January 2010
The river is LOW. The current flow rate is below 100cfs. This is normal for this time of year. There is talk
that Friant Dam may allow more water to come downstream beginning next month. If so, we will be happy to see it!
February 20, 2009
We have had a bit more rain, as you all know, but that doesn't mean there is more water in the river! The first
objective is to retain the water behind the dam until Millerton Lake is back up to snuff. The release of water downstream
is actually LESS than it was a month ago. If you are following the Bee articles like I am, you'll note that this year
there are plans to increase the minimum flow into the river. I don't know the figure but I am estimating that it
will be between 500-800 cubic feet per second. That is significant in that as I write, the flow is at 60 cfs. Will this
be enough to saturate Gravelly Ford on the west side of the Valley and get the river above ground so the salmon can come back
here? That is the $64 question!
In any case, the ponds here are in fairly good shape as we come into the bass spawning season. We urge catch and
release, ESPECIALLY of the big females full of eggs. If you catch a biggie, bucket-it, bring it to the bait shop so we can
weigh it and take your picture, then you can release it. We promise to make you famous for your heroic catch!
Also, note that the game warden's health has returned and he is back with a partner this year.
January 2009
We are getting ready for the new season! While the "rain" did not come and fill up the higher ponds, all those
nearer the river are in fine shape. It is cold and foggy here in the early morning but t-shirt time by 10am. Shine
up your lures and buff your boats and come on down......... As an aside, the State has agreed to kick in some funds
to offset the irrigation power bill! Woo-Hoo!
What's up with the trees?..........
I will try to be brief. When the gravel mining operation was pulling out in 2004, they entered a restoration agreement
with the State. They did a terrific job cleaning up and grading the roads. Calaveras Materials is to be commended
for their efforts. In addition, they planted 400 native trees - lovato oaks, valley oaks, live oaks, and sycamores.
They also left one well operational and installed irrigation to reach every single tree. This was an enormous undertaking.
Keep in mind we are talking about over 300 acres. In the fall of 2007 their maintenance contract expired. In January
of 2008 yours truly, Falcontail Enterprises, was awarded a long term contract as operator/contractor to oversee public access
and maintain the property. At that time the trees were in a near derelict condition. The well pump was broken
and most irrigation lines were inoperable. With bro bono help from Valley Pipe and Irrigation the regulator valve on
the pump was repaired. Our own personnel spent a month digging up broken lines and repairing pipe. nearly 100 sprinkler
heads were faulty and had to be replaced. By late April we were able to turn the water on.
The property is divided into an east and west section. We focused on the east section. In repairing and monitoring
the 6 valve stations controling this area we found that each repair resulted in more water pressure in the lines which created
further underground breaks. In due course, each and every leak was located and repaired. We then were able to
set the watering timer to 1 1/2 hours every other day, during the night. This minimal watering cycle has resulted in
many of the trees in the east sector perking up and showing signs of life.
The bad news is that this area is self-funded. That means that your $9 gate fees pay for everything. Our
first PG&E bill for this HALF of the park was $453. That was for minimal watering. We will try very hard to
maintain that. It also means that we cannot afford to water the west half of the Park. We have brought this up
at several board meetings and spoken and written about it to the San Joaquin River Conservancy, the State Agency that actually
owns the land.
Our arguement is that since these are State trees on State land that the State should pick up the bill for this.
It is our understanding that the idea for this property is to maintain it in such a fashion as to enhance access to the river
and augment the concept of an actual River Parkway for public enjoyment and future recreation. A big part of this vision
is NOT to let the very expensive trees that were planted here stuggle and die. We are trying desperately to gain the
interest of the SJRC and it's Board to take action in this regard. To date there has been no positive response.
So, what we are faced with is this: we need about 150 MORE of you to come out each weekend at $9 a car to help
cover this OR we need PG&E to be really really magnanimous OR we will have to shut down the pump and try not to look out
the window at the trees withering in the Valley sun.
If any of you know any politicians or State people with any clout please alert them to this. Letters have been
written to many State officials already, but I believe they are waiting to get more to determine if they care to act
or not. You know how it is.
