The Big Green Puddle…

The 650 Billion Gallon Reservoir called San Luis sits 10 percent filled and green as pea soup.  Lots of people are mad because all they see is and empty reservoir with Shasta and Oroville reservoirs sitting at 77 and 66 percent  respectively.  Californians, including me, take the Winter run of Salmon in the Sacramento River for granted. The primary reason that San Luis Reservoir sits empty in a wet year is to preserve the cold water in Shasta to keep the river cold all year. Perhaps there is a better way to do it and still fill San Luis. Sacramento River’s fall-run Chinook salmon account for nearly 90 percent of California’s salmon catch in a typical year and provide upwards of 50 percent of Oregon’s ocean salmon harvest.  The Sacramento winter run numbered 117,000 in 1969, but has dwindled to several thousand fish in recent years.  The Sacramento River is oversubscribed and the extinction of the the Sacramento River Chinook Salmon seems almost inevitable especially if San Luis is filled every year.

Todays winds were mild for a change and I was looking forward to catching a really big striper today but luck let me down.   I managed 4 fish fishing hard all day.  The most consistent action was at the trash racks letting the fly sink for nearly two minutes and slowly retrieving the fly up the sides of the pilings.  Setting on the lightest of hits,  I caught and lost a few nice fish there.   The lake is very  low  and the  algae is thick as ever.   I don’t think it goes all the way down the water column but it sure looks like nothing could live in it. especially considering the oxygen depletion that comes form these kinds of algae blooms. Blue green algae is the common name for cyanobacteria which thrive in warm shallow water with lots of light. Toxic algae can cause a number of health problems including cold- and flu-like symptoms, liver failure, nerve damage and death. Children and pets are especially susceptible.  Fish can be eaten out of water with  blue green algae if the organs are not consumed.   Northern California Fires continue to turn the moon and sun orange.   Reports from Coyote Bait and Tackle suggest that bank fishermen are cleaning up using blood worms from shore

One thought on “The Big Green Puddle…

  1. Hi Meng,

    Thanks for posting the photos from San Luis, I debated between the two yesterday morning and went for the Forebay. Looks like you pretty much had the lake to yourself. I scratched out 4 fish but only two were barely legal size. The lack of wind was a pleasant change, but the heat chased me off by 2:00 PM. At least the water in O’Neill is not as green as what you found in the big lake. Surprisingly I had my best luck in the shallows using an intermediate line to run the fly only two or three feet down – deeper areas seemed pretty deserted, at least for me. Good luck!

    Ed

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