Posts tagged: california drought

The NorCal Fly Fisherman’s Drought Watch, Late February Style

February 22, 2012, by 3 comments
California snowpack graph

When it comes to Northern California weather, sunny is the new ugly; the mild days continue to roll by (with nothing wet on the horizon), and our snowpack has fallen to a sketchy 30% of normal for this time of year.

California snowpack graph

That red line is the 76-77 drought year; the thick blue plot is this year. How's that looking to you?

At this point, I think we’re counting on a Miracle March just to get us up to reasonable numbers, and should that fail, then we’ll see the California Water Wars — papered over by a pair of very wet winters — reignite, and in all their bureaucratic, lawsuit-ridden glory.

(If you’re a fan of TV shows like the Real Housewives of New Jersey, you’ll find it amusing.)

The rest of us will hope our small streams don’t take too much of a hit come summer, though since we may lack any real runoff event, I’m going to go ahead and tie up a bunch of Green Drakes.

For no particular reason.

In fact, forget I said anything. Look away now. Go.

The Friday Digest of Stuff You Need to Know (Sorta)

January 15, 2010, by 3 comments

Normally, the Fridays before a three-day weekend are sleepy affairs at the Underground due to cratering traffic, but over the last week, I’ve been inundated with requests to “get the word out” about a couple of items, and because I’d rather be outside playing instead of here typing, the Undergrounders are getting all these in one, big list.

Enjoy.

Just Thinkin’ About the Weather

California’s in the grip of a three year drought, though all that *could* change over the next 2-3 weeks – and in catastrophic fashion.

A 200+ mph El Nino jet stream is aimed squarely at the coast of the state, and we’re expecting a potentially disastrous situation: a big, cold, snow-laden storm followed by a big, warmer, wetter storm.

Something similar happened at the end of 1996, and half the state disappeared underwater. Those that fish the Upper Sac at its mostly serene 200cfs – 350cfs will be shocked to know that flows handily exceeded 100,000 cfs on Jan 1, 1997.

We could be looking at something similar.

At Trout Underground/Man Cave World Headquarters – which is now entirely snow free (an astonishing thing at this point in the winter) – we’re trying to batten down the hatches a bit.

More on Harriman Ranch

The storm of controversy brewing over Idaho Governor Butch Otter’s plans to de-fund the Idaho Parks Department (handing the state parks to an agency without a recreation/access mandate) has escalated to the point where it’s officially OK to call it a “shitstorm.”

We couldn’t be happier.

The Henry’s Fork Lodge has posted a note on their Web site urging anglers to send emails to the governor, and we’re going to echo that with a post of our own next week.

In the meantime, perhaps someone should point out what Governor Butch Otter should have learned from his counterpart in California (Ahhhhnoooold), who learned the hard way. Screw with the state parks, and you’ll be walking funny for the next couple weeks…

The AFFTA Trade Show Wars – Over?

Is the dust finally settling on the AFFTA Trade Show wars? AFFTA’s announced dates for its own IFTA show in September (Denver), Fly Fishing Show owner Chuck Furimsky has cancelled plans for his own dealer show, and the CEO of Far Bank (Sage, Rio and Redington) is circulating a letter in support of the new show:

As part of the debate around the various shows, I think I’ve heard most of, if not all, the reasons for not supporting an industry trade show: the show is at the wrong time, not enough retailers come, not enough manufacturers come, my reps do a great job and thus the show is irrelevant, it’s too expensive, it’s the heart of our season, I don’t like Denver, and on and on. I won’t try to contest all these arguments in this letter. Rather, I’d like to give you my pitch for why I think everyone should support the show: It is the only venue in the world where the fly fishing trade gets to come together in one place and at one time to work toward improving an industry and a sport that for most of us provides both our livelihoods and our lifestyles. I am convinced that without a strong show our industry stands little chance of effectively competing against the macro forces working against our businesses – things like kids not being exposed to the outdoors, the closing of public access to fishable waters, and aquatic nuisance species to name just a few.

In addition, it appears new hire – and trade show czar – Randi Swisher is being groomed to run AFFTA. Current AFFTA Director Gary Berlin is becoming an operations manager, and it appears he’s going to eventually step aside.

World Trout Coughs Up $$

An email from the folks at the World Trout Initiative wanted it known they just threw down $75,000 for eight conservation projects:

Ventura, CA (January 12, 2010) Patagonia, Inc, the outdoor gear and technical apparel company announced today their World Trout initiative has issued eight grants totaling $75,000 to global grassroots groups whose diverse efforts to protect and enhance fish and their habitat around the world exemplify the philosophy of World Trout.

Grant recipients include the Wild Salmon Center at $10,00 for their Koppi River Salmon Diversity project; Pacific Rivers Council at $8,000 for their Umpqua River Legacy Program; Truckee River Watershed Council, who’s efforts on Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Restoration received $15,000; Takshanuk Watershed council was allocated $10,000 for completion of their water rights reservations initiatives; Bahamian-based Friends of the Environment was the recipient of $8,000 for their sustainable crawfish campaign, Henry’s Fork Foundation’s film, Watershed, which is about impressive hands-on projects completed over the past 25 years, was allotted $3,000 to help distribute this informative film to anglers and other grassroots groups in the hopes these efforts can be replicated; Bonefish and Tarpon Trust’s research on critical tarpon habitat received $15,000 and Italian group Societa Valsesiana Pescatori Sportivi was sent $8,000 for enhancement of their threatened grayling habitat.

