Loleta Eric Shares Observations on Chinook Salmon in the Eel River
The Old Edge near Bear Creek [Photo by Eric Stockwell]
Recently, Eric, known to many as Loleta Eric, shared his observations and thoughts on the Chinook Salmon in the Eel River:
Took my stand-up routine on the road, er, river yesterday. 14 miles on the Main below the forks at Dyerville. I stand on the kayak so I can see the redds on the tailouts and in the swift runs. Fishing closed as of Friday evening due to low flows – it was a relief to only see a couple of people tossing lures in the low, clear water at Dyerville on Friday afternoon. The fish showed a distinct reaction to the closure, as, on Friday, we only saw one redd out of 13 with fish on it. Yesterday, with the river closed to fishing, there were spawners on almost all of the 17 new redds I observed and documented.
It seems to me that when spawning is occurring, the river should be closed to fishing, because it’s obvious that even catch and release fishing is detrimental to the success of the spawning fish. This “take” is illegal, but until our culture affords these animals the respect and reverence that they deserve, we’ll continue to flounder in a sort of limbo, where the vast majority of people support the ability of these threatened populations to spawn and hopefully to increase their numbers, and a small percentage of people act like it’s their right to impede that beneficial outcome to satisfy their desire for “sport”.
As we tracked several thousand Chinook on the lower river in October, more and more arrived, and the earliest ones had been there since late September. Now, as the fish continue to age in the fresh water, more and more of them will time-out and need to start spawning while they still have the energy. Part of this process allows for them to continue waiting, preserving energy to ascend further if the flows come, but the main driver is strong here – they will spawn and die soon, and not getting that job done is unacceptable. This is one of the attributes of the salmon lifecycle that presents a valuable lesson to human beings, if we listen.
To see our slice of the world through Eric’s eyes, check out his Facebook accounts where he shares images of his various outdoor adventures on both his personal page and his business page, Loleta Eric’s Guide Service.
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I once was fortunate to take a tour of the Eel estuary with Eric. It was fascinating and informative (dress warm). I appreciate his observations here. Seems to me that people who love salmon would be happy to forego fishing at all for, say 4 years, just to see how the fish population responds.
to really improve the fishery, just add water.
Something needs to be done about the sea lions. This is something that no one talks about. In my opinion, they are the biggest threat to the salmon. They present an absolute gauntlet. It’s a miracle that any fish can get through!
yet somehow they have been successfully doing it for tens of thousands of years. I’m thinking the sea lions are not the problem. the same inept thinking occurs on the east coast and apparently the seals wiped out the cod out there.
Think again. I think with the ocean being in terrible shape and the rivers being in terrible shape, the sea lions become a significant problem. Plus, I understand the the indigenous people routinely harvested them.
P.S. I don’t pretend to be an expert on the subject.
we don’t really have an ocean problem here. our rockfish and groundfish populations are in great shape regardless of what DFW says. our river problem is related to a series of cause and effect relationships that filled in the deep holes and changed the habitat. the logging methods of old started the process. the bottom line is that seals like slow fish and a nice safe spot to sleep. don’t confuse their spot to sleep with where they like to fish.
As always, Eric has a great perspective in his love and knowledge of nature and the health of the Eel River basin
The river has been zero take fishing for years. The impact of fishermen on the population is negligible at worst.
me thinks it better to have honest, law abiding, anglers on the river then close it to all angling which leaves poachers unobserved.
It could still be patrolled if closed to all fishing.
Me thinks the point was to keep the river closed during spawning season
It was good to see the Salmon under Dean Creek Bridge on the South Fork last week. I was absolutely both in shock and thrilled at the same time!
I always recommend Loleta Eric to all me visiting mates for a good day. However being scared of water is their biggest excuse not to go out with him! Flat landers! LOL!
I couldn’t agree more…
“the river should be closed to fishing, because it’s obvious that even catch and release fishing is detrimental to the success of the spawning fish.”