eagle lake fishing information

As with every spawn of the Eagle Lake trout in the last 70 plus years CA DFG employees and retirees, PG&E (back in the late 1930's) and countless local volunteers have rescued stranded trout from certain death when the creeks quit flowing.

Many of the local businesses volunteered time and their own nets for many years. Those folks still around including us are Eagle Lake General Store, Heritage Land and J&L Boat Rentals and Repair (we're the old timers now). New businesses in the last several years include Flying Eagle Guide Service and Fish Traveler Guide Service.

California Inland Fisheries who manage Project Eagle Lake Trout only got involved with fish rescues beginning in 2005 and purchased hip boots and waders for volunteers to use the following years. But, before that CIFFI was not rescuing fish, but they were rebuilding the egg collection facility. Only a few folks that regularly rescue fish are members of CIFFI and most have been doing it long before CIFFI was involved. But, it is nice not having to use up or wear out our own gear anymore even though we all willfully donated our time and equipment to prevent the loss of thousands of trout.

There are several things that affect the flowing water in the seasonal creeks. The first flows that begin in February can cease flowing for a few days if ambient temperatures drop into the low teens and single digits. We have seen this happen several times before flowing continuously for as long as the snow pack allows.

Eagle Lake has many small seasonal tributaries who's flows are dependent on the local snow and rain. Pine Creek is the main seasonal tributary and its flow depends on the snow pack in Lassen National Park.

It is nearly impossible to "plan" a fish rescue and we have a lot of people that are signed up to volunteer to rescue trout. But, generally the trout and Mother Nature don't give you the time to plan a rescue. The first rescue of 2009 came by 911 call by DFG who was about 30 minutes ahead of us getting to a flowing creek. My cell phone rang about 10 miles into a 22 mile trip with a 911 to bring nets for a rescue. Only a handful of fish got upstream and they were easily rescued by 4 people. But, there has been occasions that CDFG had up to 2 to 3 days to plan a rescue (generally on Pine Creek) But one cold night that is not predicted by NOAA can change everything in less than a heartbeat.

The tributaries along highway 139 at the north basin have been notorious 911 fish rescue creeks because their flows can be intermittent and the first full day they flow, fish will get up them. The stop and go of the flow is what traps the trout very quickly. In 2005 all the 139 tributaries were flowing and one had an earthen dam upstream break open and send millions of gallons of muddy water down to the lake (we didn't care that it was muddy water, it was water none the less) in which the trout just went nuts. In a stream 3 ft wide and 6 to 8 inches deep with riffles in 2 inches of water the trout were stacked side by side and in a three ft square you could count 30 to 40 trout...and we're not talking about little trout even though some of them try their hardest to get upstream to spawn whether they are ready or not. There were mostly 2 lb to 3 lb trout with an occasional trout pushing 4 pounds in those little tiny streams. Most o f their backs are out of the water but their desire to spawn in the fresh water seems to outweigh their desire to survive first. If that is anything that observing the spawn of the Eagle Lake trout for most of my life is their one track mind once the first smell of fresh water passes through their nostrils.

Fish rescues are a normal part of the spawn but since Project Eagle Lake Trout purchased enough Alaskan weir for all our tributaries the number of trout needing rescued has dropped dramatically. We still encounter problems if by chance the weirs get compromised by a surprise heavy rain or snow. Some fish can and do get past the weir occasionally but at least the numbers are much lower. Just know that we all do our best to save as many trout as possible during this time of year. We have seen thousands of dead fish when flow stops overnight in the creeks. It is not a pretty sight and breaks our hearts as well. But hopefully the days of losing thousands of large trout are over. The more we save the bigger they will get in the future.

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A lot of people want to volunteer but it is not easy getting everyone together for a fish rescue and besides that, CDFG can't have 200 people lined up for a net...one reason being that CDFG doesn't have 200 nets...they have more like 15 to 20 at the most for fish rescues. We (and only a couple other locals) have used our own nets for years as well as bringing a few extra (especially when we have 3000 fish to capture) for anyone that shows up (we also repair and replace our own nets as they get a lot of abuse and carry a lot of weight). For the most part the numbers of people needed on the smaller tributaries are less than 10. But, we have had fish go several miles upstream on a tributary along highway 139 in 2005 but the creek was only three feet wide and 8 inches deep at the most. Only a few people can fit in a creek that small and only a few of those are willing to crawl through the foliage and rocks to chase fish down stream. Thankfully there are a few folks that will.

