Note: This is from Pasadena Casting Club, but has broad appeal to the fly fishing community. — Jim Burns
Dear PCC members,
As you probably know, Hot Creek has essentially crashed over the last year or more: few fish, small fish. Recent DFW electroshocking bears this out.
Dr. Mark Drew, eastern Sierra CalTrout Headwaters project director, told us at our September meeting that a perfect storm of factors is probably responsible. He listed the opening of Hot Creek to winter fishing without the promised Department of Fish and Wildlife annual health monitoring, the prolonged drought and the concomitant 50 percent decreased in the flow of the spring that feeds the stream as probable causes.
This year for the first time in memory, Mammoth Creek dried up briefly.
DFW has done a quick study and finds no issues with water quality or food availability. Under pressure from the community that would suffer economic loss if the fishery does not recover, they have decided to stock HC with diploid rainbow trout, which can mature and reproduce. CalTrout and DFW are asking for our help. Here are the details.
Monday, Sept. 26 through Friday, Sept. 30: help electroshock Mammoth Creek.
Thursday, Oct. 6: help with the placement of 6,000 fish in Hot Creek. (They plan to place 12,000 per year for several years, and do electroshock surveys to see how the spawn is doing.)
If you can participate in either or part of these scheduled tasks, please contact Dr. Mark Drew at mdrew@caltrout.org
or call him at (760) 709-1492. He will provide snacks and lunch.
Also please let me know if you are participating.
Thank you.
John Tobin
Conservation Chair
lariverflyfishing 