My family and I were down south today. I wasn't fishing, just went along for the ride.
We went below Piute, because it's usually a decent place to fish and look at wildlife. What I saw sickened me.
All flows were cut off from the spill way. NO water running down the Sevier river. I took pictures from the spill way. It was horrible! Thousands of dead fish littered the banks. About 1/3 were Rainbow trout(some I saw were 5 - 6#'s), 1/4 were Smallmouth Bass(including a lot of spawners), and the rest were various minnows and suckers. All belly up. There were still a few fish surviving in the remaining trickle of water. One was an honest 10# brown, but he went down in the water before we could net him and get him to oxygenated water.
It was like that all the way down the river. Fish lined the banks dead. Made me sick. Fortunately there's still a little water running down Marysvale canyon. For now.
What would a guy need to do to get at least a little water running down the river? 5 CFS would work. Not like it's that much water, anyway. Is it the Sevier River Water Users Association? If it is, they've ruined the entire fishery. Here's some pictures.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][red][size 4] Thats got to be one of the 
dest sites I have ever seen.[/size][/red][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#ff0000][size 4]AFDan52[/size][/#ff0000][/font]
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Man that is horrible[mad] You'd think someone would pull their heads out and let a little water down the river!
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Man that a
site to see.[unsure]
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Talk about waste!! Thanks for posting the pics, such an eye-opener.
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That is truely
, the lake level was really quite low last i knew, i guess they are trying to fill the lakes upstream first. Its to bad that the owners of the water focus more on that then letting a little bit extra go down stream
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That sucks man!!
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[font "Times New Roman"][#ff4040][size 3]Man that sucks! What a total waste of fish.[/size][/#ff4040][/font]
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It's not that big of a deal. This happens every year in Sept when the irrigation water is shut off. The gates on Piute are closed shut. The majority of the lost fish are rough fish (chubs, suckers, carp). Sure, a few trout are also lost, but not enough to impact the trout fishery. The Sevier River below Piute isn't much of a trout fishery until you get closer to Marysvale, where the water comes back up out of the ground, and other steady streams enter the river.
Did you happen to drive through Marysvale Canyon and notice all the fishermen? It was so busy on Saturday, that it was hardly worth fishing.
The pictures paint an ugly picture, bin in all reality, the situation isn't as bad as one might think.
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It's not as though the lake level is all that low. 37% isn't exactly full, but it's not bad, either. I've seen the lake when it was empty, and it's not even close to that.
[url "http://www.sevierriver.org/reservoirs/teacup.php3"]http://www.sevierriver.org/reservoirs/teacup.php3[/url]
It's kinda funny, I showed this to my dad. He's been fishing down there for quite a while, and usually goes down in September or October for a couple trips. About the last 10 years, actually. And he has never seen fish dead and piled up like that. Seeing as how we can go down there and catch a bunch of Rainbows and Browns, too, I can't see how you wouldn't think it's a trout fishery. Even if it's just washout from Piute there are still large numbers of trout in large sizes; Exactly what I'd call a trout fishery.
We didn't happen to just drive through; my family were fishing. You didn't happen to notice the group of anglers spin fishing out of a 2005 F150, did you? That was us. I saw in one hole in Marysvale canyon easilly 200 fish, with a bunch of big brown mixed in with the suckers and other assorted bait fish. And already fish were starting to die. BTW, it was worth fishing. My dad nailed yet another 5 LB Brown, and 30 fish for the day.
The picture IS as bad as it seems. Tell me that spawning sized Small mouth bass are not a loss. If they could have stayed in there, they would have eaten the suckers and minnows, and all the other rough fish. I know what the diet is on large brown and rainbow trout, too. They turn picevacious(screwed that spelling) around 18", and the majority of them were above that size. Look at all the dead fish. It's senseless.
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i was thinking the same thing
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I've taken the liberty to highlight a couple of the pictures that we took. Clearly shown in one picture are Smallmouths and Rainbows. In the other, Rainbows. Look at the size; Do the math. How long does it take to grow 5+# rainbows and 3# Smallmouths? These are just little sections of the amount of death around the river.
The news seems to disagree, also. We've been on the phone with KSL. It'll be on at 10 tonight. The DWR is upset over it, too. Very upset. They can not do anything about the situation because of private water use(for now). Seems that SRWUA washed out the spillway hole today to get rid of the evidence...
