Salmon Run
A male and female Salmon preparing to spawn in the south fork of the Eel River near the Humboldt Mendocino County Line [Photo by Talia Rose]
One of the benefits of getting older is the ability to notice patterns, things that escaped us when we were younger. With time and distance, we can step back and watch the ebb and flow of life cycles and the way in which the world around us has changed.
This year, if all goes right, may promise to be good year for the fish in the south fork of the Eel River against all odds. The salmon have been running, in numbers most of us have only witnessed a handful of times.
[Info sheet from the National Park Service]
Local wildlife photographer, Talia Rose, was able to capture images and video of the salmon run in mid-November.
To learn more about restoration efforts in tributaries to the south fork of the Eel River, read ‘Hope for Salmon in the Tenmile Creek Watershed‘.
To view more of Talia’s wildlife photography, visit her County Line Wild Facebook page.
School of Salmon [Photo by Talia Rose]
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Learned something new. I always thought that salmon swim. 😬
🤔🧐Nobody thinks that’s funny…😁
Maybe my cousin SomeBody will. 😀
🤔🧐
Somebody, for sure, thinks it’s funny…
🙂
Everybody thinks it’s funny.
🤔🧐Nobody agrees…😁
I think YOU are pretty funny
🤔🧐You should see me when I dress up in my costume…🇺🇸😁
Dam removal in Washington has exceeded expectations https://www.opb.org/article/2022/08/02/elwha-river-transformed-10-years-after-dam-removal/
Hey buddy, your door is a’jar.
My door identifies as a jar.
I’m thoroughly enjoying the humor here today. But… Back to the point. I’ve noticed that there are salmon in most every hole just below a riffle. As a 5th generation native of the south fork Eel noticing the salmon runs has become genetic to me.
Most of my family would spend thanksgiving day fishing. The fall rains would bring the salmon up the river and the weather always seemed to clear up just enough to fish. The Old-Timers seemed to know what the weather would be, long before the accurate forecasts of today. All the storms and dry spells were named and expected.
The time to view salmon is perfect right now, The river is crystal clear. A great place to see them is the pool just north of Fish Creek in Benbow. Take the old road south of Benbow Drive, park by the big rock and hike up the dirt road over the old slide. Look in the pool just below the riffle. 25 or so salmon are in the pool. They have been in the river a long time, some are very sore.
The great runs this year are more a result of good spawning conditions 2-3 years ago than any other factor.
The weather patterns used to be considerably more consistant, making it much easier to make plans. The weather has become progressively more erratic in the past 50 years.
As the salmon go so goes the human race, unfortunately.
When the earth has nothing more to give then it will die
Would very much love to see a large resurgence in the amazing, resilient, beautiful and flavorful salmon in local watersheds.
I remember as a kid in the 80s, the fish came up Ten Mile in great numbers all the way to (and beyond) the Steele Ln. bridge
My dad talked about steelhead in the creek beside the PG&E substation in Laytonville when he was a kid.
All the water in that creek now goes to a pond in the upper creek.
My Uncle fished for steelhead in the LA River…
Looks like there still might be a few in there…
But they should probably be left alone…
https://fishwithjd.com/2009/04/01/los-angeles-river-steelheading/
The L.A. River was perhaps the last regularly used steelhead stream in the southernmost extreme range of steelhead. Now, it’s been straightened and almost totally paved, “completely improved” as the oxymoron goes. Several good car chases were filmed there, but the best may be “To Live and die in L.A.”. This “dickflick” is quite a testosterone hit, but worth it for young Willem Dafoe and William Peterson. Keep a bit of epinephrine around if you hyperventilate.
Rumors say an occasional steelhead still flops it’s way across the concrete in wet years, looking for a mate and some gravel.
Cahto Creek ?
In the sentence immediately following the Life Cycle diagram… the correct term is not smelt, but smolts, which are juvenile salmonids migrating downstream and transitioning from freshwater to saltwater.
Thank you. I learn something new every day.
JOY!