any recent intel on Rocky Ford?

[clarkman]

Trout Lodge pumping a boatload of fish poop into the water isn't anything new - unless their production levels are way up? They have stopped selling fish to a private lake near Sprague whose been a customer for years so I don't know about production levels. Fish poop, feed changes, sunshine, water volume losses and increases, climate change?

Pat, do you know if they've changed regulations on fertilizer in the area? or if there's just more usage? fertilizer runoff definitely works wonders for plant growth.

@Crawbugger , curious if you have scientific sources that cover more than just "the sun". I mean, there ARE peer reviewed studies showing diminishing thickness in ozone layers in certain areas. For that area, I have no idea. That's not my area of expertise.

 

[Cabezon]

When I first started fishing Rocky Ford 20-30 years ago, I don't remember there being an active cattle ranch and haying operation uphill of the creek. I wonder if there are more nutrients leaching into the groundwater and therefore into the creek from that operation, independent of any changes that the Trout Lodge group have implemented.
Steve

 

[wanderingrichard]

Good night Walter.

No, the correct reply was, Goodnight, David.

Damn we need guys like that as newscasters again

 

[Wanative]

No, the correct reply was, Goodnight, David.

Damn we need guys like that as newscasters again

I was mentioning Pat as mimicking Walter Cronkite of CBS. Pat referenced me as Chet Huntley of NBC.
Hence the goodnight Walter.
Walter always ended his broadcast with "and that's the way it is".
I agree we need some unbiased news networks, anchors and reporters.

 

[wanderingrichard]

And Chet was opposite of David Brinkley on NBC... I get it. Walter was an almost solo act so he needed his own tag to stand out.

Regardless you guys brought back a lot of memories.

So, from reading through the thread, Rocky Ford was once a large hatchery operation on a nicely fishable creek ??

 

[Buzzy]

Pat, do you know if they've changed regulations on fertilizer in the area? or if there's just more usage? fertilizer runoff definitely works wonders for plant growth.

@Crawbugger , curious if you have scientific sources that cover more than just "the sun". I mean, there ARE peer reviewed studies showing diminishing thickness in ozone layers in certain areas. For that area, I have no idea. That's not my area of expertise.

Randy - You know, I don't think there's any change in fertilizer use regulations and you're spot on, we love our green lawns but not our green lakes.

When I first started fishing Rocky Ford 20-30 years ago, I don't remember there being an active cattle ranch and haying operation uphill of the creek. I wonder if there are more nutrients leaching into the groundwater and therefore into the creek from that operation, independent of any changes that the Trout Lodge group have implemented.
Steve

Steve - There are lots of feed lots, dairies and ranches in the Basin but I'm not sure if there's one contributing nutrients to the aquifer that provides water to the hatchery. I do wonder about hatchery operations and how they treat their pond discharge.

There's an abandoned private hatchery north of Moses Lake (Gloyd). The hatchery collected spring water at the toe of the plateau above Crab Creek; they excavate a ditch along the toe, the ditch collected and controlled flow through rearing ponds. I seem to remember some issues with a hog farm on the plateu directly above the hatchery causing some issues but that might have been one property owners complaining about another.

 

[wanderingrichard]

Sounds like you might have found one of your culprits....farm run off. Maybe lots of nitrates leached through to the creek channel?

 

[Billy]

There are some seep lakes below Potholes that I think the cattle runoff greatly effects....

 

[dep]

hopefully the cold weather will kill the weed mats and we can get back to fishing.
IF the pelicans have not eaten all the fish..........

 

[Bakerite]

The first few times I fished Rocky Ford trout lodge had not set up operations yet, it was under fly only regulations with a one fish limit over 18 I think. I had a friend that told me about it. The upper part was the abandoned hatchery raceways and ponds, no big building like there is now and you could walk all over and fish for what I assume were the wild leftovers from the old hatchery fish. Pretty rainbows, mostly small, but very fun. A great place to waste an afternoon. Bizarre walking and fishing in an hatchery. There were quite a few fish in the ponds that are still there. I don't remember fishing much of the creek people fish now, just the little riffle bend.

 

[Buzzy]

The first few times I fished Rocky Ford trout lodge had not set up operations yet, it was under fly only regulations with a one fish limit over 18 I think. I had a friend that told me about it. The upper part was the abandoned hatchery raceways and ponds, no big building like there is now and you could walk all over and fish for what I assume were the wild leftovers from the old hatchery fish. Pretty rainbows, mostly small, but very fun. A great place to waste an afternoon. Bizarre walking and fishing in an hatchery. There were quite a few fish in the ponds that are still there. I don't remember fishing much of the creek people fish now, just the little riffle bend.

