Photo: www.siliconeer.com
Here’s one from the “things you don’t hear every day” file: A small lake in Nor Cal was recently planted with trout…but not your typical power goo-slurping, nub-finned variety. No sir, Mill Creek Lake was recently stocked with steelhead.
The small lake in Mendocino County is the second water in the state planted with native steelhead trout under new environmental mandates. On Jan. 11, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) planted Mill Creek Lake with steelhead trout that were raised at Warm Springs Fish Hatchery. A total of 15,000 fish will be planted in the lake over a five- to six-month period.
This fish planting meets all new environmental planting regulations established in 2010 and state fish planning mandates codified in Assembly Bill 7 by Assembly Member Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto). According to the new mandates, non-native rainbow trout can no longer be planted there because of potential escapement downstream into the Russian River system, where they could interbreed with native steelhead trout.
Bill Cox, DFG State Program Manager of Fish Production and Distribution, said, “We are always looking for better ways to provide angling opportunities, make the best use of hatchery facilities, and adapt to changing circumstances and regulations.”
DFG completed and filed the Hatchery and Stocking Program Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement in 2010, culminating a two-and-a-half year effort to evaluate and analyze impacts of fish stocking on certain California native species. As part of the actions, waters like Mill Creek Lake fall under new strict stocking guidelines.
“We realized that waters like Mill Creek Lake could not be planted with non-native hatchery rainbow trout. So instead of writing it off as a lost fishing opportunity, we found a way to use all our resources at Warm Springs Hatchery and provide a fishery,” said DFG Senior Hatchery Supervisor Brett Wilson.
The new planting program utilizes excess steelhead eggs from the Russian River drainage mitigation programs to rear steelhead trout to plant into Mill Creek Lake. These fish meet the genetic integrity of hatchery steelhead stocks monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Key to the new planting program are utilization of hatchery space and resources. Only one concrete hatchery pond is needed for the rearing process, eggs come from normal hatchery operations, and food and personnel costs are covered under a reallocation of license money.
This planting program also helps meet native trout planting goals defined by the Heritage and Wild Trout Program mandated in AB 7. The bill specifies that only coastal rainbow and steelhead reared under special constrains can count toward meeting native trout production goals.
Warm Springs Hatchery is fully funded by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and maintained and managed by DFG.
Wayne says
Fish and game has figured out a way to ruin trout fishing in the rivers and streams above the dam. Fish and wildlife a wing under Water resources, you know the peaple who put in the dams that originally destroyed the fisheries! So the fish trapped above the Dams became known as Rainbows and the fish below the dams became known as Steelhead. The Rainbows above the dam became non native? the Steelhead below the dam became native? CONFUSED? Your not alone. It takes a lot of lying and tap dancing to construe this confusing mess. So now if the Rainbows breed with the Steelhead by accident it is a major carastrophe even though they are from the same tributaries histirically. The healthiest and strongest Steelhead runs interbeerd with Rainbows in the upper strethes of the Hood river system in Oregon. The minute DNA differences are called clusters not a different species. Now every isolated trout strem has these Minute DNA clusters even though those same streams were planted historically for the last 100 years. They have become wild native strains. NONSENSE! The rivers and streams are blocked and diverted no fish can swim up or down the river system this creates the ideal condition for DNA clusters because there are no steelhead coming up the rkiver to mix with and each isolated blocked tributary is so different in nutrition, water temperature and mineral content. Now Fish and wildlife is going up and down each blocked tributary and stating each streams historically planted streams are an individual speacies of Rainbow.. This is a double headed attack on the fishery concealed by Water resources lacky groups lawsuits. The fisheries will now be closed to fishing and ebventual the fish will die off but no one will know since the streams will be closed off.
Charles Bristol says
How many fish can we catch up there at the Talmage dams?
JD says
You mean how many can you keep? Its different for bass, trout, etc. You’ll have to check the CDFW regs booklet for individual spots.
Miguel says
I,fished there in the 90s so fun trout biting like crazy
Jim says
In the 50’s and 60’s Carmel river was heavily planted with hatchery rainbows.
It also had native steelhead.
Then steelhead from the Mad River hatchery were introduced.
Now they say no more planting trout because it will affect the ORIGINAL
and Unique strain of Carmel river steelhead. A rainbow trout is a rainbow trout. Some go to the ocean, some don’t.
A hatchery steelhead spawns with a hatchery steelhead. The offspring go to the ocean, and when they return they are WILD steelhead.
What’s up? Just Wondering.
scott says
can anyone give me directions to mill creek pond from santa rosa?
thanx
Troy says
Brett Wilson – DFG – He is an amazing asset to the State of California. He clearly puts his HEART & SOUL into his position. California tax payers and the DFG should recognize that if it weren’t for people like Brett Wilson, California residents would be sitting at home watching TV shows about the lost sport of fishing, because there would be no fish here left to catch. I know a millions Californians would happily pay an additional State tax to make sure Brett Wilson has the resources available to him to keep doing his job!!! Keep it up Brett. Thank you!!
Don Moir - says
BRETT WISON with CA. DEPT. FISH & GAME is the man of year ! I know 2011 has just started but, he has set the bar so high that nobody else will come close. He has restored a fishery that was written off. We here in the Ukiah Valley are very thankful to him for bringing back a huge asset to our community. There aren’t that many places that you can take a child to teach them how to trout (steelhead) fish. Brett has jumped through many hoops and has organized many different agencies, all to work together as a team for a common goal. ———–> THANK’S BRETT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don
Brett says
Thanks for the kind words Don. I am happy to give back.
Brett
Josh "100lbs club" Jordan says
Is this lake by Mill Creek Rd directly between Clear Lake and Ukiah. Below Lake Mendocino??
smoking smoker says
Its just the pond on mill creek rd, you pass it on the way to cow mtn. I would not drive out of the way to fish it just yet, but in 2 years the largemouth are going to be toads!
smoking smoker says
is there any feeder streams?
smoking smoker says
nevermind