Coho Waiting for the Rain...

reblogged from QuestX

The beautiful autumn we've been having is definitely causing trouble for the salmon in the smaller tributaries...
...in reviewing the tributary to the larger creek, no salmon are able to move upstream beyond the first riffles, effectively restricting the coho in shallow pools.


This physically restricts the normal breeding patterns of coho: mates restricted, spawning site selection limited, spawning and redd progression restricted.



This is a very large pair, the larger coho is ~3' long.

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Coho Salmon - Competing for Space and Mates

reblogged from QuestX

Coho salmon competing for spawning habitat and mates... in a tributary of Woods Creek, Snohomish County, Washington.
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Today in ~> the Creek ... Coho Waiting for Rain

reblogged from QuestX

The water levels have definitely dropped since Sunday.
The water in the main creek is no longer high enough to allow for fish passage over barriers and the water levels in the smaller creek have dropped enough that the fish are effectively trapped in short reaches, are restricted to moving downstream, or are at/ near the confluence of the tributary and main stem of the creek.




^Video of Coho moving downstream today, waiting for more rain.

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Today in ~> the Creek ... Coho Salmon Spawning

reblogged from QuestX

Today in the Creek...


Every year when the late October / early November rains swell our Creek (a tributary of Woods Creek, Washington) Coho salmon are able to pass the many fish barriers and ascend the creek.

This year we knew the salmon were just a bit downstream of us for almost 2 weeks before the rains this past weekend allowed them upstream access. Now that they are here the eagles will not be far behind...

We've been incredibly distracted recently, but we're wrapping things up, catching up, and will be posting a lot again soon! . .