Gales Creek - what gives?

[GungasUncle]

Gales Creek was the stream I considered my home waters for the better part of two decades. In the last couple years, I haven't fished it nearly as much, as I was focusing my fishing on other streams and lakes. I went out on what might be my last trip until next year - only to be left wondering WTF happened to this stream. In the stretch I typically fish, a bad day was 5-10 small fish. I would almost always spook fish either with a poorly executed cast, or wading through a spot I didn't expect to see fish, but they were there anyway.

This time - no fish spooked, no last-minute refusals, gin clear water with good light that should've revealed their every position - and only one (nice for this stream, I admit) fish struck (and landed). I was left wondering if there was a chemical spill, a deadly flood, or if someone fished the place out. I saw zero salmon or steelhead either - and at this late in the season I would typically see a couple of the big guys up that high in the system trying to make a go at their spawning grounds. This time - nada, zero, zip, zilch.

After a morning of wondering what happened, I headed upstream even further than I usually fish, and landed one more decent fish - with one or two last minute refusals, but didn't see any other fish than that. It was a ghost stream. I used to do really well fishing this creek in the fall - but I was disappointed and concerned this time. It was like meeting up with an old friend who you thought would go far, but wound up working a dead end job and has a string of drug arrests or something.

I hope the next time I visit the stream she's rebounded.

 

[ChezJfrey]

I don't know...but I work with a guy that has lived near that creek his entire life. He used to fish trout before school when he was young. He no longer fishes it because he says it's not even a shadow of what it used to be. We speculate that perhaps too many people have extricated many of the fish and they just aren't there any more, unable to sustain/rebound the pressure over the years.

 

[TimberTodd]

I have a feeling its due to too many catch and keep fisherman.

 

[GungasUncle]

I have a feeling its due to too many catch and keep fisherman.

I had wondered about that. For years this stream was closed to retention - it was C&R artificials only. Now it's still arti's only, but you can keep 2 per day, 8 inch min. I think people are keeping more than 2, and their 8" is probably more like 4 - because in all my years of fishing this stream - the *average* fish size caught has hovered in the 6-7 inch range. An 8 incher was a nice fish, and the 10-12 inch fish were the pigs as far as trout went. The largest trout I ever caught from this stream was 14 or 15 inches and I about dropped a load in my pants on that one.

The two fish I caught *and released!* one was 11 or 12 inches, and the other was about 9 inches. I hope ODFW returns this stream to C&R status, because if they're not going to stock it, the stream is going to die. If they do stock it, they should at least stock it with cutthroat of the same strain as the wild fish...

I did chat with a couple guys who asked about the fishing - people who live right across the hwy from teh stream, and they said they don't even fish it much anymore. I hope this was not a typical experience now - because I finally live 10 minutes from my usual haunts on this stream, and was looking forward to fishing it more next season. I guess I'll be sticking more to Hagg and the coastal rivers if this continues to be the case.

 

[ChezJfrey]

For years this stream was closed to retention - it was C&R artificials only.

But I suspect that the 'release' part of that regulation was/has not been respected by everyone.

 

[bass]

Bummer to hear about this. I have not fished it in 3 or 4 years but I used to fish it once or twice a year and always had a good time with lots of small cutts. Makes me sad but maybe the bad fishing now will allow the fishery to recover.

 

[o clarki]

Bummer to hear about this. I have not fished it in 3 or 4 years but I used to fish it once or twice a year and always had a good time with lots of small cutts. Makes me sad but maybe the bad fishing now will allow the fishery to recover.

I've noticed the gravel and other substrate seems more or less cemented together the last few years. I suspect this makes spawning difficult and results in fewer recruits. Also makes it hard for bugs. There is a large cut in the middle/upper watershed that comes pretty close to the creek in places. Sediment, possibly from the cut, seems to have worked itself into the insterstices in the gravel. And a major trib has gotten a lot warmer.

It's likely the reg changes have had an effect too, although the habitat seems like the bigger issue to me.

 

[bass]

I've noticed the gravel and other substrate seems more or less cemented together the last few years. I suspect this makes spawning difficult and results in fewer recruits. Also makes it hard for bugs. There is a large cut in the middle/upper watershed that comes pretty close to the creek in places. Sediment, possibly from the cut, seems to have worked itself into the insterstices in the gravel. And a major trib has gotten a lot warmer.

It's likely the reg changes have had an effect too, although the habitat seems like the bigger issue to me.

That makes a lot of sense. Habitat destruction so you are not producing new fish while allowing folks to take the adults, no matter how slowly, would definitely eventually empty out the stream.