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[cool]Man, some of those trout were whoppers! That's really
to see all of those fish go, even though I never make it down that way, it's
to see any good fishery being wasted like that...
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We didn't happen to just drive through; my family were fishing. You didn't happen to notice the group of anglers spin fishing out of a 2005 F150, did you? That was us. I saw in one hole in Marysvale canyon easilly 200 fish, with a bunch of big brown mixed in with the suckers and other assorted bait fish. And already fish were starting to die.
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Yes, I did notice you and your family...in fact, one member of your group actually cast a spinner right over my fly line and didn't even know it. You guys jumped from spot to spot and right on top of me several times...it was a bit irritating. I was driving a white dodge that said "Ram Spirit" on the window.
I live in Monroe and fish that section of river a lot through the winter...I think you are worried about something that is not that big of a deal. Also, I never noticed any dieing fish in the canyon. You must remember that the river gets pretty good water returns below Piute Reservoir...the best trout section of the Lower Sevier is in Marysvale Canyon...I doubt seriously that this section of river will be lost. I am going to fish it again this week.
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W&B, I sent you a PM to clear things up. And I'd just like to post this here, too. I'll admit that my little brother did cast over him once before he saw him. But then, he yelled 3 or 4 times, "Hey sir, sorry about that." And W&B didn't say one word to him. Far from it, he turned away. We drove up river and never saw him again. How we were stepping on him all day I don't know; We fished Otter Creek after about 1.
This is the last I'm going to rant on this subject. It shouldn't matter what species of fish it is that died. Just keep this in mind, all of you who are out there all warm and cozy tonight.
Two weeks ago all those fish were living, breathing, thriving individuals. Every last sucker, minnow, trout and bass were all sitting in that pool living out their lives. I know trout don't grow to 5#s in a year; I know bass don't grow to 3#s in a year. This was all of these fishes home, and it had been for quite some time.
And because one person or a group of people were too greedy to put a little water down the spillway to allow them all to live, they are all dead. Pretty well every last one of them. They all died by suffocation in their own homes.
If this were the Provo or Weber or Green you'd have outraged anglers from through out the state talking about it. And last I heard all of them have a lot of the same species I documented in the Sevier. But why isn't it a worry? Because it IS the Sevier river. It shouldn't matter where it is; It should be what happened, and why.
This shouldn't happen because of any person in the state of Utah, besides the DWR. If the DWR saw fit to kill the river, so be it. It's their job to make decisions like that. But it wasn't them. And far from it, they don't agree with the decision to cut off water at all. They'd rather see those fish living.
These were fish that you or I could have gone out and enjoyed. Given time, and the habitate present, along with all the food, the Smallmouth bass would have taken over, and made one heck of a fishery. I would go as far as saying Jordanelle and then some. Instead, the SRWUA decided they all should die a slow and grisley death. And it's just not right, and I will never agree with it. SRWUA's made a life long enemy out of me and my family at the very least. And I urge you all to speak up against them, too.
Now I'll step off of my soap box. I've got bigger things to think about like the Muzzleloader hunt next Wedensday. Mods, if you think I've gone over-board here, feel free to delete/edit as needed.
Thanks for everyone who's taken the time and replied their feelings on the subject. Jerry
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[#0000ff]For what it's worth, most of us are shocked and dened by the definite loss of many nice fish. It is never a GOOD thing to have such massive dieoffs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have sent a link to this thread to Drew Cushing (DWR) locally and he has forwarded it to Mike Ottenbacher, the fish manager in the southern region. They will at least be aware of the problem even if they are unable to do anything about it.[/#0000ff]
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[reply] And I'd just like to post this here, too. I'll admit that my little brother did cast over him once before he saw him. But then, he yelled 3 or 4 times, "Hey sir, sorry about that." And W&B didn't say one word to him. Far from it, he turned away. We drove up river and never saw him again. How we were stepping on him all day I don't know; We fished Otter Creek after about 1.
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Well, if your brother said anything, I never heard it. I stayed finished fishing the spot i was on and left...when I left and went upstream, I could still see someone standing near the spot i was on and I could hear other people talking and busting through the brush. But, again, no one yelled that I could hear. I was not annoyed that his happened...I understood that your brother did not know that i was there. No big deal.
