Bugs
From Los Angeles Times environment writer Louis Sahagun:
Biologists and engineers are setting the stage for an environmental recovery effort in downtown Los Angeles that could rival the return of the gray wolf, bald eagle and California condor.
This time, the species teetering on the edge of extinction is the Southern California steelhead trout and the abused habitat is a 4.8-mile-long stretch of the L.A. River flood-control channel that most people only glimpse from a freeway.
The brutal vista of concrete and treated urban runoff exists as an impenetrable barrier to ancestral spawning grounds in the San Gabriel Mountains for the estimated 400 federally endangered Southern California steelhead left on Earth.
The Los Angeles River Fish Passage and Habitat Structures Design Plan, which is being championed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, aims to change all that with a carefully calibrated retrofit.
Read the whole story here. The Council for Watershed Health has launched a webpage allowing people to keep up with the progress of the fish passage project. Read my 2012 thoughts about the possible return of steelhead here.
See you on the river, Jim Burns
By Bob Blankenship
It seems like this time of year the big fish move into the shallows and work the holes and slots around the rocks. I made several casts to this guy and nothing, until he moved out into a gentle current and I was able to place my mop fly just above him and twitch it right in front of him. One of those rare casts that went right where I wanted it.
Low light is best, morning or evening. Fish like the fishing birds. Move little, cast less. Spot your fish and watch their behavior, then place your fly a bit beyond them and tease ‘em with it.
From the Southern Sierra Fly Fishers:
One of our many goals as a fly fishing club is to give back to the community. We created the California Fly Fishing Open with the hope of building stronger ties with fly fishing folks while also giving back to such an amazing community.
This year, we donated a set amount to @kernriverconservancy and Kern Valley Search and Rescue. Not even the fires and the pandemic can prevent us from having one of our biggest event of the year, the 2020 Virtual California Fly Fishing Open. Although, we have slightly changed a few things, we are excited to have it for many reasons:
🐟 Fish on any public waters in California
🐟 Chose either Saltwater or Freshwater
🐟 Partner team and you can fish separate waters or fish together. 🙌🏼
🐟 It’s free but we only ask each participant to be a member of our club
Tournament Details:
Date: Saturday, Sept. 26
Tournament Times: Fish anytime between 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Score Card via Fish Donkey App: All fish caught must be logged on the Fish Donkey App
Tournament Festivities: Will be held via Zoom, on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m.
Winners will be determined by the top positions of each leaderboard category (Freshwater Category and Saltwater Category).
First-, second- and third-place medals for each category (Freshwater and Saltwater):
Stringer measured by the total length of 25 Fish (Top 25 Fish)
Special trophy will also be presented to:
Largest Freshwater Fish (1)
Largest Saltwater Fish (1)
Awards are presented on the basis of length as determined through the mobile app and verified by tournament judges. The categories, species and official rules can be found in the FishDonkey app prior to the start of the tournament.
Not a club member? It’s $25 per person or $35 for family membership.
Asknature.org says “It’s time to ask nature” and after spending some time with the collection of thousands of nature’s solutions to problems, I heartily agree.
As the site proclaims, “If the history of life on Earth were put to a 24‑hour clock, humans would have been here shaping the world for mere seconds. As latecomers, it’s time to begin asking the rest of our complex planetary family how to build a more resilient, regenerative, and beautiful world.”
Click on this free online tool and type a question, “Conserve water,” for example, or “Protect from pathogens.”
This morning’s favorite was how to stop plastic pollution in rivers from reaching the ocean. The “floating coconet” mimics rows of fins inspired by the manta ray and basking shark to collect small pieces of plastic.
It’s an engrossing Sunday read.
See you on the river, Jim Burns
lariverflyfishing 