I have uploaded some videos to You Tube so you can see for yourself what I am talking about.
Scalet Wisteria and its challenges
Scarlet wisteria is an invasive woody plant that is semi-aquatic. It is a member of the leguminosa or bean familty.
That means it produces pods of seeds that resemble green beans. The wisteria's pods are brown and float. The plants
are woody and grow to 10 feet tall. When the pods fall they float downstream and when encountering a shoreline, presto,
a new plant starts growing. In this manner the wisteria is literally infesting and gobbling up banks of the San Joaquin
River. Although dozens of personnel from the Department of Waterways, Department of Water Resources, Department of Agriculture,
and various univerities have surveyed, photographed, mapped, charted and reported this, the wisteria seems to only respect
a machette.
As it grows on moist banks and up to 50ft away from the waterline, it is difficult to fight it with chemicals that may
seep into the water and heavy equipment cant appoach it due to the sandy wet soil it prefers. This leaves us humans
with the task of getting into it with machettes, brushhooks, and heavy clippers. Wildlife loves this plant and deer,
racoons, beaver and various other varmints hide out from the summer heat in its jungle-like undergrowth. Ticks and spiders
particularly like this plant. So, it is clear why no one is actually getting into it and battling it.
Still, a small team of folks with machettes can clean 60 square feet of it in an afternoon. Once hacked down, only
a small time need be spent on periodic chopping thereafter to keep the plants from re-entering the seed bearing stage.
We at Sycamore Island have seen a host of white collar people come in to look at it. We await a more seasoned and
reasonable blue collar crowd that will actually DO something! Like a farmer friend of mine is fond of saying, "When
you get weeds in your garden, you don't close your eyes and say "there are no weeds. there are no weeds". Best you get a hoe!"
Check out these videos:
July 2008
In spite of the heat and the thousands of California wildfires, the 4th of July weekend saw a huge turn-out here on the
river. A lot of swimming, boating, fishing and good old fashioned picnicking.
The second weekend we had our first All-Night Fishing Event. A dozen parties turned out. Less than half stayed
through the buggy evening. As expected, a few fishermen did extremely well, but most just so-so. No one woke us
up for a picture though!
The game warden was mildly disappointed as everyone had a license and wasn't littering in front of him.
April 27, 2008
It looks like the crappie are biting! Carl J. caught a truely record size one on undisclosed lure that was over
3 lbs. Several people saw it and he may be having it mounted! He declined any pictures :(
March 23, 2008
Easter Weekend. It was fairly quiet down on the river. Nothing much was happening although the weather was
perfect. Water in the river was up. The big event was the return of the game warden. He has discovered that
we are open again. But as so few people were out he mostly visited with us in the bait shop. In the course of
doing so he spied the activity over on the Fresno side of the river in the area we have dubbed "Little Pismo" due to all the
4-wheel drive activity. The GW jetted out and 15 minutes later we saw him over yonder holding forth with a small cadre
of large-tired outdoorsmen. Presently we heard 3 gunshots and thought the worse. As no helicopter arrived and
no one over there seemed excited we assume the GW is still with us. Presently, his truck left the area and
soon after 3 times as many 4-wheelers came in and resumed their fun. Aside from that, the boys on the float tubes were
having the most luck with the fish. Rubber worms and nightcrawlers are getting the most play.
March 1, 2008
The day started out cool and got cooler with the wind. It made casting tough but it didn't stop nearly 80 local
anglers from plying the island waters. Bass were the order of the day. Avg size were 4-7 pounds. The river
was slightly higher due to recent rains upstream.
See the Photo gallery for the close ups.
July 2006.........HOT!
Whew! 96-108 degrees! But a historic month. Finally the river court battle is over. We
are going to see an average flow of 800 cps. That's more than the 550 I was predicting and hoping for. It is terrific!
It will probably even be enough to get water flowing through Gravelly Ford.