On Pine Creek it depends on the circumstances and flows. Now with the Alaskan weir CDFG can leave it open (as long as it keeps flowing) and the trout will leave the creek without the need for rescue as long as the water temperatures rise above 55 degrees, then the trout will head back to the lake on their own which eliminates the need for rescue.

The south basin has three tributaries, Papoose Creek, Merrill Creek and Little Merrill Creek. Little Merrill flattens and spreads out as it enters the lake. Generally Little Merrill doesn't have too much of a problem because it flattens out into many little channels unlike heavier flows which cut a distinct channel like Papoose or Merrill Creeks do. It isn't known if any spawning took place historically in these tributaries but considering how many trout take interest in them there is no doubt that they make an attempt. But, a lot of criteria must be met for the eggs to survive long enough to hatch and wash back down to the lake.

Fish don't wait long before entering Papoose or Merrill Creeks once they begin to flow. Generally the smell of fresh water gets their attention but it is the water temperature that generally sparks the "instinct" to go upstream. We have seen thousands of trout enter Papoose and Merrill Creeks a day or two after they begin to flow. Normally the first flows happen in February but we are still susceptible to single digit temperatures through April which can totally stop the flow of these tributaries in the blink of an eye. This causes fish to be trapped in deeper pools and riffles where they can deplete the dissolved oxygen quickly or the water in the pool drains out. I have seen literally thousands of dead trout in Merrill Creek by having cold ambient temperatures cease the flow of water. It is not a pretty sight as you can see but this is what happens in real life. CDFG considers these photos bad public relations. I can certainly understand that but the way I see it it is real life and nature "live". It wasn't all CDFG's fault for this happening so often, the technology to prevent it was pretty outdated and not functional for our needs. But, some of it was mainly due to lack of coordination upon notice and "plans" that were after the fact. It's better now though and you have to keep in mind that we all try to predict Mother Nature and sometimes she doesn't cooperate.

In the past we have lost literally thousands of trout despite superhuman efforts like hauling 15 pounds of fish in a five gallon bucket of water over several hundred feet of large boulders and rocks as you get them back to the lake.

Over the years just about every method you can think of was tried to rescue as many trout (and other species that use the creeks to spawn). The most expensive method had to have been using a helicopter and a fire bucket. So, just about every method of preventing or blocking the creeks to keep fish from getting upstream failed until finding the Alaskan weir. Now it is only a matter of timing and that has improved on the part of our new biologist Paul Divine.

The only creek that the trout are allowed to go up in is Pine Creek, and they can only get to the egg collection facility unless they are intentionally released upstream. There is no place for them to go on any other tributaries...they just get to the end and stop. But it is imperative that we prevent the trout from getting into the tributaries other than Pine Creek. At least on Pine Creek the dam (cement weir) at the fish trap is nearly impossible for them to pass (but not entirely impossible). Every year though some fish are surgically implanted with transmitters and intentionally released upstream of the egg collection facility (see Spawn).

Thanks to your donations to CIFFI's Project Eagle Lake Trout we have been able to buy material for CA DFG to build our own Alaskan Weirs to protect the creeks. After having borrowed one from Trinity River for two years we were very impressed with its design and ability to self-adjust as erosion eats away under it. In 2005 Eagle Lake General Store raised over $10,000 (and nearly $50,000 since inception in 2005) and we were able to have our own Alaskan weir to protect Pine Creek. Eagle Lake General Store also provides secure storage for all the weir pieces and parts. We also have new downsized Alaskan weirs for smaller tributaries along highway 139 and we have enough to protect all tributaries at the same time if needed.

Inevitably no matter how fast we can arrange getting the weirs up, some fish always beat us upstream. Their desire to go upstream is incredible and they will literally walk on their fins if need be to get to the next pool up as the creek begins to quit flowing. But, no matter what, the best fish rescues are the ones you can prevent in the first place, but no matter how fast CDFG and volunteers get the weirs up a fish rescue always follows. We have had excellent communication with CDFG over the last many years and things move along quite a bit faster than they have in the past. Only having to rescue a few dozen fish after installing a weir (on the third day of flow which is fast, folks) is nothing compared to rescuing 1000 to 1500 trout out of these smaller tributaries. Our percentage of losses has dropped dramatically since having all the Alaskan weirs and that helps keep bigger fish in the lake to catch during the fishing season.