There is a good story about the American River salmon, and an editorial about the rebirth of the Cosumnes River, both in the Bee this morning and both directly pertaining to the availability of a stable water supply for the American River to provide us with the healthy salmon runs of 100,000 annually we have been blessed to receive these past several years, and to ensure the Cosumnes River is also kept supplied, the last un-dammed natural river which 20,000 or so salmon can run fully when it is healthy
Casting call: Salmon lure anglers to river
Another good run expected this year
By Bill Lindelof -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, October 20, 2005
It's salmon season, meaning fishing boats are lined up at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers - not far from downtown's tall buildings.
There's also a line of anglers fishing from the shallows at Sailor Bar in Fair Oaks.
And if it is the season of the chinook, Mike Brune, a 30-year veteran of salmon fishing, is on the American River, fly rod in hand.
Last week, he was knee-deep in the cool water at the Harrington Way access to the river in Carmichael.
It's a good spot for beginners, he said. The slope underwater is not steep - making for safe wading.
"It's a great place for a beginner to practice casting, and there's always a chance to get a fish," he said.
Before venturing into salmon fishing, Brune is inviting prospective anglers to a talk he is giving this weekend at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center, 2850 San Lorenzo Way, in Ancil Hoffman Park.
His presentation, at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, is titled "Salmon 101: Fishing in the Sacramento Area." Brune will explain bait, lures, flies, proper rods and reels and techniques he uses to land salmon.
Throughout the month, fish are surging upstream. Some will naturally spawn in the river, while others will go up the fish ladder to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Rancho Cordova.
Patrick Foy, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game, said another good salmon run is expected this year. In the past dozen years or so, there have been runs of less than 10,000 fish and some runs of more than 130,000.
The popularity of salmon fishing is tied to the good runs of recent years, he said.
"There have been in excess of 100,000 fish in the American River system for the past five years in a row," Foy said. "That is going to draw a lot of people out to the river."
For the rest of the story: http://www.sacbee.com/content/community_news/arden_carmichael/story/13737627p-14579556c.html
Editorial: A river, reborn
Cosumnes gets a new lease on life
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, October 20, 2005
The Cosumnes has long been Sacramento's forgotten river, but new efforts to restore this waterway are beginning to pay off. Having groundwater pumped near this river has raided the Cosumnes of its supply and turned it dry during weeks when it used to be wet. Through a complicated deal, the river will get some of its water back, good news for salmon and river enthusiasts. But it is also good news for water management for human needs.
The Cosumnes is the last remaining free river unblocked by dams between the Sierra and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It once had a salmon run of as many as 20,000 fish a year. These days, the river is lucky to have 500 salmon return.
For the rest of the editorial: http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/13741912p-14583815c.html
