STEAMBOAT FISHWATCH 2018 June 2018 Update Edward Kikumoto July 4, 2018 FINAL
The environmental information that I will be relating to you in this update is hearsay and anecdotal.
Someone recently said, “Boring is good,” a sentiment, I think, that is appropriate to this circumstance.
On June 15, Friday, the Airstream was moved from the Sawtooth Garage to the Big Bend Pool. I began staying overnight beginning on June 16, Saturday, and every night since.
I have not observed any illegal, unlawful, or harassing activity during the latter part of June. And I have not observed any trauma to the fish during my brief morning and late afternoon observations.
I was told that around May 15, there was one fish in the Big Bend Pool. On June 4, I estimated that there were between 20-25 fish. On June 9 there was a bit of rain for two days, which may have caused a few of the fish to move upstream. On June 15 there were about 15 fish. Since then the number of fish has gradually increased to somewhere between 80-100 fish at the end of June. When the number jumped up to 100, I believe the night before around 20 fish must have moved into the pool.
The evenings have been cool with early morning temperatures in the 50s. The daytime temperature has been consistently in the high 80s and as high as 90. When the wind comes up the temperature drops significantly. There has been no significant rainfall in the latter part of June. The mosquitoes are not as prevalent as they were last year.
Weekends have seen approximately a dozen visitors in 4-6 groups on Saturday, 2-3 groups on Sunday – mostly couples and family groups. Weekdays have seen 2-4 steelheaders (individuals and pairs), and maybe one non- fishing group a day. A number have asked for information about TNUF and been interested in making a donation. The vast majority of the people coming to visit have been here before and frequently showing friends the pool/fish. A few of the visitors had dogs, which they either kept in their vehicles or put on a leash.
1 If the dog was not on a leash, the owner asked me if it was OK to do so, with an assurance that the dog would not go into the water or down the bank. Visitors have been coming between 10:30 and 15:30.
On June 21st, Thursday I woke up to find Steamboat Creek opaque – a light chocolate color. In the late afternoon on Wednesday there had been a build up of dark clouds up canyon and thunder but no rain. That evening around 21:10 I heard what sounded like a rockslide followed by a boom and then a concussion. The following morning the creek was opaque. Rockslide, falling tree, explosion? Coincidence? I drove upstream to possibly find the source of the dirty water, which was limited to Steamboat Creek.
Although visibility was zero at the Big Bend Pool, Steamboat Creek was clear at its confluence with the North Umpqua. I reported the event to Ron McMullin. He assured me subsequently, that given the color of the water in the photo I sent him, he didn’t think it was anything major, and something bad would be very dark and dirty. I subsequently heard that Wednesday night there had been a significant thunder/lightning/rain up at Crater Lake and that the North Umpqua was chalky white for the next two days. A similar event or the same one may have occurred upstream on Steamboat Creek.
On June 28 @ 12:00 Steamboat Creek above Big Bend Creek was 64oF and Big Bend Creek was 57oF. On July 1st @ 15:00 the water temperature directly above Big Bend Creek was 70oF, according to my inexpensive alcohol thermometer. The water temperature in Big Bend Creek was 57oF. On June 30, USGS streamflow reported 70.5cfs. On July 2nd, USGS streamflow reported 67.6cfs. The average from previous years is 117cfs. End of report. 2
