a major water event in some time, mid to late 90's I think but there may have been a high water year in the early 2000's?   When water 8+ feet deep is blasting over the glory hole the creek receives a pretty good scouring.  Granted, all that muck probably just settles in the slow sections and ultimately above Diversion dam.  Displace the sediment and associated vegetation and you end up with spawning habitat.  Is a high rain year that tops the Glory hole enough, I don't know.  I do know that the creeks above the bridge pump out a ton of sedimentation into Putah.  It's understandable on the creek North of Putah as it's semi barren grassland used for cattle.  The south side has lots of vegetation so for grins n giggles I'll blame it on all the day hikers.

The lack of spawning habitat prompted the grass/weed abatement efforts which started a couple of years ago.  The good news is that the weed abatement worked, the bad news is the weed abatement worked.  That work made it even easier for people to target some really nice sized fish which were now stacked up in those locations.  Yes people poach them and otherwise legitimate fishermen target them.  I've talked to the same people on multiple occasions 2 years in a row about fishing on redds and targeting spawning fish.  I have little doubt they were back up there again this season.  They know exactly what they are doing and just don't care.  Sure, some people see the light but many just don't care.  I believe it takes very few of the poachers or fishermen that don't care to make a huge impact.

Education, in my opinion, just doesn't work as I would hope.  Perhaps over time, but repeat offenders of those targeting spawning fish leads me to believe otherwise.  The majority of the rivers in this state close down in the Winter.  I would assume it is in some shape, fashion or form, an attempt to preserve the fisheries.  Putah, as we know, does not have that regulation.  Low water flows, large and congregated fish that are often very visible and easily targeted, don't bode well to sportsmanship with individuals that don't care.

So close Putah in the Winter?  Ah, Pandora's box.  Jordan stays off the creek from December to March, but when exactly is the spawn?  At what date do we regulate the end of the season and at what time do we deem the creek fishable again in the spring?  I've seen fish spawning in October through January.  How long after the last of the spawn before the fry are out of the gravel?  A rough guess would be a month from fertilization to hatching and another couple of weeks from alevin to fry.  So shut down the creek from the end of September to the end of March?  6 MONTHS?  I'm sure others have dates in mind but that would be an argument one would have to present to the F&W commission.

Pandora's box

 

Thanks for chiming in Steve. Let's expand on Richards idea but note I'm on a phone so this will be brief (crowd applauds). ;)

Taking a picture of a white ford on the side of the road does nothing. Taking a video of illegal activity might. Granted, observations of actual "poaching" on the creek is probably pretty rare unless on is actively looking for said activity.

Anything in the F & W code regarding fair chase, ethical us of resource etc?
Could language be proposed to the commission for such?
I'm thinking of intentional sight fishing on redds.

Again, Richards idea on patrols, educate when possible, video document when it fails or contact is a concern for safety. Talk with F & W warden on what will/can stick in court.

A hit to the wallet talks. It will also piss a lot of people off, not that I really care. Guy quit driving through the creek with his jeep right.

Signs indicating patrols during spawn with violations being documented and Perseus for prosecution.

Word WILL get out

Good idea and points. BB bushes are the devil though. Spawning bed habitat work in areas "out of the way"?

Just a couple of comments for now. Robert, you have hit on several positive actions that, if vetted with DFW and OK, could be explored. What I have heard about license plates is that enforcement will access Cal-tips DB and check their list for prior reports on a vehicle and at least our local warden appreciates that effort on our part. And real time calls to CAl-tip resulted in rapid follow up on more than one occasion. The problem is that "rapid" depends whose in the area to respond. Last fall we had two wardens drive over from Rio Vista (took at least 30 minutes) and by then the perp had gotten nervous and split. They then patrolled the creek for a while before heading back. The key here was that Richard drove to the resort and called Cal-tip immediately The second key is, if you show you care by making that effort, you get attention paid (greased squeaky wheel syndrome). More you call, more response.

Within the constraints of the law and safe practices, we have to apply pressure on the the snaggers-it has got to be stopped-and that hasn't a chance to succeed unless we apply the pressure by being vigilant and the eyes for enforcement.

A comment on DFW resources: the enforcement division in the Sacramento area is recruiting for applicants to fill natural resource volunteer positions in the department. The person I spoke to said personnel resources are so limited they need volunteers to provide staff support in biological, enforcement, and administrative activities. Maybe the wardens will be able to spend more effort in the field.

Not to bang on wardens because I am well aware of the low numbers but if the poaching issue is so dismal, why isn't patrolling during this time of year more of a priority for wardens? I do not live in Solano county so I cannot speak on what the other more important priorities are for F&W. There is a lot to balance in terms of enforcement-waterfowl season, pig hunting, etc. but for the prestige and hard work that has gone into the creek, it would make sense to at least during this time of year have a more significant presence. Volunteers are good but without law enforcement powers you can't do much with the flagrant violators except put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation. Be safe out there!