Fish and Wildlife Vehicles Headed Up Salmon Creek

Department of Fish and Wildlife vehicles

Department of Fish and Wildlife vehicles [Photo by Norma Martin]

Just before 8:30 a.m., several  vehicles–at least one Humboldt County Sheriff vehicle and one Department of Fish and Wildlife truck (according to two reports)–headed up Salmon Creek Road west of Miranda. The vehicles stopped at a pullout near Thomas Road and the occupants walked up Salmon Creek Road to the nearby bridge. They then walked off the road towards the Creek.

UPDATE 9:12 a.m.: Norma Martin, a local resident, tells us there is one green Fish and Wildlife vehicle, one dark SUV Fish and wildlife and two white unmarked cars. Martin said her husband spoke to the Fish and Wildlife folks who were walking south along the creek and they said they were just in the area to check the channel and depth of the creek.

 

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46 Comments
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MOGTX
Guest
6 years ago

Hopefully they are busting people other that natives of Humboldt co.you all know who i mean .im happy to see fish and wildlife is doing work our lame sheriff dept is not .to bad it is not a meth lab .wishfull thinking .good mourning kym .your site is the first thing I look at everyday thank you kym for all you do for our community.

Realwood
Guest
Realwood
6 years ago
Reply to  MOGTX

Rodger that! Hey Kym, has there been any updates on the Whitethorn road A Fish & Wildlife visit? Thank you for your reports.

10toes
Guest
10toes
6 years ago
Reply to  Realwood

Yeah deff what’s up w that ?

Realwood
Guest
Realwood
6 years ago
Reply to  Realwood

No answers? Im hoping they will be held responsible for the damages they have caused to our streams. These greed rushers need to be regulated & kept an eye on. I notice as soon as the heat leaves they just go right back to doing what they were doing! Invasive parasites!

Truthy
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  MOGTX

I hope they don’t exempt the local water hogs and fish killers, too. Born local doesn’t mean you get to trash a watershed. Second gen marijuana industrialists are what’s ruining my neighborhood.

Brownclown
Guest
Brownclown
6 years ago

Lets hope they remind the messy ones to keep their junk and shit piles away from waterways. Not sure but um I heard ironically salmon,creek hasnt had salmon in decades.
Pucker up your sphincters, here they come!

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
6 years ago
Reply to  Brownclown

Have heard there are salmon in Salmon Creek. But if not…..
Does the Eel have eel?
Do the Garbers live in Garberville?
Are the Meyers in Myers Flat?
Are there many redwoods in Redwood valley?
Does Lolita still live in Loleta?
😉

Veterans friend
Guest
Veterans friend
6 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

The Myers in Myers Flat are in the cemetary.
There are eels in the Eel.

LOKL
Guest
LOKL
6 years ago

The Myers Family Cemetery is located a short distance from the end of West Rd.

LynnMae
Guest
LynnMae
6 years ago

And it’s a big year for eels in the Eel…perhaps due to the removal of the dam, or maybe other things. Great photographer in the area documents the ‘locals’ around the eel. Here’s a photo she took of an osprey that has just caught an eel..either to feed itself or to feed offspring. There’s bald eagles in her area also, and they’re feasting on the eels. https://www.facebook.com/countylinewild/photos/a.452777811507244.1073741831.451068818344810/1264807793637571/?type=3&theater

Lost Croat Outburst
Guest
Lost Croat Outburst
6 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

John Garber left Garberville long ago. Technically, the eels here are lampreys. They have declined greatly. There is another Redwood Valley near Ukiah if memory serves. Where are the candlefish (eulachon)?

It's true
Guest
It's true
6 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

Lol! There are lots of salmon that spawn in salmon creek,there are also crawdads,eels,and turtles fyi

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
6 years ago
Reply to  Brownclown

I was curious if there are any salmon in Salmon Creek? Does anyone know?

