Warm Springs Worth A Trip Right Now?

Any locals agree that its worth a trip?

From SFGATE.com

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Head up to the Warm Springs steelhead hatchery

Sam Whiting, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, March 20, 2009
Grab a seat to catch a close-up of steelhead going up the...

A hatchery steelhead is hardwired like its wild brethren to return from the ocean to its native spawning ground. This provides two advantages over wild steelhead, if you're looking to see fish in action fighting their way home. The first is you know exactly where to find them. The second is that there are some fish there to see.

"It's the best time of the year to come out, right now," says Brett Wilson, who oversees the Warm Springs Fish Hatchery, officially known as the Congressman Don Clausen Fish Hatchery, 8 miles west of Healdsburg.

Through the last tally on March 7, Wilson has counted 593 mature steelhead, averaging 7 to 10 pounds, who have come in from the Pacific Ocean during the winter. The fish enter the Russian River at Jenner, then turn left up Dry Creek. The hatchery is below the dam at Lake Sonoma, and by the time they get there they have traveled 40 miles upstream, Wilson says. Then comes the spectator sport, which is the 20-foot climb up a fish ladder to the hatchery where they started from years ago.

"They are in a tight area and they have one way to go, so if you are going to stand there you will see them," says Wilson, senior hatchery supervisor for the Bay Delta region of the California Department of Fish and Game. They arrive in spurts and the average yield is two or three fish every half hour, Wilson estimates.

Even when holding on the steps or resting after flopping over the top, they are something to see. The anadromous rainbow trout can be 3 feet long. The males are in spawning colors, red stripes up the sides. The females are chrome, or turning dark with the freshwater. The numbers are lower than average but not as depressing as for the run of wild steelhead. Those fish are under such stress that biologists are hesitant to tell people where to look for them.

Human visitation isn't a problem for the hatchery steelhead at Warm Springs. This is their last stop on a commute some have made two or three times, and they serve as public educators. "These fish are coming back to us. They've made their journey," Wilson says. "You can get close up and view them without destroying habitat."

Upon arrival, the fish are held captive one week. The eggs are artificially taken every Thursday morning at 10:30, and the procedure is open to the public. The adult fish are then trucked to the Russian River and released. The eggs are incubated, hatched and reared at the hatchery for one year before they are released into Dry Creek to begin their first commute to the sea.

Warm Springs Fish Hatchery: 3333 Skaggs Springs Road, Geyserville. The Visitor Center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wed.-Sun. (707) 431-4533.

E-mail Sam Whiting at [email protected].

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/20/DDVT16CS2S.DTL

This article appeared on page F - 4 of the San Francisco Chronicle

only if we fish the lake after

Martin as far as Hatcherys go its a pretty nice set up but you will only spend about an hour or so you need to combine it with a paddle at the lake or wine tasting. There are a lot of good Winery's on the Dry Creek Rd which leads to the Hatchery. Not a lot of Fish this year but you only need to watch a few.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,16570.msg160644.html#msg160644

http://www.wineroad.com/maps/2/

sam whiting is my cousin. he has been with the chronicle a long time.

I've read that the Chronicle is considering shutting down operations. Would be a big loss for the area.

I was hunting pigs wednesday and took a break to go see the fish at the hatchery. On the long pool after the ladder there were maybe 40/50 fish? The water was clear and it was easy to see the fish in the bright sun. I tossed dimes into the water and the fish were all over them!
BTW, no pig for me, yet.