kokanee64
Well-known member
Well, OK, so maybe not so much a fishing report as a thinking about fishing report and wishing I was fishing report.
Last fall, 2018, the lake was at a near record low level. For those who know the lake, today in the Iola basin the lake is river channel from the Lake City bridge down nearly to the launch ramp on the south shore. We are currently at 29.77% of full pool and 82.57 feet below full pool. We had a cold winter, fortunately without a lot of -30 and -40 temps like some years, but with few thaws until recently. The lake froze early, even Sapinaro. The ice is currently nearly 30 inches thick at Elk Creek and around 12 near the dam. The young guys I talk with in Gene Taylors and ice-fishing friends around town reported good ice-fishing all winter. People are talking ice-out won't happen until mid-April, maybe late April. Elk Creek Marine tries to open May 1 but is delayed some years by ice. First payments for seasonal slip rentals are due at the end of the month.
I guy at the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery, where Blue Mesa salmon start their lives, told me they had been worried because of water conditions last summer and fall that the fall egg take might be low. They took 9.2 million eggs, which he characterized as "pretty decent." The upper and low records are 17.2 million and under 3 million eggs per year. He didn't say, but from hearing numbers over the year I'd guess this may be slightly above average in a year that had everyone concerned. This year's release of several million salmon fingerlings from the hatchery into the East and then Gunnison rivers hasn't yet been scheduled. They prefer that the lake is open and the sun producing plankton before releasing the fish. They also prefer a new moon because it reduces predation, which apparently can be substantial. Finally, they prefer earlier in the spring, before irrigation head-gates are opened. Several years ago a study out of CSU reported that many thousands of fingerlings were stranded in fields when they were swept into irrigation ditches. Ranchers have been good to cooperate but coordination is big job that gets harder when there are lots of gates already wide open. The people that run the hatchery and fishery at Blue Mesa must feel shell shocked at times. They have the on-going challenges of invasive mussels, gill lice (which they hope may not be as bad as feared), lake trout predation (the previous big problem) and low water levels (which result in lower oxygen levels and other problems). My hat is off to them for producing such a great fishery in such challenging circumstances.
We have been moving snow all winter and loving it. The Gunnison drainage has a snow pack of 151% of the seven year average. We will have a good winter even if it doesn't snow again. Crested Butte, the ski resort 25 miles up the road, has had 274 inches so far this year. The snow around my house is well over 2 ft deep and our deer are struggling, eating sage that sticks through a hard crust that will support them and even me. Everyone is hopeful the lake will rise 40 to 50 feet. About 10 years ago we came off a drought period and had a good snow year; everyone was expecting a good run off. We had an average year. The explanation was that the ground water had been severely depleted and much of what should have been run off was soaked up. I'm hoping for 2 more big storms as insurance.
Fingers crossed for lots of water, hot fishing and a safe year for everyone. Kokanee64
Last fall, 2018, the lake was at a near record low level. For those who know the lake, today in the Iola basin the lake is river channel from the Lake City bridge down nearly to the launch ramp on the south shore. We are currently at 29.77% of full pool and 82.57 feet below full pool. We had a cold winter, fortunately without a lot of -30 and -40 temps like some years, but with few thaws until recently. The lake froze early, even Sapinaro. The ice is currently nearly 30 inches thick at Elk Creek and around 12 near the dam. The young guys I talk with in Gene Taylors and ice-fishing friends around town reported good ice-fishing all winter. People are talking ice-out won't happen until mid-April, maybe late April. Elk Creek Marine tries to open May 1 but is delayed some years by ice. First payments for seasonal slip rentals are due at the end of the month.
I guy at the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery, where Blue Mesa salmon start their lives, told me they had been worried because of water conditions last summer and fall that the fall egg take might be low. They took 9.2 million eggs, which he characterized as "pretty decent." The upper and low records are 17.2 million and under 3 million eggs per year. He didn't say, but from hearing numbers over the year I'd guess this may be slightly above average in a year that had everyone concerned. This year's release of several million salmon fingerlings from the hatchery into the East and then Gunnison rivers hasn't yet been scheduled. They prefer that the lake is open and the sun producing plankton before releasing the fish. They also prefer a new moon because it reduces predation, which apparently can be substantial. Finally, they prefer earlier in the spring, before irrigation head-gates are opened. Several years ago a study out of CSU reported that many thousands of fingerlings were stranded in fields when they were swept into irrigation ditches. Ranchers have been good to cooperate but coordination is big job that gets harder when there are lots of gates already wide open. The people that run the hatchery and fishery at Blue Mesa must feel shell shocked at times. They have the on-going challenges of invasive mussels, gill lice (which they hope may not be as bad as feared), lake trout predation (the previous big problem) and low water levels (which result in lower oxygen levels and other problems). My hat is off to them for producing such a great fishery in such challenging circumstances.
We have been moving snow all winter and loving it. The Gunnison drainage has a snow pack of 151% of the seven year average. We will have a good winter even if it doesn't snow again. Crested Butte, the ski resort 25 miles up the road, has had 274 inches so far this year. The snow around my house is well over 2 ft deep and our deer are struggling, eating sage that sticks through a hard crust that will support them and even me. Everyone is hopeful the lake will rise 40 to 50 feet. About 10 years ago we came off a drought period and had a good snow year; everyone was expecting a good run off. We had an average year. The explanation was that the ground water had been severely depleted and much of what should have been run off was soaked up. I'm hoping for 2 more big storms as insurance.
Fingers crossed for lots of water, hot fishing and a safe year for everyone. Kokanee64
