The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is evaluating whether and how to grant Pacific Gas & Electric a new license for hydropower operations on the McCloud. This license will determine streamflows on the Lower McCloud River for the next several decades. TOMORROW NIGHT is the deadline!! READ MORE!!!
CalTrout (along with Trout Unlimited and Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers) is supporting a flow regime that will preserve the river, its fish and an unmatched angling experience. TAKE 5 minutes to ensure a lifetime of fishing on the McCLoud River.
Here is what you need to do.
- Go to.
- http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp
- click on EComment and follow instructions.
- (Please file under the McCloud project number which is P-2106-047)
- Its easy. Tell them that you support Cal Trout’s recommendations.
After guiding this precious river for a decade, I have learned the intricacies of its cycle and how nature’s events create a world-class fishing destination. The McCloud River is one of the last bastions of truly healthy trout systems in California and is our pride and joy despite the fact that this wild and scenic river comes out of a pipe. I have seen the fishing stay at a prolific level my entire career. Since trout are highly sensitive and have very small parameters of survival, they are great indicators of a healthy eco system. Through many conservation efforts and reasonable management of the dam, the McCloud River has been able to develop into one of California’s finest trout habitats. In my opinion, all it needs is status quo or to be left alone.
There are few dams in the world that improve trout habitat but this is one that has. Thus there is a very big difference between natural and historic flows. For generations trout have evolved for the current flows. The McCloud River is a completely different river then the pre-dam river of the past. Including different species of fish. The McCloud River that we all know and love is dependent upon controlled flows. Thus the high historic flows would no longer be natural.
During this dam relicensing period it is important to note some very sensitive times on the McCloud.
#1
April and May is the spawning season for Rainbow Trout. The McCloud River rainbow is the most famous rainbow trout in the world, found everywhere from New Zealand to Chile. In their native habitat these fish find the perfectly sized pea gravel in the correct flows to make their nests (also known as redds). Redds are easily seen by the trained eye but often overlooked by the common eye. In fact, usually you can see the hen and buck tending and protecting their redds. March and April is noted as the typical time for this reproduction process, however every year I witness Redds and the fish protecting them throughout the month of May. I train my clients to identify and avoid them, as they are easily destroyed by a single footstep. Due to the drastic variable of any spring season, nature has extended the reproductive cycle of the McCloud River rainbow to be approximately three months long. Extending one month longer than what is commonly perceived. McCloud Rainbows have evolved to the ever changing and unpredictable events of spring in the mountains. Allowing for short periods of natural high snowmelt run off. Drastic dam releases however, are very disconcerting during these months. As the trout are unaware of any scheduled release they will spawn in inappropriate and unprotected areas, which could result in the demise of their nests.
If the river doubles in size overnight many if not most, redds will be washed away, the eggs and smolt along with them. Some smolt survive by seeking refuge in the shallows only to be stranded when waters quickly recede. During the flow studies of 2008, I came across numerous dried-up pools filled with dozens of dried-up fingerlings. They were strong enough and smart enough to seek the appropriate refuge but never could have predicted a hand on a valve opening and closing it at the will of needed power or even desired recreation.
#2
If all goes well there will be thousands of hungry fingerlings during the month of June. Survival requires getting large fast and thus the McCloud provides two prolific hatches. The salmon fly and golden stonefly hatch in June is so essential that these fish can put on some serious weight in one month. The stoneflies are between 1 – 3 inches long, and are gobbled up by fish the same size and larger. The sight of this hatch is mind altering and is such a sought after vision that anglers travel from all over the country and a few from over-seas to witness it and take advantage of the feeding frenzy that ensues. The fishing is the best of the year by leaps and bounds, as the crowds of happy anglers can testify. Fish can double or triple their weight in this month and without this smorgasbourge they would have to rely on standard mayflies and caddis to reach reasonable size. The McCloud River is a world-class fishery because of this hatch and one other to be discussed later. Stoneflies crawl along the bottom of the river and out onto rocks and vegetation to molt and turn into adult flying insects. Later they will mate in the trees and subsequently lay their eggs back in the water again offering themselves up as a meal for hungry, perceptive and agile trout. Since they are in the “crawlers” category they too can be easily washed down-stream during drastic flow changes. June is the month fish are nourished after a long winter and reproductive spring. Though there are many insects on the menu, stoneflies are always the main course in June. The river cannot be without these in vast numbers.
#3
Summer along the banks of the McCloud is fortified with huge elephant ear, grasses, trees, berry bushes and wild azalea. This makes that classic 50-foot dry-fly cast a bit impossible and requires force to penetrate through for access. Yet this protection is its health. The thick forest around the McCloud especially on its banks offer essential needs to a healthy trout stream. The most obvious is biomass, shade and shelter. But, this flora also is an essential rookery for everything trout eat. Every bush, stem and leaf on the McCloud’s banks has dozens of mayflies, caddis, stoneflies and midges creating their own circle of life. Without such rookeries there would be less trout food. I need not spell out what that means. Though I believe the fish could survive temporary high flows, the bugs could not year after year after year and once the bugs diminish the wild trout will be stories of the good ole days.