February 1, 2006
Well, this is the month that the federal hearing is scheduled in Porterville to determine how much water will be required
to be released from the Frian t Dam INTO THE RIVER. For 67 years 90-95% of the release has been diverted into the 2
canals on the sides of the dam. This has turned the San Joaquin River into the San Joaquin Creek. Farmers and
their ilk have so far successfully branded anyone who doesn't want to see the river mistreated and dried up as "environmental
extremists". The Valley farmers CAN still farm and make a decent living without continuing to rape California's major
river. I sincerely hope the judge will be a stand up guy. Let's hope he likes to boat and fish and doesn't own
a 60 acre orange orchard in Dinuba!
September 12, 2005
Friant Dam has been releasing less than 200cfs of water into the San Joaquin River for 2 months now. This is the
lowest it has been in nearly 15 years. What can we do? Fresno County also has one of the highest incidents of West Nile Disease
in the state. Why are we building mosquito breeding grounds? Why is 95% of the lake's water being diverted into
the 2 canals? Why am I an "environmental extremist" because I notice this and am vocal about people deliberately killing
our river AND bringing a near-fatal disease into our midst? Please read the FAQ "Why is the river so low" for details.
August 16, 2005
The cats and blue gil are leading the pack in this hot weather. The bass are still out there, but are definately
hiding from us all.
The main boat ramp into the river is still high and dry with a bit of a drop-off into the soft dirt above the river level.
Hand-launched boats are the ticket right now. A 14 ft aluminum flatbottom will dominate the fishing in these conditions.
Canoeists in the river are working it hard. While it is still a great adventure, the shallow water and increased speed
in the narrow areas where the berry bushes make a thick and narrow passage make it tricky to avoid the thorns. The big
quiet areas between this, still make the trip worthwhile.
July 19, 2005
We made it through the 4th without any fires AND a record number of campers on the Island! The hot weather has
taken its toll on the brush and made it quite dry. So fire is a concern. And ticks.
For the last several weeks the Dam Authorities have letting only a mere trickle of water out of Friant Dam - avg 150
cfs. This has made river travel difficult for the larger boats. Best bet is a 10-16 foot flat bottom with a shallow
motor. And watch yourself backing down the ramps. Whenever the flow is below 400cfs, the water line is just above the
end of the concrete where it drops into the mud. Several have needed an assist after backing off the end with light
2wheel drive rigs.
The warming water has brought out the cats and we are seeing a lot of really big ones lately. The pond fishing
has remained steady with bluegils and catfish as the mainstay. The bass are hiding in the deep shade and need extra
coaxing.
While there have been 3 drownings on the Kern River and 1 on the Kings in the last few weeks, perhaps we are fortunate
with the influx of more visitors that the San Joaquin River is low. Still, if I had any say in it I would keep the river
between 800-1000cfs.
June 30, 2005
The river flow going into the 4th of July weekend is a very comfortable 2000 cfs. All the campsites are accessible and
the boat ramps relatively dry. We are expecting a large influx of local revellers coming in to spend some time camping and
fishing along the river. Of course, fireworks are not allowed and we will be watching for them! I am expecting having
to spend some time as a "fire marshall" and hope I will not have to ask any people to leave. The fishing is still going
great guns. The bass spawn is largely over. The bass have been a bit confused of late due to the huge fluxuations
in water flow coming out of the dam resulting in changeable water levels and water temperature. We are still encouraging
catch and release. The catfishing is picking up, albeit slowly. The rapid growth of water weeds due to the recent
warm weather means you will need to bring your weedless hooks and lures. We are expecting the entire weekend to be about
100 degrees, so bring plenty to drink and remember we have shade and cold drinks at the bait shop.
June 13, 2005
Well, we watched the river come up and up. And up some more. Two campers panicked and bailed out two weeks ago. But it
was an over-reaction. Since then the dam valves have been curtailed and currently we are back to the season normal of
400cfs. (two weeks ago it was at 8700cfs!) The river is way down and continuing to drop. The ponds are now quite full and
should remain that way for 3 weeks as the water slowly trickles back down. We expect to see the water temperatures rise
and the catfishing pick up. The bass spawn is effectively over and the big boys are still biting. Check out the photogallery.
