Who actually makes the decision on flows ? I assume theres some computer program that takes things like, lake level, irragation needs, weather forecast into consideration, I'm preety sure they don't take the fish into consideration.
The flows out of the dam are controlled by the Solano County Irrigation District. My gut feel is that the flows are determined strictly by irrigation needs. How the farmers who used the water communicate with the dam operators I am uncertain. I am sure that the dam operators understand that there are fish in the creek so that minimum flows must be observed. But other than this, I believe the flow level is pretty much up to the dam operators.
Again sorry for another dumb question, but what effect do the flows have on the fish? Again sorry for a stupid question, I am a theologian and not a biologist for a reason.
The flows just made another jump again. They are now over 400 cfs. Higher flows make it harder to get to the waters where the fish hang out. The wading is more difficult. It's also harder to get down where the fish are. The fluctuation in flows seems to throw the fishing off as well. The fish just sit on the bottom, making them harder to catch. You pretty much have to hit them on the nose if you want a chance at catching them.
__________________
"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
The wading is definitely getting more challenging at the higher flows. I went to access 5 this morning and got the wading staff out again. I made my way around the island with no luck, so I decided to finish up at Solano lake. I hooked 6 and landed 4 down there on an olive woolly bugger, which always seems to work on the lake when fish are around.
Hey phil were you fishing from shore or floating ? yeah the flows are getting tough to wade, I fished #5 this evening and just couldn't get the angle I wanted to cast from, due to the flows. I think it's gonna take a little time for the fish to settle down and find there high water holding spots, i figure that spots that were to shallow to hold fish a few weeks ago are some good lookin spots now, just give the fish a lil time to find these spots. Oh and I didnt have any luck as far as hooking fish today, landed one about 12 inches on sunday on a #16 black copper john. There were a fair amount of large caddis this evening, #16 or even a #14 I'd guess.
Phil: do you float lake solano or wade it? I'm looking for a place to fish tomorrow and I can't decide between sacramento, putah or surf fishing on the coast. Putah sounds kind of slow with the flow changes and I don't have a tube or a pontoon. thanks, Bill
WT, this may be an oversimplification, but I think there is some truth to it. When the flow increases from 100 CFS to 500 CFS, the fish density drops correspondingly. For example, if there were 1000 fish per mile at 100 CFS, at 500 CFS the equivalent fish density is 200 fish per mile since there is 5 times as much water flowing. Over the last six years my Summer (high water) catch rate has averaged only about 40% of my Winter (low water) catch rate. Of course, as stated by others, wading difficulties, swifter currents, and deeper water all contributed to more difficult fishing.
I didn't have a boat with me today, so I just waded below the tip of the island and cast out into deeper water. I used a woolly bugger on a sinktip line, which usually works well in the spring and summer. I usually float in my canoe with a buddy to cover more water, but at least I was able to get the skunk off today. I've been sick for a couple of weeks and this is my first time out in a while.
I may be crazy, but tomorrow I'm heading to the sierras to one of my favorite streams to try my luck. The water is probably freezing, but its spring break and I just have to get up there once.
I think Nohackle has the right idea. It's not that the number of fish per mile changes, but the number of fish per volume of water (cubic feet) does change. There's a lot more water to cover to find those fish. The creek doesn't get much wider, but there's a significant increase in depth. The current is much faster as well (greater volume of water per unit time), making it more difficult to get your flies to the deep holes where the fish hide. For this reason, we fish with more weight and longer leaders.
__________________
"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