I remember fishing the abandoned hatchery raceways and ponds too, it was fun. Pre F-troop days ;-)

 

[Jim F.]

I fished it a few times back in the 80's, usually in the winter.

 

[Salmo_g]

I fished RF once, February 1973 I think it was. I was still fairly new to fly fishing, so I barely knew what to do. I found a small pram on the bank with one oar. I used that to paddle out to a large boulder. Standing on that boulder I cast a size 14 Red Ass Bastard and caught some nice trout and one rather large one. For fishing as good as that you'd think I'd have gone over and tried it again. Obviously this isn't "recent intell."

 

[Lessthings]

I went out there for the first time ever last week. For me, it was super bizarre. It was sort of like fishing for Koi in someone's backyard pond...but koi that don't want to eat. I only fished the stretch north of HW 17. The trout were huge, but weren't interested in anything I was throwing at them. They also looked pretty beat up. Maybe it's nicer below hw 17, but I don't think I will be returning any time soon. If you do go, I would recommend bringing pellet flies

 

[krusty]

Regarding the nutrient component discussion in this RF thread; it's important to remember that while changes in nutrient composition and quantity greatly impact eutrophication rates of impounded water bodies, of considerable additional impact is detention time as well as the accumulation of limiting nutrients (most often phosphorus) that can function as a nutrient sink and be released (and bioavailable) under certain circumstances.

Without frequent significant scouring events nutrient accumulation and associated eutrophication may become irreversible without human intervention.

 

[Buzzy]

Regarding the nutrient component discussion in this RF thread; it's important to remember that while changes in nutrient composition and quantity greatly impact eutrophication rates of impounded water bodies, of considerable additional impact is detention time as well as the accumulation of limiting nutrients (most often phosphorus) that can function as a nutrient sink and be released (and bioavailable) under certain circumstances.

Without frequent significant scouring events nutrient accumulation and associated eutrophication may become irreversible without human intervention.

I was hoping you would weigh in on this thread, thanks! I don't see the likelihood of a significan scouring event (it could happen, but no thanks) and human intervention isn't likely either. Eutrophication happens.

 

[joefromchicago]

Are you guys forgetting RF is a spring creek? They are traditionally clear water because they are underground snow melt, not surface streams, filtered by rock, well below any surface saturation. Not a botanist, but I see two reasons; global warming resulting in a longer growing season and the reason our lakes are being diminished by algae blooms and the no-wading rule.
And seriously, trout are always pooping in the water.

 

[krusty]

Are you guys forgetting RF is a spring creek? They are traditionally clear water because they are underground snow melt, not surface streams, filtered by rock, well below any surface saturation. Not a botanist, but I see two reasons; global warming resulting in a longer growing season and the reason our lakes are being diminished by algae blooms and the no-wading rule.
And seriously, trout are always pooping in the water.

Doesn't matter...in a limnological sense RF is a long detention time shallow lacustrine-like environment...and it's downstream of a large phosphorus contributor (trout farm). Normal trout populations do not contribute the same magnitude of nutrients to their aquatic environment.

 

[wanderingrichard]

Though this article relates to the dam removal on the Elwha, the book that's referenced might be appropriate for Rocky Fords ills

What happened to Washington's wildlife after the largest dam removal in US history

That thing fish do in water is shockingly important to biological diversity in the Pacific Northwest.

www.engadget.com

 

[Guy Gregory]

Your on-scene reporter here …

Surface vegetation and goop at <20% cover, good amounts of open water to fish. In-stream veg down 6-8” below the surface. Water not very clear in most places, looks algal +\- vegetation debris.

fish uncooperative for me, which is not news. Fished small all day, interesting bwo hatch noonish on this sunny day. In retrospect I should just as well been throwing clousers or deer hair poppers.

Oh, and fyi: source of water for Rocky Ford is the Columbia Basin Project facilities to the east, including the EastLowCanal and a wasteway or two. USGS did a groundwater study out here a couple of years ago, it served to correct a lot of misconceptions.

Here’s the link to the project

Quincy Groundwater | U.S. Geological Survey

The Issue: Since 1952, water diverted from the Columbia River for irrigation in parts of the Quincy Subarea in eastern Washington has resulted in rising groundwater levels and increased groundwater flows and storage. Managers of groundwater in the area need a better understanding of the flow...

www.usgs.gov