On Tuesday the only state agency with the power to rebalance water diversions needed to restore salmon runs meets to look at the year ahead.  This agency, the State Water Board, has stalled instead of doing the hard work needed to stem the loss of our main Central Valley salmon runs.  We're trying to get a critical mass of people...
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Everyone is taking a deep sigh of relief as wet weather finally returns to California. However, a burning question still remains: will it be enough to get us out of our current “drought deficit”? A drought or precipitation deficit builds up over time when a region experiences much less rainfall than typically expected. Like a bad dream, signs of drought...
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What does the weather have to do with fish and fishing? Many people have asked that question. The weather had much to do with fishing. If we have had fair to good rain to get fish to come into the river to spawn, if the rivers get low amounts of rain then there is very low spawning, if the rivers...
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Just as the steelhead season began to show signs of life, another round of wet storms is set to wreak havoc. All the coastal rivers are bracing for increased river flows certain to curtail any hopes of green water for some time. But these storms bring a little good news with them. For the first time this year, we should...
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Despite countless studies seeking to determine what makes an individual Oncorhynchus mykiss “decide” to migrate to sea and become a steelhead, or stay in freshwater and become a rainbow trout, the behavior of these fish continues to defy simple explanation. For example, some studies have found O. mykiss that grow most rapidly are more likely to migrate, whereas others have found the exact opposite. These inconsistencies result...
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Last week’s storms finally provided some of the flushing and scouring our coastal rivers desperately needed. As they’ve all now dropped back into fishable shape, the question has become, “where are the fish?” Other than the Chetco, which is dealing with some slides, all the coastal rivers are some shade of green and fishable. There just seems to be a...
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