Want to know more about World Trout – or maybe snag a little of their dosh for your project? Click here.

Rhode Island Catch & Release Site

A site (and group) dedicated to seeing more catch & release waters in the state of Rhode Island (there are currently only one) has been formed (it’s a nice looking site too).

Think You’re a Trout Bum?

The phrase “trout bum” has become overused to the point that it’s lost all meaning – especially among those who actually have jobs, or worse – trust funds.

Here’s the story of ski bum who frankly puts everyone else to shame – and how the police are mishandling his situation. It’s not all that pretty…

Toups’ tale is the embodiment of ski bumdom. Since the 1970s, he has bummed at Mammoth in California, Snowbird in Utah, Oregon’s Mount Hood, Aspen Highlands and all the ski areas in Summit County. His home — for nearly a decade — was a Volkswagen Beetle, the passenger seat torn out so he could sleep.

“He had a little tunnel down to it like a snow cave,” said Halsted Morris, a longtime Loveland skier.

The story surrounding his recent arrest is not a pretty one, and suggests a heavy-handed approach by the police. Read it, and tell us what you think.

Enjoy Your Weekend!

Play, have fun. After the wear and tear of the last couple months – a hectic kind of time that’s had its lows right alongside its considerable highs – I may just take the whole weekend off from the Underground.

See you on the (swollen) river, Tom Chandler.

California In “Worst California Drought in Modern History”?

January 30, 2009, by No comments yet

I try to post fun stuff on Fridays, but this is a little too important to overlook: Recent snowpack surveys in California suggest we’re looking at a third year of drought – with this year being potentially the worst. From the Aquafornia blog:

“We may be at the start of the worst California drought in modern history. It’s imperative for Californians to conserve water immediately at home and in their businesses,” says Lester Snow

The no-place-else-you-need-to-go Aquafornia blog published a roundup of reactions from around the state, many of which are remarkable only for their deft denials of reality – including the often-repeated hope for a “March Miracle” series of storms to replenish reservoirs.

The problem remains LaNina currents in the ocean, which tend to push rain farther north to Oregon and Washington (take that, Moldy).

The condition is expected to remain for another couple months – past the end of California’s traditional rainy season.

The Watery Details

All those who fish the Sierra’s small streams might do a little better; the Southern Sierras and the Tahoe area are sheltering a little more water than the northern Sierras (or the Mt. Shasta area).

The farther north you go, the lower the snowpack, and while I’m not sure of our current numbers, I know we were looking at below-50% snowpack a while ago, and we’ve had almost no precipitation since.

With new water extraction restrictions in place to protect Salmon, smelt and other species, whatever flexibility that exists in the California Water Project seems to have evaporated along with our weather.

The Fly Fisherman’s Take

Like any fly fisherman, I’m running down a mental list of my favorite waters, wondering which will suffer most.

The Upper Sacramento and McCloud rivers may not feel the effects just yet; both are fed by reservoirs, which will buffer the worst of the low water problems in late summer and fall.

The little streams are another matter entirely, and while the trout have survived millenia of this kind of stuff, drought isn’t exactly good for our finny friends.

I expect I’ll be avoiding some small streams entirely starting late summer, including a couple of my nearby “run out and fly fishing for a few minutes” spots, which will be tiny, warm trickles by fall.

See you at the Weather Channel, Tom Chandler

The Rain Falls Mainly On The… Well, Somewhere Else: California Faces Third Year of Drought

January 9, 2009, by 5 comments

Outside the window directly to my left, the sparse layer of snow is thinning fast, and last night the puddles never even froze.

The snow that usually blankets the mountains surrounding the house – and feeds a thirsty California the rest of the year – is disappearing fast, and more (much more) is needed.

UPDATE: It’s Winter for Chrissakes, but look at what’s ahead:

winterweather

Though nobody wants to say it out loud – and hope springs eternal in the California Water Project’s breast – but with precipitation already below normal and La Nina weather patterns suggesting a dry January and February, California could be facing a third consecutive year of drought.

That’s bad news for almost everyone – fish, fishermen, farmers, the Delta, and the whole of Southern California – and the only real winners might be newspaper editorial writers, who are guaranteed a steady supply of controversy.

What do fly fishermen have to look forward to?

One year of drought actually makes the Upper Sacramento more fishable, and without a lot of runoff, spring fishing can be unbelievably good. But after two years, it gets a little dicey. The Upper Sacramento and McCloud rivers stay in pretty good shape (they’re essentially tailwaters), but some of my favorite small streams get hammered by low flows and high water temperatures.

While trout have survived droughts in tiny streams for centuries before we arrived to “manage” their habitat and populations, even tiny trout struggle to reach late fall’s cooling temperatures and intermittent rain.

More importantly – with California’s water wars already raging – a third year of drought is the equivalent of driving a gas tanker into a flaming house; any hope of avoiding a full blown political conflagration simply goes up in flames.

Salmon populations may be recovering some due to better ocean conditions, but over-pumping of the Delta, water diversions and crashing native species populations will likely force more concessions from water users, who view a third year of drought with the same joy you’d view a meteor heading for your house.

Of course, the drought isn’t causing all these problems – it just is what it is. Water in the West is almost uniformly overpromised, and as a nation, we’re discovering that unbridled greed is perhaps not the best basis for operating your financial system, energy policy – or a state-wide water project.

And while a wet winter would stem the bleeding for a while, maybe it’s best if we just confront this mess now like adults instead of letting a few shadowy figures hammer something out when nobody’s looking.

See you looking skyward for snow, Tom Chandler.