The Trout Underground Fly Fishing Blog » mccloud

NestlÃ© Waters Ends Pursuit of McCloud Water

Tom Chandler — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:24:57 +0000

I’m working on something much bigger, so this will be short and sweet:

NestlÃ© Waters North America has decided to withdraw its proposal to build a bottling facility in McCloud.

via NestlÃ© Waters ends pursuit of McCloud facility – Mount Shasta, CA – Mount Shasta Herald.

Bye, Nestle.

One down, two more to go (Klamath dams & Westlands).

UPDATE: I’ll certainly write more about this development next week; it’s the culmination of a lot of work on the part of a lot of people, and it deserves a few more nouns, verbs and adjectives. Also, Nestle still owns the old mill site in the middle of McCloud – anyone want to buy, protect, or use for sustainable development a 240 acre chunk in the middle of trout heaven?

The Fly Fishing Report You’ll Read Tomorrow… Today

Tom Chandler — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:53:01 +0000

With heaping mounds of work waiting in my office, going fly fishing was more an act of rebellion than relaxing wilderness experience. Still, there were trout:

A McCloud Reservoir Rainbow Trout

Report coming soon (just as soon as some of the work gets done). See you in the office, Tom Chandler.

Mental Pain Primer: The Trout Rivers You Can’t Fish

Tom Chandler — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:45:26 +0000

Spent Friday touring McCloud with Underground Fave writer and Bottlemania author Elizabeth Royte, who wanted to see ground zero in the Nestle water bottling plant wars.

We took a quick detour to the Upper McCloud (look, but don’t touch until late April). Like all trout streams you’re not allowed to fish, it looked incredibly inviting, though snow across the road made getting even to Fowler’s Camp a hike.

I know why we have a closed season on some rivers, but I can’t look at a closed – and perfectly fishable – trout stream without thinking those rules should apply to everyone but me.

It makes perfect sense when I’m thinking it (and sometimes early in the morning).

The Upper Sacramento

The flows are falling slowly and the Upper Sac is entirely fishable in places, but instead of fishing it, I’m heading south on a one-day charge to Sacramento and back (the L&T and I plan to heave a dead fish out the window of the car when we pass near Singlebarbed World Headquarters).

Sitting on my ass for 7.5 hours (not including food stops) isn’t exactly my idea of a wilderness adventure – especially when we’re experiencing the first nice day for a week up here.

When I get back, I’ve got a pair of Simms rubber-tread wading boots to compare to the Patagonias I reviewed here, and a 9′ 6wt mystery rod & reel outfit that’s also up for review.

Stay tuned, Undergrounders. See you on I5, Tom Chandler

Another Yo-Yo on the McCloud River: Reports Suggest it’s Clearing & Fishing

Tom Chandler — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:10:32 +0000

Because we enjoy jerking our McCloud River-addicted readers around like hooked hatchery trout, we’re posting a followup to all our other McCloud followup posts, only this one suggests the McCloud’s clearing and in fact, we have a pair of it’s fishing “OK” emails.

Clearly, it’s going to be a busy last week on the McCloud (a good reason for me to stay on the Upper Sac), and everyone should be careful about wading into Brown trout spawning redds (careful about not wading into them, that is).

And while you’re busy avoiding those redds, you’ll do yourself a favor if you bring some warm clothing; there’s still hail on the ground here in Mount Shasta from last night’s storm, and more “weather” is forecast for the week ahead.

And just a reminder to everyone who rushes to the McCloud and then fails to catch a trout, please forward your angry, spittle-filled emails to someone else (say East Tennessee’s Ian Rutter, if only because he’s catching big Brown trout and I’m not).

See you on the McCloud, Tom Chandler.

mccloud, mccloud river, brown trout

Uh-OH – Local Guide Says McCloud Too Dirty to Fish?

Tom Chandler — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:46:23 +0000

McCloud groupies will want to break out the crying towels – local guide Steve Bertrand just called with bad news. A friend drove to the McCloud, but returned without fishing, saying it was too off-color to fish.

Mud Creek, it seems, strikes again.

Will it clear before the season’s end? I’m not holding my breath.

If you were headed up this weekend, I’d give it a look – but be prepared to fish the Upper Sac, Pit, Fall River or Baum instead.

mccloud, mccloud river, fishing report

McCloud Coming Back to “Normal” Flows – Going to be a Busy Last Week to the Season

Tom Chandler — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:21:13 +0000

From somebody at PG&E (via Curtis Knight at CalTrout):

The James B. Black Powerhouse is back in operation and PG&E is completing start up procedures. Spill from McCloud Dam has stopped and the flow at the Ah-Di-Na gage is back to base flow. As the powerhouse returns to full operation, no further spills are anticipated.

Have at it, Undergrounders. I expect to see quite a few of you on the McCloud this coming weekend.

mccloud river, mccloud, fly fishing, caltrout

McCloud Set to Return to Base Flows… One Week Before Season Ends

Tom Chandler — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:53:56 +0000

[UPDATE: I've been contacted by a reporter who asked about my feelings and those of my readers about PG&E's handling of this mess. Essentially, I said this emnity towards PG&E's McCloud operations dates back years (remember those times they turned flows up the day before or after the season opened?). I don't think anything tricky is happening here, but PG&E's communciation through this fiasco has been abysmal (like it always is), and some are asking questions about why they didn't inspect all the couplings while replacing the first. Readers should leave comments in the comments section.]

