"You tell yourself that it will be both educational and spiritually uplifting, as all imaginative excuses for goofing off are." John Gierach, "Music of the Spheres".
Second time you've posted about the bad shape of Putah Lohantan. If I'm not mistaken you said you have about 1 and 1/2 years fishing it? I used to be like you and get so fired up about stuff like this. After a few years you will have to come to accept these things. You're not even talking about the trash or breaking the rules part. Putah to me is like your oldest kid who takes the car out one night without permission and crashes it. Can hardly stand the site of it. Relish the good days and forget about the rest. Easy for me to say I am about 50 minutes from the creek. Matter of fact I have been known to drive out there, fish for an hour and say screw this place. It's just Putah after all.
Well put Paul, and Cole. 40 cfs for a long period of time dose not by any means mean the end to putah creek as we know it. Actually 40 cfs is plenty of water for the fish to survive in. Yes, Spawning may suffer but rainbows are survivors. Theres gonna be good years and theres going to be bad years, Thats just the way it is and its the ways its always going to be. Just look at what these guys face over time in freestones, Mother nature controls the flows in those rivers and the trout do fine. In nature the strong survive and reproduce and that may be a good thing.
You're right Cap'n ( sorry I still call you that, I dig it ) the low flows can support those fish. Even the lowest of flows still have the slow water sections for them to hang out or they mob down to Solano and sip scuds and winter time damsels. I haven't fished Putah in two months. This is the perfect time for a break out there. Notice there was about 20 new dudes on here as soon as the water dropped a short while ago? Things that make you go hmmmm?
You guys all make great points! I was a newb last fall. Had some great luck early thanks to the forum and my "old man" who gave me good "fish sense".
I laughed my butt off when somebody referred to the "great spawner/guide debate of 2007" on another thread! I know it's early, but this fall seems fairly drama free so far.
I think, I'm getting good with the idea that putah is pretty much a canal with pretty trees, some nice fishies, rattlesnakes, and an occaisional mountain lion. The garbage ... bud cans, and spent rafts hanging from low hanging branches ... definately add a certain ... mmmm, something.
It doesn't feel right to just accept some of this stuff, but I get the point that it's probably not worth getting my boxers in bunch over it.
Ohh, is it just me, or are you guys seeing a lot of surgical gloves lying around lately? Eeeeiiiiicccchhhttthhh.
I think what I like best, is how this creek is something a little different to everybody ... and it can take it.
... yah Shaun, I still see you as the Cap'n!
Good stuff guys, thanks.
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"You tell yourself that it will be both educational and spiritually uplifting, as all imaginative excuses for goofing off are." John Gierach, "Music of the Spheres".
We seem to have confirmed the low flows haven't done too much obvious damage to the fish, but how about the insect life. Every riffle I've looked at, dry or almost dry at 40cfs, has thousands of Glossoma clinging to stones left high and dry-how long can they live up in the air? How about the mayfly nymphs, black fly larvae and other aquatic food organisms that can't necessarily move when the flow is pulled out from over them-can they survive in a little dampness? I'm willing to bet that millions of bugs will or have already perished from these flow drops. Thats a lot of fish food!