Thanks to mother nature, another good day at the dam. Before the start of the day, we had transferred 1259 Chinook Salmon! Thanks to all the volunteers for a job well done! A good time was had by all!
The heavy rains we had yesterday helped get the fish moving from the East side of the upper dam. Unfortunately the heavy downpour also did significant damage to the fencing that was put in place to corral the fish. Again, thanks to the volunteers who help with the debris cleanup and re-installation of the fencing.
No lifting was done yesterday due to the high and muddy water conditions, but today was another story. The water level had dropped enough to permit "easy" netting of these terrific torpedoes. The water was still roiled and murky enough that the fish couldn't see the nets and were very approachable. I don't have the official tally for the day, but I'm guessing there were easily over 200 fish transferred! Quite a mixed bag today as the rainy weather brought up some Brown and Rainbow Trout and a few Coho Salmon.
The group also prepared sand bags in preparation for rerouting the creek when the water level returns to its normal flow. The plan is to slow the flow on the West side above the island thereby increasing the flow on the East side to permit the fish to proceed upstream from the holding pool at the release point above the dam.
As you can see from these images, this transfer has become a family event and quite an attraction.
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| Are we having any fun? |
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| Treat with tender loving care. |
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| Everybody getting into the act |
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| This is how you bag the salmon |
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| Are you ready with the bag? |
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| Okay, here goes! |
Great camera work Charlie! You've captured some really great memories for all the volunteers who have committed their time to this very important event. Lets make sure that everyone knows about your blog and the postings you make on a daily basis.
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