# 4
Summer goes by with fantastic fishing including scheduled mayfly hatches and the welcoming of the migratory brown trout up from the lake to spawn later in the fall. It’s the fall when things once again become delicate. With the browns making their redds in the fall, we have the same issues as in spring with the delicate redds, eggs, smolt and fingerlings. Unlike the spring, however, the fish don’t have a nice summer filled with prolific sun/warmth driven mayfly hatches. Winter will soon follow fall, and in the animal kingdom that means it’s time to put on some weight. Thus the McCloud provides the meatiest hatch of all. The October caddis hatch is absurd with a huge 2 inch moth like insects clumsily flying around and getting gobbled up. In their nymph or aquatic form they make their homes portable out of small rocks mortared around them like the shell of a hermit crab. They carry around these heavy cases all during the late summer and can easily lose their grip with a sudden flow change, an angler’s footstep or even the swoop of a paddle. Come fall they free themselves from their cases, swim to the surface and fly away by the millions. Its amazing to see and the trout, birds, weasels, bats and just about everything else stuffs themselves in anticipation of a long cold winter. No food source of this multitude will be provided until the stonefly hatch of the following June, and the cycle continues.
To my observation and data gathering, which I call fishing, it seems that everything is at its best at an average flow of 220 to 250 at the Ah Di Na gage. There are three gages on the McCloud River. Ah Di Na is the middle gauge and located between the two largest tributaries, Hawkins Creek and Squaw Valley Creek. In past springs, when the runoff is high, the tributaries can easily help the McCloud reach the 220 – 250 at Ah Di Na. The highest gauge is just below the dam with no significant natural additional inflow. When the tributaries are flowing high this stretch of the river has a minimum dam release outflow of approximately 80 cfs. This needs to be higher, at about 120-150 cfs regardless of the run-off happening downstream. There are several miles between the dam and Hawkins Creek. These miles are rich with spawning habitat and filled with Redds in the spring and fall. In the spring, I’ve seen redds in dangerously shallow water because the dam release was cut back as the tributaries rose down stream. We must think of this stretch as a trout nursery and maintain its integrity with a minimum release of 120-150 cfs. As the spring run off subsides the release should increase to hit the 220-250 minimum at Ah Di Na gage downstream. Natural blowouts from Hawkins Creek and Squaw Valley Creek seem to recover with little notice. Simply because they must be designed better then a valve. It must be noted that one major difference between a tributary naturally contributing to high flows versus a dam release is the replenishment of highly sought after pea gravel which trout use to create their redds. While the tributaries flush this precious pea gravel down to the river each spring the dams high releases flushes it out. Spawning habitat is essential for the survival of any species.
I spend more time along the banks and in this river than anyone I know and have keen observational skills, which contribute to my success as a river guide. Learning the river and how nature’s cycles relate to fishing is key to the success of my career. Thus I hope my observations will be taken into consideration.
Something I always like to tell my client is fly fishing is about adjusting to nature not about adjusting nature to you.
Orvis
RB Meiser
California Trout
Patagonia
TED FAY FLY SHOP
John, thanx for all your interest in preserving what we all have come to love and treasure on the McCloud. You are a very valuable asset for all of us flyfishing nuts who come and go but depend on you to take care of her while we’re gone.
I support 100% Cal Trout’s recommendations. Great article. I appreciate you sharing your local knowledge and experience.
John, As you see I wrote this about a year ago. Having read the blog above I thought it a good time to share it. Good work.
September 2009
The De Facto Steward of the McCloud
The austere Northeast corner of California resides in Modoc County, the Northwest corner in Del Norte. The vast expanse between the two is Siskiyou County. The region is home to only 45,000 residents. Therefore, it is “Big Country”, and has always been so.
The book, Shasta’s Headwaters, by Craig Ballenger, has an excellent recounting of the Siskiyou area’s early history while also focusing on its rivers, fisheries and insect hatches. The historical record starts with the Wintu Indians that lived along the McCloud River (the author gives credit for innovation of high stick nymphing to a Wintu Indian) on through to the appearance of loggers, miners, and railroad men in the 1800’s. Joaquin Miller, Livingston Stone, William Randolph Hearst, Elda Masson, George Scott, William Van Arsdale, Ted Fay, all names that through one colorful means or another, left an indelible mark on the territory.
I could not help thinking when closing the book at its end that when its companion is written fifty years from now, that John Rickard should figure prominently in that history.
Seriously.
***
The McCloud is a “Summertime river”, closed November 15 through to May. It is still great in the Fall and Spring, but in the summer it sports Golden Stone-fly hatches, warm trade-wind like afternoon breezes, cool air above the chilling river-water that subdues the baking heat of the day … canyon-wall shadows in the evening. Its canopy of firs and pines hides and isolates providing an intimacy. It is filled with little “cookie-cutter” Rainbow trout that all look the same and at once all different, each being individually tinged in gold, purple, or silver.