Life time local
Guest
Life time local
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

How do you know Kim?
I’ve lived here my whole life…I believe you have too…. Often in local creeks and rivers there are a few of a struggling species where the general public never sites them and correctly identify them. What makes you believe there are no salmon in salmon creek?

hooktender
Guest
hooktender
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

As far as Salmon Creek goes, the spawning Kings I saw were in October-Early November of 2012.
There is a 150 yard stretch of the creek at my place where there 100’s spawning Kings.The spawning grounds were perfect, with small gravel for the redds and little current.
I mentioned then, that this was probably the last year we would spawning Kings.
Major excavations were kicking into high gear and you could see the effect on the creek.
Now the “perfect” spawning ground is filled in with fine silt, which will smother the eggs.
It now takes 5-10 days longer after a storm for the creek to clear, same thing for the S. Fork.
I have kept records for years on the flows in the river so I would know when and where to fish. It now takes much longer for the creeks and rivers to clear. Now, it takes so long to clear, you only have 1/4 the days to fish in perfect flows.
Now when you float the S.Fork, it is like you are floating a entirely different river than 5-7 years ago.
For the last 4 years, I have acted as a guide for the UCD fisheries dept.
The final refuge for spawning Kings on the S.Fork is from the Hermitage to Branscomb.Not nearly as much damage has occurred there… yet.
From 2004-12, I averaged between 2-300 Kings and Steelhead caught a year. From 2013 on, I have averaged fish.
I used to fish for lamprey in the 70’s on the S.Fork.We caught all we wanted, the best place was Phillipsville beach. We fished at night with lanterns on a pole and used eel hooks made in S.Forks metal shop. You don’t actually hook the lamprey, you get the lamprey in the bend of the hook and sling them onto the beach.
This is the last King I caught 12-12-2012, 30lbs.
Normally, we don’t take these fish out of water, but this one broke my rod and was wrapped up in braid,so I no choice.

No tight lines to you
Guest
No tight lines to you
6 years ago
Reply to  hooktender

Ain’t a reason in the world to use a boga grip on an Eel River King.
That picture makes me want to puke.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
6 years ago
Reply to  hooktender

Thanks a lot for all your info. It takes a lot of water to provide for roughly 300 households. Those springs all used to go into Salmon Creek.

It's true
Guest
It's true
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

They aren’t so easy to spot, they hide under rock ledges and protective pockets.i watched several large fish make there way up the creek last year,the fish and game might not find em walking but there’s still lots that spawn there

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Thanks very much for your reply. I hope you’re wrong but you would know.

Lost Croat Outburst
Guest
Lost Croat Outburst
6 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Used to be a big run, by all accounts, in the much smaller Salmon Creek near CR. Part of the Wildlife Refuge near the mouth. Attempts have been made to revive the run, don’t how it went.

G-MAS
Guest
G-MAS
6 years ago

Huh!hopefully they’ll catch all those water suckers!

Gazoo
Guest
Gazoo
6 years ago

Stay safe Humco

sam creek
Guest
sam creek
6 years ago

I live pretty far up Salmon Creek {about a mile south of the bulletin board) and was remarking that I didn’t see the usual 50 or 60 minnows in our cool off spot..a minute or so later..a 20 inch eel came meandering by..first I,ve seen up here in my 19 yr residency..Do they eat minnows?

Life time local
Guest
Life time local
6 years ago
Reply to  sam creek

They are lamprey and they clean the rocks…I believe… but don’t quote me on it. They are what the eel was named for.

Zando
Guest
Zando
6 years ago

I believe the lamprey are parasitic. They attach to salmon and steelhead (and probably other large fish), use their tongue to tear a hole through the skin, and drink their blood.
Hopefully someone who knows better can correct me.

Life time local
Guest
Life time local
6 years ago
Reply to  Zando

Yes but only parasitic after they mature correct ? They eat debris as babies as far as I know. They are the arasitic after making there way to the ocean and it would seem possibly when they run back up the river….
http://calfish.ucdavis.edu/species/?uid=61&ds=241
Check this out it explains
I think the large one described in earlier comments would be transitioning or already parasitic but they feed on detritus when they are young and for most of their time in the river.

