Season’s End

In the last post flows were hovering around high and we were sneaking in surveys wherever we could as this year’s coho wrapped up their lifecycle. By the end of February we had finished up one last journey through the survey frame to finish out this year’s...
In Between Storms

In Between Storms

Standing under the Jeep hatch to stay out of the rain I pull on my waders and strap on my boots. Both were shiny and new at the beginning of the season and both now hover on the edge of ruin. The inside of my waders are covered in Aquaseal patches and the felt on my...
Hamilton Creek and the Coho Peak

Hamilton Creek and the Coho Peak

A remnant old growth tree in the upper West Branch of Mill Creek Here we are, sitting on the tail end of almost two weeks of mostly sunshine, and two whole weeks of slowly dropping flows. Before this, we had constantly fluctuating flows followed by almost four days in...
All Quiet On The Western Front

All Quiet On The Western Front

A few remnant old growth redwoods tower over west branch mill In my last post we were still seeing a handful of chinook, and the coho were starting to appear with a few redds here and there in several of our reaches. This continued for a bit, then we got another flush...
The Salmonid Grand Slam

The Salmonid Grand Slam

As I drove to work this morning the sky was salmon pink. Big waves battered the rocky coastline of the Oregon/California border as the last of the stars faded into daylight. Clear skies and a forecast for sun at this time of year meant it was going to be cold cold...
One month in

One month in

By the time we reach the put in the rain has already begun. It isn’t really all the way rain, but more of a heavy drizzle if such a thing exists. Using the open back hatch of the Jeep as an umbrella I change into my waders, lace up my wading boots, slap on a...