The tailwater stretch of the river below the McCloud Lake dam runs south about a quarter mile before turning west. That length runs along the Pacific Crest Trail much less than two miles before it enters an essentially inaccessible canyon with impossibly steep walls. So, there is not really that much room for fishing and yet at the same time because of the intrinsic beauty and serenity and purity there … it is enough for a lifetime.
On the McCloud, John is in his element.
Lucky really … only few people find their element … fewer still have courage enough to live it.
***
John knows every stagnation point to the fore and to the rear of each rock holding a trout. He knows the precise line through every pocket and the exact spot along that line that will induce a strike. He knows each deep pool where the big Rainbows hold when they migrate up the river from Shasta Lake in the late summer. He knows where the immense Browns make their redds in the Fall. He knows all the trails down to the river and all the false, dead-end trails as well.
On our last trip there at the end of August he led us down to a pool below a roaring twisting ess in the river over a steep gradient. The ripping white water was a menacing obstacle to trout migrating upstream. John knew that several might hold in the pool to gather themselves before pushing through. “I’ve got them penned in” he had said slyly before we set out from the cars that morning.
With my 3-wt we were immediately into little 10” Rainbows that would come up a few feet off the bottom to our two bead-headed nymphs (no weights) that we had riding fairly high in the water column. In just a few minutes we had hooked and landed and released 3 or 4 and had missed sets on 3 or 4 more.
And then, as suddenly as the action had turned on, it ended. We made another 3 or 4 good drifts, one after the other with no apparent activity. John ruminated, “Maybe something big just moved in?” He handed me over a 6-wt rigged with three nymphs, a large rubber-legged Stone-fly and two bead heads below. The overall weight of the flies was sufficient to drop all three down deeper into the water. On the third drift with this set up I saw a bright under-belly roll deep below just as the indicator dipped.
My set met a firm brace, the weight of the big fish immediately apparent. It shot up and exploded the surface and then dove back down deep. I could make out its shadowy silhouette as it easily held its ground against both the line tension and the stream current. Together, hanging with it through two more jumps and runs, we would net it five minutes later, 19” and very stout, a 3 or 4 pound fish.
In the next ten minutes we would pull out two more from the same location. Each ran at 18” … this was unprecedented “Big-Fish-success” for me on this river.
John knew they would be there. They are his fish. It’s like he had made a pact with them: “I’ll see you there at noon” and nature had accommodated. A virtual wild animal show.
***
To be certain, there are threats to the McCloud. Drinking water companies argue over rights to the river water, recreational kayakers argue for controlled high flows … these are just the current threats … there have been and there will be others. California’s record for defending and managing resources like the McCloud is far from spotless. Conservation may appear to the fore, but the back issues are political and financial.
These days John is called on to participate in open forum discussions with lawyers from the energy and water companies, Fish and Game and State Water District representatives, conservation groups, and the public, all present. He is called to represent the river more than the fishermen. He is more aware of and connected to the intricate cyclic relations between the river, its insects, its fish, than a trained biologist … effectively part of the equation being that he stands amid it all working day-to-day.
He has become (through no explicit intention) the care-taker of the McCloud … Its hillsides, its canyon-walls, its fish and animals.
***
Near the end of the day, I had just hooked and was busy bringing in a 10” Rainbow and as I did John worked over to my left to the far end of the midstream boulder that we both stood on. We would land the little trout there, urging it against the moderate current. As I reeled, at the edge of my right periphery I caught sight of a water snake. Taking my eye off the trout I turned to see a 24-30” Garter pushing up against the rocky streamside. It held fast to a small Brown trout that it had somehow managed to grab onto head-on. Struggling together the two looked like an impossible, mutant, amphibian, snake tail tapering on one end, fish tail on the other.
I pointed the two out to John who had just netted the Rainbow and had quickly released him back into the river. I maneuvered on the slippery rock preparing to reach down and lift up with the little snake draped over my rod tip.
John moves over the river like a ghost, first he is here, then he is there, and he glides across rocks and boulders with such facility that you may not be aware of the motion between. It was just like that once I pointed out the “snake-fish”. Before I could turn to them he had swooped by me, moved to the far right side of our rock and deftly scooped the two into his net. In one motion he had separated the two and flipped each into the water to go their separate ways.
He glanced at me, but said to himself under his breath, half-mocking, half-serious, “Not on my river! Not today!”
***
Of course John has no claim to any part of the McCloud whatsoever. No property rights, no liens, no appointment from Fish and Game or Cal Trout. But, his nearly day-to-day presence there, and his vigilance, and his deep bond with the river gives him a more legitimate claim than anyone else … any corporation … any individual.
For now, the river is in good hands.
The good that I do is by introducing you to the McCloud, and by supporting Cal Trout and the Nature Conservancy.
John,
That is beautiful writing and I couldn’t agree more with with the comments. Your friend D. Price captures very eloquently my experience with you on the river as well. Thanks for taking care of our river so well.
All my best,
Peter
John – I wen to the site and posted the support comment as you suggested. Had a GREAT time with Chuck on Monday. Tom from Orvis was super too.