Spawner Observations on the Eel - 12/2011 - Solstice and Xmas Eve pix added

I watch over my shoulders for a sly cougar more than I worry about bears.

THAT freaks me out even more. Careful out there brother 

Need not worry Joel.  Your a touch too old for most bay area cougars lol. 

HaHa!! 

I always crack a smile when I see a redd.  Don't know why, I just do.  Thanks for the pics Eric, creek-walking during a salmonid spawn is something everyone should do at least once.

I always crack a smile when I see a redd.  Don't know why, I just do.

In response to a FB friend's suggestion that I just need a Robert Frost poem to accompany the creek pics, I wrote this poem:

It's the time of year when salmon spawn. Rain builds flows and the Game is on.
As fickle streams' waters recede, my concern is Nature's need.
Will fish that thrived for millenia past find a way to make it last?
Or will man's desire to use all resources overwhelm age old forces?
The complicated answer lies in the determined gaze within the eyes
of nimble Kings with nothing more than awesome drive to win their war
- battles fought in swifts and holes where Life's brutal beauty stirs our souls.

I always crack that smile too, Chris.  I think it's appreciation for bold and righteous effort. 

Salmon and their determination to reproduce are one of Nature's most vivid reminders of our basic drives.  We should all be so focused on what is right by our offspring and each other.  Watching salmon spawn helps me to know why I fish and how I want to live.

More pics from a late Solstice afternoon on the creek two days ago:

Aren't bears supposed to be hibernating during the winter? Or is that just certain types of bears? I thought the slept all winter long?

Aren't bears supposed to be hibernating during the winter? Or is that just certain types of bears? I thought the slept all winter long?

I think that's only where there's lots and lots of snow, Jeff.   

Nice hike on a few miles of spawning habitat yesterday - Merry Christmas to me.   

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Great pix, Eric.  I wish there was someplace close I could hike like this.  A hike along the LA River is a very different experience.  There are lots of things to see and observe ... but it's a very different experience.   

Great pix, Eric.  I wish there was someplace close I could hike like this.  A hike along the LA River is a very different experience.  There are lots of things to see and observe ... but it's a very different experience.   

Haha! That's hilarious! Thanks for taking us along with you Eric, it's great to see, Merry Christmas buddy. Thanks for the bear info as well