However, unless I am mistaking your group for a different group, you jumped from big hole to big hole and right in front of me on two more occasions. I may have your family
with a different group, but I find it to be very poor etiquette for someone to leap frog another fisherman on a relatively uncrowded river. If it was not your group, I apologize.
It is never good to see lots of dead trout, I agree. But, I think you are definitely exaggerating the effects this is having downstream. Unless the fish died from something other than low flows upstream (like poison from irrigators--which is possible and has happened at times in this area), I don't think the fish in Marysvale Canyon are threatened. Between Saturday and Sunday, I fished the entire stretch of river from the sharp curve at the mouth of the canyon and private property to Big Rock and never saw loads of dead or belly up fish...in fact, I don't recall seeing a single dead fish. Also, many good streams with much lower flows than the Sevier and its 20cfs hold large trout through winter months despite freezing over...true, some fish may die, but that holds true in any stream during the winter. You mention the smallmouth bass...if those fish could take over the river, it would have already happened. Smallmouth have been stocked in Piute numerous times over the years and have never taken the river over...again, I think you are exaggerating the effect of this die off.
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... Given time, and the habitate present... and made one heck of a fishery.[/reply]
This is absolutely correct. Most likely, NOT for smallmouth, but definately for trout. If there was some minimum flow coming from Piute year round. However, with the current status of the SRWU, it isn't happening. How you go about changing that, I don't know, but this media attention is a good start.
Irrigation users have presented problems to fisheries for years in Utah. This isn't a new situation. If you think this problem is bad, what did you think of the 3 years in a row that Minersville was drained dry? What about that past few years when Otter Creek and Piute were drained dry? How many fish died from those situations, with NO attention at all? These drainages killed thousands upon thousands of fish, instead of just a few hundred.
I'm on your side. It's not a good site to see. I just don't get why the outrage over this, while not a word is said about other areas. If you want to throw a fit, why no concern about Koosharem in it's current state?
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[size 1][/size]I'm on your side. It's not a good site to see. I just don't get why the outrage over this, while not a word is said about other areas. If you want to throw a fit, why no concern about Koosharem in it's current state?
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Little harsh on a guy, aren't you? Can't you give a little credit for trying to make a difference? Same old stuff...[/size][/black][/font][/size]
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Uh, from what I can tell on that river, pretty well every group I saw were jumping from spot to spot. It's what I've seen most of them do on all of my trips there. We parked at 3 more spots, fished for a while, and left for Otter Creek. We weren't there all day. Like PBH said, it was a busy day on that river.
I saw what I saw, my mom saw it. If you didn't, well, you're missing out on a very
sight. Fish were dying. White bellies in a school of black sorta stands out. And maybe they were from improper release on fish. I don't know. All I know is that yeah, I did see dead fish in Marysvale Canyon, particularly in one stretch.
The Smallmouth didn't get a chance. Just look at the habitat. Honestly, it reminds me of the Coquille River in Oregon. Lots of SM in that river, along with resident trout and runs of salmon. When you see 2 or 3 hundred young of the year SM dead, it indicates there was a possiblity there. I've caught them out of Otter Creek's spillway before, and in rather large sizes. From what I've seen there, too, rough fish numbers are down. Only problem, as PBH said, is the water flows. I know bass can contend with high water; They'd take it to their advantage. What they'd need is just a minimum flow durring the off-irrigation season. Then both trout and bass would benefit.
It's not right for this to happen at the Sevier river, Koosharem Reservoir, or any other place in the state for that matter. It shouldn't matter where it is. It should get publicity, and have something done about it ASAP. I documented what I did on the Sevier, and I'd like to see something done about it. At the very least the DWR should have told anglers to get down there and take those fish before they died. The fish should at least be used by anglers rather than having it rot all down the river.
One thing that kinda fries me about the Sevier, too, is that Otter Creek is still having water let out of it. And now it's lower than Piute. There's already snow in the mountains. It wouldn't hurt to put a little bit of water down the river. But now the reservoirs going to be closer to the top. And what's going to happen next spring when Piute is full with run off still coming in? More flooding? It just doesn't make any sense to me at all.
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