By Rosi Dagit
Guest Contributor
What a crazy time!!!
We were so grateful we rescued the trout before the first storm hit on Jan. 26, which filled all the pools with mud.
Think that any fish we left in the creek were killed by that and additional storm events that have made it possible to walk across formerly deep pools.
Thanks to the coordination with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Service, we released the trout back into the wild last Monday, Feb. 10, in a beautiful watershed along the Central Coast in Santa Barbara County.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they were able to find shelter from the most recent storm. However, I won’t be able to go back and check on them for a bit.
We really hope this sets the stage for CDFW and NMFS to be more proactive in translocating trout so that we have more watersheds holding more fish, creating population redundancy and resilience.
We are putting together a video that will be on the RCD website next week but attached below are a few photos.
Thanks to all who care about our southern steelies!
lariverflyfishing 
It’s been disheartening to see the habitat destruction. Anyone can point fingers and place blame, but that never solves problems. I stay involved in the streams I prowl and remove trash and clean up behind the careless, but this is at a whole other level. Part of me is non-interventionist and part of me says we need to do more. Ultimately, involvement is the best way to have your voice heard. While we often sit on the sidelines and cheer or perhaps complain, people are getting involved to do what they think is best for the native trout populations for future generations. That is noble, even if it turns out to be too little too late, but one must never let the what-ifs dictate doing the best you can. I’m cheering, and cheering for the trout population left behind to fend for itself as it has for thousands of years.