Aguabonita
October 1 – 2, 2005

by

November 2005

Joe, Jeff, Matt, Rodney, Gary, John, and Jerry

The Golden Trout Project started in 2004 as a collaborative effort by CalTrout and Trout Unlimited to help restore pure strains of native California golden trout. With matching grants from Orvis and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Project includes a wide range of annual conservation activities including electro-shock surveys, biological sampling expeditions, and habitat restoration.

A Kern River Golden (Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita)

The native range of golden trout lies high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the South Fork of the Kern River. While they live in a rugged area that is difficult to access, there are still numerous threats to these brightly colored gems. Habitat degradation is high on the list since the region is open to cattle grazing, an extremely damaging practice that degrades the stream banks and reduces shade. Another major threat is encroachment from non-native trout such as browns, brookies, and rainbows that not only compete for scarce resources, but also interbreed with the pure goldens, resulting in hybrids.

Motivated partly by the fact that the PFF had not done a hands-on conservation project in years, I started canvassing for volunteers in May for the work party scheduled in October at the Monache Meadows section of the Kern River. I was pleasantly surprised by the response - six PFFers (plus an honorary member from Las Vegas) committed their time to the project. In fact, a volunteer from the Kaweah Flyfishers in Visalia expressed embarrassment that we had a larger group than his club's muster. The main tasks would be taking down fencing that protects the river from grazing cattle and helping two electro-shocking crews. I admit, I've always wanted to volunteer for one of these surveys, just to see what's really down there. The answer, we found, had a mouth full of teeth perfect for swallowing golden trout. But I digress.

Navigation by Laptop - Not!

We split up into two SUVs. Jeff and John Eberle rode with Matt Rossi while Joe Eberle and I hitched a ride with Gary Trott. If there was ever a time that merited a serious 4-wheel drive vehicle, this was it. Gary very astutely filled his Ford Explorer's gas tank to the brim before we left I-5 and headed east into the Sierras, about half way between Visalia and Bakersfield. We had left the Bay Area around noon and by 7 PM we had just reached the start of the dreaded "jeep trail" that the organizer said he would not drive in the dark. (Sunset was about 6:30 PM.) Gary was game, and as I came to learn, is a superb off-road driver - a skill he has developed fishing places I had previously thought to be inaccessible. I have to admit that there were places on this trail where I would have simply shifted into reverse and fled. I'm talking drops over the shoulders of room-sized rocks and a dirt track that looked like motocross race-course. The only reason we pushed on was the knowledge that a bunch of other volunteers (including Matt) had traversed this exact route before us and we had yet to come across an upside-down SUV. Of course, in the back of my head, I considered the possibility that we were totally off our intended course; a dark thought that was not excised by the fact that at one point we managed to drive in a large circle.

Just before we left San Mateo, I threw my laptop and a set of National Geographic topo CDs into Gary's back seat. We knew we were vaguely in the right place since the DFG had helpfully put up volunteer signs at strategic spots. However, when we reached Monache Meadows, we ended up at a dead end. A peaceful place with a glorious view of the stars, but we knew there were supposed to be over 30 people camped at the meeting site. As we backtracked to the river, I loaded the topo map software and expertly guided Gary to the next dead end. In desperation, I hauled my glowing laptop over to a hunter's campsite and asked them for directions. It was late and cold and what's a little humiliation way up in the mountains. With some prompting, we finally found our way back on track and were soon setting up our tents. Total driving time, ten hours.

Shock Fish or Drop Fences?

There were two primary tasks assigned to the assembled volunteers, both of which we managed to complete on Saturday. First, several miles of barbed wire fence had to be dropped for the winter. The fence normally prevents grazing cattle from trampling the stream banks but due to snow every winter, the three barbed strands need to be placed on the ground each fall. Otherwise the weight of the snow on the wire destroys the fence posts. The second task was to assist the DFG biologists conduct electroshock surveys on two separate sections of the river. While we all would probably have chosen the survey work, it turned out that a group of high school students from San Francisco had been pre-assigned to one of the "eFishing" crews and the other crew only needed three or so volunteers. So the PFFers joined the fence crew. It turned out that with so many hands, we were able to split up into several different teams and work simultaneously at different sections of the fence. By noon our group had taken down about 2.5 miles of fencing and after a quick lunch, headed up-river to watch the survey teams.

From Monache Meadows, the south fork of the Kern River heads north into rugged terrain. On this stretch of the river, the only obstacles between the primarily brown trout populations in the Meadow and the pristine golden trout in the upper reaches (and Golden Trout Creek) are two man-made dams, the Shaeffer barrier closest to Monache and the Templeton barrier further upstream. One survey team worked the stretch below Shaeffer and the second team surveyed just above.

Who Ya Gonna Call...

Looking much like a Ghostbuster team, the DFG biologists thrust net-like probes into fishy looking runs and, more often than not, the water would explode with stunned trout and sucker fish. The trout were netted by the volunteers standing behind the biologists and transferred to buckets for fin clipping and enumeration. It was actually a bit disheartening to see that the vast majority of fish taken below the Shaeffer barrier were brown trout. Because of deterioration of the original Shaeffer barrier, browns were able to move above the barrier during a high water year, leaving just the Templeton barrier remaining to protect the headwaters of the Kern. Although it would seem like closing the barn door after the horses have bolted, the Shaeffer Barrier underwent a major reconstruction in 2002-2003.

The Rebuilt Shaeffer Fish Barrier

If you are an angler, you might be interested in the big fish that didn't get away. Among the tally were a handful of 20+ inch browns, the largest of which taped out at 24 inches. These were living in a stream no wider than a two-car garage and rarely deeper than one's kneecap. Probably the most useful observation was that the big ones were right where you'd expect them - they were holding at the bottom of deeper runs and cuts, frequently just below a plunge. Being big browns, they were probably snoozing down there waiting for dark. The biologist's anode was a rude awakening, for sure.

Biggest, Baddest Brown

The Fun Continues

After a bit of fishing Saturday afternoon, we joined the DFG at a huge potluck dinner. Joe Eberle had gone above and beyond the call of duty and brought a wonderful pot of chili in his cooler. (The Eberles take their chili seriously - they are regular entrants in the chili contest at the San Mateo County fair.) Everyone was trading stories ranging from fly fishing to hang gliding. One topic that seemed popular was trying to locate the nearest gas station - it seemed most people had only a quarter tank left.

Pre-dinner drinks around the fire

On Sunday morning Joe, Gary, and I tried our luck in the meadow. Gary had the hot rod with four or five fish to hand. The rest of us were humbled by the crystal clear water and spooky fish. After lunch we decamped and headed back to the thick air and traffic of the Bay area. Meanwhile Jeff, John, Matt, and honorary PFF Las Vegas member, Jerry Gray, hefted their packs and headed up-river for a three-day jaunt above the Templeton Barrier. Matt's report was that the magic fly that worked best on the goldens was anything that touched the water.

Headed up to Templeton

What the Future Holds

The Golden Trout Project will continue next year and I hope that the club will contribute in some fashion. The trout need us to give back. Orvis' original fundraising goal of $90,000 was exceeded last year. The NCCFFF alone contributed $5,000 (which with the triple match resulted in a $15,000 total donation). But regardless of the financing, the most important part of this project is the mobilization of volunteers interesting in preserving this California legacy. Fly fishers came from as far away as San Diego to help. And I doubt those high school students from San Francisco will ever gaze into a stream again without imagining a two-foot trout holding at the bottom. I sure won't.

– Rodney Chun