Zando
Guest
Zando
6 years ago

Thanks for the follow up. These eels are so interesting. I still have friends who do not believe they live in our rivers.

Lost Croat Outburst
Guest
Lost Croat Outburst
6 years ago

If you want to get technical, there may be up to four species, one or two predatory and one or two stream-dwelling scavengers. They are jawless, just big sucker mouths. True eels are jawed fishes. These lampreys are very primitive. You know how rich salmon is. The parasitic lampreys suck fats, juices, proteins, blood out of salmon. Another step up on the food chain. Very rich and oily by all accounts and considered a delicacy local tribes.

LOKL
Guest
LOKL
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Yuriko says they make great sushi but require marinating.

hooktender
Guest
hooktender
6 years ago

30 or so years ago, we used to catch a few large trout(small Steelhead) and suckers with lampreys still attached. On others we would see circular scars/sores where they had come off.
This was in the Spring, when the lampreys run.

Dang
Guest
Dang
6 years ago

We saw a 20+” steelhead in the main stem a couple of days ago…water is still running high. We usually see the steelies in March but I’m guessing they’re still there due to the late rains. I’m sure that fish was headed downstream back to the ocean…F&G will probably see it.

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
6 years ago

Well. While we are at it, talking about eel and species that eat and clean the environment (invasive or not)…..
I have a ton of (what I believe are) BULL FROG POLLYWOGS in my pond. I know how destructive BF’s are.
Any suggestions on getting rid of the pollywogs without contaminating the pond or introducing invasive species?

Zando
Guest
Zando
6 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

Bullfrogs are highly invasive. They will eat almost anything. Get a frog gig (bamboo pole with barbed, steel prongs on the end). At night, have someone hold a light pointed at them so they can’t see then you stab/gig them. Obviously you have to wait until they mature, but it is very effective. Frog legs also taste pretty good.

Bruce
Guest
Bruce
6 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

Drain the pond to storage tanks in late July or early August. Natural ponds in this area were almost all vernal and either drained or evaporated in late summer. Native pond species (frogs etc.) almost all have life cycles that survive a dry time. Harvest all the bullfrog legs you can eat.
Or invite a Heron to lunch.

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
6 years ago
Reply to  Bruce

Thanks for the suggestions!
Question: If the frogs “survive a dry time”, what is the value in draining the pond? I usually drain and refill my swimming pond this time of year. When I do, and it’s low, maybe I can net the pollywogs and cast them into the brush.
And. Will look for a ‘Rent-a-Heron’!

Zando
Guest
Zando
6 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

I think he means that the natives (non-bullfrogs) will survive if you dry the pond, where the bullfrogs will not. That is a good suggestion.
I would be curious if the birds wold show up naturally to a drying pond, knowing that they can catch whatever is left over.

Bruce
Guest
Bruce
6 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

Zando is right. Bullfrogs need the late summer water. The natives– insects, amphibians and even pond environment plants– either have already mated, left eggs or “larvae” or seeds that can weather the dryness, or have another strategy for adult survival til the rains return. Reports are that predators do sense the easy pickings. If nothing else ravens will sometimes show up and they always tell tell the whole neighborhood.

silverlining
Guest
silverlining
6 years ago

I do like their sound. Bummer they are invasive.

Buzzard
Guest
Buzzard
6 years ago

How in the fuck did the topic of fish n game busting potential grows go to 32 comments on “dude fishing” tales??? wTF

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
6 years ago
Reply to  Buzzard

You must be new to this site. Comments here often take on a life of their own.

Thebigdeal
Guest
Thebigdeal
6 years ago

I call bullshit on the claim the creek/rivers clear slower then previous years. After a large storm the rivers are nowcfishable in two to theee days. In years past it was about a week. Its due to the reduction of logging and the modern forest practice act.

Blowing it up
Guest
Blowing it up
6 years ago
Reply to  Thebigdeal

Do you live on the river?

gunther
Guest
gunther
6 years ago

“….. they said they were just in the area to check the channel and depth of the creek.”

The horror.