The next board meeting will be held Monday, Sept 13th, 2010 at 7 p.m at Carrows, Seaward and Harbor. Annual Picnic is on Saturday, Sept 18th, 3:00pm at Camp Bartlett
First Steelhead of the Season
Saturday March 21, 2010: Casitas Municipal Water District reported the first documented adult steelhead of the season.
Two adult steelhead were photographed passing through the Robles Diversion fish passage facilities ; the fish were preliminarily estimated to be a 62 and 58 cm (24 and 23 inches) in length, and appear to be relatively fresh from the ocean. Here is a photo taken from the video clips, and one of the videos.
This does not mean these are the first or only fish to have made their way upstream, but these are the first pictures. At a board meeting earlier this year, CMWD biologists described the limitations of the camera detection system installed in the fish ladder. They have done experiments that show that the cameras cannot detect fish when the river is turbid (murky) - which happens to be any time the flows are high, and very often when fish are on the move.
On March 20th, fish biologist, Matt Stoecker, photographed a 24" steelhead within the North Fork Matilija Creek and documented two others the same day. Hopefully, this historical fishery might have the means to recover.
Trout in the Classroom
Chairman: Kent Houston
The Trout in the Classroom program had a very unusual situation come up recently. All teachers got eggs delivered and the students watched them hatch, turn to alevin, and finally become very active fry. Dropping a couple small insects on the water caused quite a feeding frenzy. Then it was time to release and we found out that Lake Casitas was no longer allowing us to use their site. With no other release sites locally we were in a real bind. The Fish & Game tried hard to work with Casitas but there was no cooperation. So we have had to find creative conclusions to our project. Again we feel this is an excellent learning experience for the kids and we are thankful to the club's support of this program.
Fly Fishing Class at Ventura College
Randy and Earl are at it again! This year’s Spring class was a great success so they decided to try another class this Summer. Class starts on June 5th. The class is 3 consecutive Saturdays. First class is all day at the collage with instruction on everything from gear to bugs. The second class is casting at the college. They teach basic casting on the lawn with some help from Joan Wulff on video and a couple of club members. The last Saturday is an all day event where the class gos to Lake Casitas and cast on the water and discusses lake tactics. Then they will find a stream, Kick up some bugs pick out flies, Demonstrate casting on moving water, line mending and drag free drifts, Demonstrate Nymphing techniques and go fishing. Tell your friends, wives, lovers, and neighbors. Check it out on line at http://www.communityed.venturacollege.edu/ Look under recreation for the class description.
"Ventura River Restoration- one tree at a time "
From Left to Right:
Paul Wilson, Theresa Bulla, Dennis Harper, Bob Smith, Earl Arnold, Chris May, Gary Bulla.
On February 14, 2009, seven members of the Sespe Fly Fishers in Ventura California met on the banks of the Ventura River just below the confluence of San Antonio Creek near Ojai , California . The objective was to plant 47 trees on the riverbank and adjacent area. The area is a restoration project named the Confluence Preserve under the management of the Ojai Valley Nature Conservancy. This portion of the Preserve is a conservation easement on a private ranch. The flood of 2005 washed several acres of the ranch downstream. The Conservancy received grant funding to stabilize, restore, and protect the stream bank and remaining ranchland.
Some estimates indicate that prior to modern mans intervention and diversion of the natural water flow, the Ventura River watershed could have supported over 20,000 spawning steelhead. In more modern times, prior to ground water pumping and the installation of the Matilija and Casitas dams, the river had been home to an annual run of approximately 2,500 to 5,000 steelhead. Recent returns of the endangered Southern Steelhead are down to about 10 fish per year. The Ventura River is a targeted stream for steelhead recovery. Preserving and restoring the riparian zone of the river is vital to the steelhead recovery effort.
The Conservancy prepared the site by placing rock groins in the flat streambed overflow area, installed an irrigation system and mulched the site for weed control. What they needed were trees and planting labor.
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Chouinard Presentation: Names left to right Dennis Harper, Club Conservation Chairman: Yvon Chouinard,:Paul Wilson, Club President: Gary Bulla, Club Programs Chairman
The Sespe Fly Fisher's project had been in the planning stage for over a year. The club was looking for a meaningful way to express recognition of the commitment Yvon Chouinard, owner of Patagonia , has made to the club and the environment. Yvon's efforts have a world-wide impact. Dennis Harper, the club's Conservation Chairman along with Gary Bulla, the club's Program Chairman researched the options for recognition of Yvon. A local area conservation project was ideal. They investigated several sites for a tree planting project. The club members provided the funds which had been donated for conservation efforts. Fifteen Sycamores, 15 Cottonwoods and 5 Coastal Live Oaks were purchased for the project. OVLC Program Manager Derek Poultney and Stevie Adams, the Ventura River Confluence Project Manager, provided guidance and coordination leading to a perfect wedding of the club's desire and the Conservancy's needs
Another Tree Planting along the Ventura River..... one year later!!
Tree Planting Feb. 13, 2010. Left to right- Dennis Harper, Ojai Valley Land Conservancy-Rick Bisaccia, Burnie Grange, Jeff Hereford, Carl Rhoads, Chris May, Alan Monteath, Maria Mondragon, Mike Ogden, California Conservation Corps Chris Lima , David Boyden, Theresa Bulla, Gary Bulla. Photo by Earl Arnold. 12 people from the club, 63 trees.
The Sespe Fly Fishing Club planted 63 native trees at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) Rice Creek restoration site on Saturday, Feb 13, 2010. A total of 14 club members turned out on a beautiful sunny morning. We planted 25 black cottonwoods, 25 sycamores, 3 black walnuts and 10 blue elderberries.
This is a continuation of the Sespe Club‟s recognition of Yvon Chouinard‟s commitment to preservation of the environment and support for local conservation efforts.
The Federation of Fly Fishers included an article on last year‟s planting day in „The Flyfisher‟ magazine winter edition.
Fly Tying
This month Bill Blackstone will continue his tying lessons for us on Wet and Subsurface flies. We had a good turnout in February and we expect another this month, so bring your tools and join us for and enjoyable evening at the Senior Rec. Center, Santa Clara and Oak, at 7:00 PM on Monday, March 22nd (4th Monday), and bring a couple of bucks to help pay for the room.
Remember, we now meet at the Senior Rec Center, Oak and Santa Clara (same place as our regular program meetings), 7:00 PM, February 22, (4th Monday).
The setting was perfect. A rustic site buried in
a huge oak grove. All the necessary amenities were available, but it
had the feeling of a campout on a fishing trip. What more would a fly
fisherman want?
Bill Blackstone volunteered to provide and prepare the tri-tip. He marinates the beef for two days. It can't get any better than that.
Ray and Pat Johnson along with Frances Smith prepared the garlic
bread.
Chuck (right side) and Marcia Colwell organized the event and did all the
bookkeeping.
