A Wild Trout success story

By Dave Lass

California's Central Valley grows more than just food. Putah Creek, which drains the southeastern end of the Berryessa Snow Mountain complex of public lands an hour west of Sacramento, grows monster wild rainbow trout. This is something many anglers have known for decades, and was confirmed by the California Fish and Game Commission this year when it officially designated Putah Creek as a state managed Wild Trout water under the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's (CDFW) Heritage and Wild Trout Program (HWTP).

Anglers, led by HWTP staff and the local group Putah Creek Trout, played a key role in restoring the wild trout fishery of Putah Creek to the point where it could receive this designation. This success story exemplifies everything we at TU strive to do -- make fishing better by protecting and restoring the most important habitat for trout and salmon, and then letting nature do what nature does.

At Trout Unlimited, we believe the experience of fishing has inspired many people to become involved in conservation. Blue ribbon wild trout waters such as the Truckee, Owens and Trinity Rivers often represent the point of entry to our organization and opportunities for anglers to engage in conservation initiatives and projects. The Putah Creek success story is one of the most powerful we've witnessed in California, and we felt it called for a good ole' celebration.

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So we organized, well, basically a party. April 19, a week before the general trout season opener, seemed a proper time. More than 100 anglers and Putah Creek advocates agreed, and showed up at Canyon Creek Resort to raise a glass to all the hard work invested by the State and local partners to make this a true destination trout fishery.

For those of you unable to attend this festive gathering, join us in toasting Roger Bloom, Stephanie Hogan and other staff with CDFW’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program; Steve Karr and his volunteers at Putah Creek Trout; and Craig and Ann Marie McLeod and their staff at Canyon Creek Resort.

Putah Creek’s Wild Trout designation didn't come overnight and it took fortitude and a true public and private partnership to make it happen. The Wild Trout reach of Putah Creek starts at Monticello Dam and ends at Lake Solano – historically, this reach received some of the largest plants of hatchery trout in the entire state. Despite this legacy, all the right elements to support a truly productive wild trout fishery were present, including high densities of aquatic insects, year-round coldwater, reliable flows, and quality habitat.

Spurred by a 2007 lawsuit that placed a moratorium on stocking many of California's waters, including Putah Creek, CDFW staff gathered the critical science to support what many anglers who fished the creek already knew. Wild trout persisted in the 50-55 degree fertile waters below Lake Berryessa.

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The stocking allotment on Putah Creek has never reopened since the 2007 lawsuit, and new catch and release fishing regulations were implemented to allow the wild rainbow trout to rebound to fishable numbers. Years of subsequent spawning counts, creel data and telemetry studies recorded by CDFW, Putah Creek Trout and California Fly Fishers Unlimited confirmed that the creek has indeed rebounded, if you measure rebound in terms of wild trout reaching 32" in length.

In fact, studies show extraordinary growth rates in Putah Creek when compared to other designated Wild Trout waters in California. In Putah Creek, over a single year a young (sub 1-year old trout) grows to 8" in length and a 5-year old trout grows to 28" in length.

While Putah Creek is a tailwater fishery, its headwaters spring from the Mayacamas Mountains in the Berryessa Snow Mountain public lands. TU is engaged in a campaign to permanently protect the outstanding habitat and fishing and hunting opportunities found in these lands. This campaign has gotten a lot of attention recently as local counties, chambers of commerce, businesses, mountain bikers and off-road vehicle enthusiasts, and sportsmen’s organizations have endorsed legislation from Rep. Mike Thompson that would designate this special area as a national monument. Local fishing guide Jordan Romney’s take on this was recently published in the Davis Enterprise and can be found here.

Dave Lass is California Field Director for Trout Unlimited. Photos of angler courtesy Stefan McLeod Photography.