This just received via email (I’m placing it in the “could have been worse, but only a little” category):

Dear McCloud-Pit Project Relicensing Participants:

Testing of the other James B. Black Powerhouse penstock couplings has identified one additional coupling that needs to be repaired before the powerhouse can be restarted. The coupling repair work is proceeding and should be complete in the next couple of days. Once repairs are completed it will take 2 to 3 days to refill the water tunnel between Iron Canyon Reservoir and the powerhouse. Once water is flowing through the powerhouse, it will take an additional 3 to 4 days to bring the water level down in Iron Canyon and McCloud reservoirs.

As a result the current estimate to reduce water spill flows from McCloud Dam to Lower McCloud River and return to a base flow of approximately 210 cfs at the Ah-Di-Na gage is 11/7.

Of course, the Underground offers a hearty “Thank you” to PG&E for mucking up the McCloud during a big chunk of the spring, and now during almost all the Fall.

I’m sure the towns surrounding the river appreciate your contribution to the well-being of the economy.

Of course, I thought long and hard about keeping this information to myself, then showing up to fish the still-deserted McCloud on the 7th, but I couldn’t (stupid conscience!).

See you in a couple weeks, Tom Chandler.

Round of Public Meetings in McCloud About Nestle: Free Pizza!

Tom Chandler — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:42:47 +0000

Longtime readers know of my antipathy towards Nestle, the predatory multinational that tried to railroad a million square foot water bottling plant into McCloud.

The original contract was negotiated and approved without the benefit of any real public input, Nestle’s Environmental Impact Report was more prank than serious document, and the company took an absolute battering.

Now – with the contract dead and Nestle angling for a new deal, a series of public meetings are going to be held in an attempt to avoid the nastiness of the past.

The first is this Wednesday (Oct. 22), and to help those rushing from work, the McCloud Watershed Council is hosting a FREE PIZZA-fest prior to the meeting (those are words that will warm the heart of any fly fisherman). Here’s an email from the Watershed Council:

Nestle hired Kearns and West, a public involvement firm, to facilitate a series of public meetings regarding NestlÃ©’s new project proposal. This is a perfect opportunity for all perspectives to give their input into a new process.

To encourage attendance, and in an effort to bring McCloud residents together, the McCloud Watershed Council is hosting a FREE â€œPre-Nestle Meetingâ€ Dinner. If you don’t have time to cook and also make it to the meeting, then please come to the free pizza dinner at 5pm in the courtyard on Main Street next to the McCloud Hotel.

What: Community Meeting About NestlÃ©’s Proposed Water Bottling
Plant in McCloud
When: Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: McCloud High School Gymnasium, 133 Campus Way, McCloud
Why: Everyone who has a stake in the future of the McCloud community, economy and the McCloud River watershed deserves to have their voice heard.

Sadly, I committed long ago to teaching a class on Wednesday night, so I won’t make it to this meeting. Damn.

Still, locals – and anyone up visiting who worries about this (and other) threats to the McCloud watershed – should try to attend (free pizza).

See you there next time, Tom Chandler.

News Flash! McCloud Flows Still Up, Probably Remain That Way For a While

Tom Chandler — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:46:38 +0000

The McCloud River’s flows remain high – courtesy a failed PG&E powerhouse – and according to one of the Underground’s highly placed sources, it may not be coming down any time soon.

Yes, it’s been a hell of a year for the McCloud; PG&E’s flow studies originally slated for a pre-season slot were delayed, and ultimately mucked up some of the McCloud’s typically stellar spring fishing.

Now the McCloud’s suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous flows in the fall (another peak time), and anglers aren’t happy.

In fact, the frequent emails I receive suggest they’re pretty damned unhappy, which speaks volumes to the McCloud’s place in the hearts of minds of NorCal’s fly fishing population.

Keep the digits crossed, Tom Chandler.

mccloud river, mccloud, pg&e

McCloud River Flows Still High, Powerhouse Repair Possible

Tom Chandler — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:06:09 +0000

This notice from PG&E (via CalTrout):

Since James B. Black Powerhouse was shut down on September 19 due to a leak at the penstock, significant progress has been made toward repairing the problem and returning the powerhouse to operation. The repair plan is to weld a re-enforcing pipe section around the penstock in place of the cracked coupling that was leaking. Welding on the repair section began yesterday, October 1. If repairs go as planned the powerhouse should return to operation by next week.

Current flow in the Lower McCloud River at the Ah-Di-Na gage (MC-1) is approximately 700 cfs. A storm is currently forecast for Friday and Saturday. Depending on storm runoff, this flow could increase.

If the repairs go as planned and the powerhouse returns to operation next week, PG&E will begin ramping down the flow in the Lower McCloud River and the flow at Ah-Di-Na should return to the normal 200 cfs level by 10/10/08.

See you on the McCloud (but not right now), Tom Chandler.

mccloud, mccloud river