The Creek ends here
By KBarton10 on May 9, 2009 in Brownlining, Fly Fishing
I may have been just a tad hasty distancing myself from all those blueline trout fiends – now that I’ve been banned from all other venues, some dry fly purist dam operator just gave me my comeuppance.
Add three consecutive years of drought, a ton of tomatoes, and a satanic water manager with a grudge, and it’s time for a profuse apology.
“I love trout fishermen and their pristine environs, in fact, some of my best friends fish dry flies...”
Rings kinda hollow, but it was a semi-sincere first attempt. I figured a stunning Mother’s Day bouquet left on his porch tommorrow, with the inscription, “Me sorry, now turn the creek back on Mother%$**r.”
The “home water” is no more. Potholes and the deeper runs will contain water, but as temperatures grow and the flow isn’t restored – it’ll be a dead creek shortly.
Not much a fellow can do other than empty his hydration bag in the deep spot, and stifle the sobs with Shad.
Dave | May 9, 2009 | Reply
Damn. That’s sad.
Trout Underground | May 9, 2009 | Reply
Holy crap. Would a half stick of dynamite help? (Hayduke lives!)
KBarton10 | May 9, 2009 | Reply
The eight or so miles below this is where I fish, now it’s just potholes with muddy ATV tracks where the Mayflies used to grow.
Fish Whisperer | May 10, 2009 | Reply
That really sucks.
Trout Underground | May 10, 2009 | Reply
Before we were only kidding around the idea of Brownliners Unlimited. Now…
Simon Graham | May 10, 2009 | Reply
Shit that looks bleak….don’t know what to say Bruv!
Igneous Rock | May 10, 2009 | Reply
Whiners…Your lookin at dry flies and Sand Trout! Just as I unpack a new set of waders from a BassPro box!!!! Sigh.
Ed Wahl | May 11, 2009 | Reply
That really chaps my hide. The pic looks to be just downstream from one of the best holes in that stretch.
I fished it the week before last, still good water then, although a little skinnier that normal. I noticed a lot of empty bait containers and an absence of good fish in the easier access areas. I guess someones going to get aquainted with mercury poisoning shortly.
It’ll come back, but like KBarton said, it’ll be a couple of years. Time to find a new home water.
Ed
KBarton10 | May 11, 2009 | Reply
Ed, the picture shown is just downstream of the SYAR gravel compound. While the deepest spots still contain water – by August it’ll be lethal temperatures and fishless.
The trickle remaining is the size of a single garden hose.
David Lee | May 11, 2009 | Reply
All this for tomatos that taste like cardboard ?!?
It’d be swell if I knew who to blame – what/who exactly happened ??
KBarton10 | May 11, 2009 | Reply
David,
Saturday’s flow was 34 CFS, down from the historic 140 CFS for this time of year. As the tomatoes are now in the field and subject to irrigation needs, take 1/4 the flow and the needs of the farmers – and we get a dry creekbed.
The Yolo county water district controls the release from the dam, I assume a third consecutive year of drought is the overriding concern … for farmers.
David Lee | May 11, 2009 | Reply
KBarton10 -
Please Email me at sculpin65@sbcglobal.net
Thank you !
SMJ | May 13, 2009 | Reply
No fishing under the freeway this year.
David Lee | May 14, 2009 | Reply
Any word from the powers-that-be , KB ??
KBarton10 | May 14, 2009 | Reply
Yes, the creek and the water it contains (including all dams and diversions) are owned by the water district and farmers.
The fact that it’s dry suggests it’s oversubscribed and they’ve promised more water to the owners than Mother Nature can deliver.
If there is a fourth year of drought, they’ll be unable to deliver water to even more farmers and the creek may be dry all the way to the dam.
Most of the water is drawn by the farmers below tthe damn proper – their pumps are in the channel every year. Most of the farmers below the dry spot uses wells – which is why no one is shooting each other.
The stretch from the Cemex gravel pit to the golf course is called a “losing reach” – meaning water is absorbed into the ground as it traverses this run.
So the water company takes the water out of the natural channel and runs it down a concrete ditch so none is lost…
… except for all the fish, but they don’t count.
I’d say, we’re fooked.
David Lee | May 14, 2009 | Reply
KB -
Thank you for the update .
David Lee | May 15, 2009 | Reply
KB -
A group of us will be out tomorrow morning (Saturday) to shoot some photos . We have people on the phone to Cal DFG at the moment , and have the VP of Conservation of my local fly club getting to work on the situation .
Hopefully …. there will be something left to rescue when we reach that stage …..
Thank you for bringing this to the public’s attention !!
David
KBarton10 | May 15, 2009 | Reply
The picture was taken at 32 CFS – which has dropped to 24 CFS at midweek and is now 3 CFS today.
Looks like they’ve tighted the spigot completely.