FISHING
SOBERING SCENES AS DROUGHT INTENSIFIES
A TRIP THROUGH NORCAL REVEALS LITTLE SNOW, SHRUNKEN RESERVOIRS AND RIVERS, AND WORRIES OF MORE FISH DIE-OFFS
By Chris Cocoles
A
s I packed up my belongings at a hotel in Medford, Oregon – my pit stop on a trip from my Seattle home to the Bay Area – I saw a sobering live Facebook video from our pal James Stone, the president of the NorCal Guides and Sportsman’s Association (ncgasa.org). Stone took viewers on a tour of
the Sacramento River boat ramp at the old Steelhead Lodge in Colusa. He pointed to where the water level should be at this time of year compared to how low it is now as the state grapples with drought conditions that experts say could get even worse. “You’re looking at about 4,000 cfs here in Colusa, California,” Stone says on his video. “Water temperatures are over 70 degrees. They’re sublethal for
all salmonids … And you’re gonna see a large die-off of salmon this year. You’re gonna see some of the worst (water) temperatures we’ve ever seen, at least in my lifetime in 40plus years. So be prepared for it, and hopefully (I’m) wrong.” As my pup Emma and I got back on southbound Interstate 5, I kept thinking about Stone’s depressing expectations for water levels and the The lack of mid-June snow on 14,000-plus-foot Mount Shasta was a telltale sign of what I would see along the way. (CHRIS COCOLES)
calsportsmanmag.com | JULY 2021 California Sportsman
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