Nobody is saying ‘Rain, rain go away!’
Blessed! We are so blessed to be recieving all this rain! The “so called experts” are saying that we are not out of the woods when comes to the drought. Maybe they are right? But, if we are not out of the woods we gotta be close enough to to see the green meadows at the end of the woods. Yup, we are blessed. I am not sure what another year without water would look like. We are blessed that we are not going to see.I am so THANKFUL! Now, LETS GO FISHIN’!
Mill Creek Pond
With the rivers blown out and the lakes muddy and cold there is not much going on in the fishing world right now. So, here some good information about the Upper Mill Creek Pond I wrote about 12 years ago. It’s worth a second time around.
For many years the Upper Mill Creek Pond was a place for fishing. There were times in which I could have gotten into trouble with my friends. But instead chose to hop on my bike with fishing pole in hand and go trout fishing at the Upper Mill Creek Pond. It always was a great escape for me and is where my passion for fishing started. I am thankful to Brett Wilson for working so hard to restore this fishery for the enjoyment of generations to come.”
On Jan. 11, 2011 the Department of Fish and Wildlife started restocking the Upper Mill Creek Pond with native steelhead trout. This was the first fish plant done at Mill Creek since 2004, through a unique and innovative plan developed by Brett Wilson, Senior Hatchery Supervisor. The lake was planted with steelhead trout averaging a half pound. The fish were raised at Warm Springs Fish Hatchery. A total of 15,000 fish will be planted into the Upper Mill Creek Pond this year over a five to six month period.
Non-native rainbow trout can no longer be planted there because of potential escapement down stream in the Russian River system where they could interbreed with wild steelhead, a listed species. This scenario stopped all planting of non-native rainbow trout. This fish planting meets all new environmental planting regulations established in 2010 and state fish planning mandates established by Assembly Bill 7 in 2005. “We realized that waters like Mill Creek Lake could not be planted with nonnative 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 Spring Hatchery and provide a fishery,” said Brett Wilson. This 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 NOAA.
Bill Cox, DFG State Program Manager of Fish Production and Distribution said, “We are always looking for better ways to provide angling opportunity, make the best use of hatchery facilities and adapt to changing circumstances and regulations.” Key to the new planting program is 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 re-allocation of license money.
Department of Fish and Wildlife 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. This planting program also helps meet native trout planting goals placed on DFG under The Heritage and Wild Trout Program mandated in the 2005 Assembly Bill 7. The bill specifies that only costal rainbow trout (steelhead) reared under special constrains can count towards meeting native trout production goals.
Thanks to Brett Wilson, and the combined efforts of Merle Griffin, Park Manager, US Army Corps of Engineers, Roland A. Sanford, General Manager, Mendocino County Water Agency, Sean White, General Manager, Russian River Flood Control District and members of the Ukiah Rod & Gun Club, the Upper Mill Creek Pond is once again a place for fishing.
One last thought; Please help keep the Mill Creek Pond a local treasure! If you packed it in, pack it out. It is our responsable to keep Mill Creek safe. If you see someone pouching, or doing something illegal call the Mendocino County Sherif’s Department or California Highway Patrol.
Thanks for reading & Remember to Keep it Reel! — Don = 4REEL Fishin’