So, aside from the few weenies that raced out of here all big-eyed about the flood, the rest of us are still pretty happy
about the fishing.
May 18 2005 Wednesday
Oops! NEWS FLASH
Last evening at 6 pm the dam above began releasing over 7000cfs of water. This is definately going
to affect us here. The good news is that the ponds will really really get filled up and later this summer after the
river is down, they will be in great shape.
May 16, 2005
For the last week authorities have been releasing over 4000 cfs out of the dam
15 miles upstream. That's more than 10x more water than is seasonally normal! The stream is moving hard and fast down
here. Canoing and kayaking in the river is being heavily discouraged due to the strong current and 47-49 degree water.
Don't under-estimate this river! If you are not a VERY experienced boater, this river will toss you into brush midstream
and roll you over. To even consider the river, have at least a 25 horse motor. Of course, the jet powered boats
are like water-skeeters out there and scoot around just fine.
Fishing is better along the banks and in the ponds. Oddly, we are
seeing more catfish being caught while the bass are being rather shy. While the river and ponds are full, the camping and
picnic areas are still shady and dry. And I have seen a number of folks sitting out in their boats late into the evening in
the still ponds enjoying cigars and warm nights. Enough, in fact, to make me a bit envious!
For BASS Members: We have now have Lunker Club applications
at the Bait Shop to submit to Bassmaster Magazine. There are some rules, but if you have a 10lb-plus bass and its clearly
alive and waiting to be thrown back, let's do some apps and see if we can't get you some national recognition!
May 2, 2005
Thursday or Friday the Friant Dam people dropped the discharge down to about 1340 cfs. This affected us here by letting
the water level drop about 1 1/2 inches and the temperature increase in the river 1-2 degrees. Fishing in the rapidly
moving water requires two people in a boat and a good anchor. Although one can now shimmy downstream and around the culverts
due to the new channel, to come BACK up requires at least a 7 horse engine and a shallow draft. That means V-hulls beware.
The ponds still seem to be the better fishing.
On a darker note, the man who fell overboard several weeks ago below Lost Lake has been recovered. I understand he might
have floated better and longer had he had a life vest on. Still, the water is 49-50 degrees. That means about 15-20
minutes (without a wet suit) before severe hypothermia sets in. So, although it may be spring-time sunny and you are working
on the perfect tan, I don't advise swimming to cool off!
April 25, 2005
This was a sterling weekend. Photos were taken of a nice crappie, the largest bluegill of the season and a truely monster
bass. (see photogallery) The water is still a cold 48 degrees in the river and flowing fast at 1850 cfs. We didn't see any
sign of catfish. With the levy road washing out, essentially the "dam" broke dropping the level of upstream water nearly
5 feet. The Old Muddy is once again a pond. The pond fishing still seems to be the best. The fish are
a might bit confused with the recent water changes so you'll need to use more patience.
April 21, 2005
Well, it happened. After the sustained impact of 7000 cfs of river water, in the wee hours of the morning the levy
road burst. The continued thrust of water excavated a new river channel in just minutes and dropped the upstream surface water
level 4 feet. The road atop the levy that allowed access to Fresno via the south bluff is now a chasm 75 ft wide and 5 ft
deep. As of this writing the banks on both sides are seriously undercut with the asphalt top layer hanging out like a flap
of a cardboard box. It is both dangerous and beckoning to fishermen and the curious. Treacherous, might be a better
word. At 10:30 am I put in a call to Calaveras Materials to see if we might have some barriers errected.
April 20, 2005
As of about 9 am this morning Friant Dam has upped their discharge to 1950 cfs. To put this in perspective, last
year at this time they were releasing 200 cfs. That, of course, means there is nearly 10 times the water out there now than
then. That's a lot of water. My 2 horse gas motor could not propel me further upstream than just below Woodward
Park. Bank fishing and near the shore looks to be the ticket. Actually, the ponds are performing better than the river
due to the drop in river temp. The upside is that the trout may wander further downstream.
April 18, 2005
Friant Dam is discharging 1450 cfs of water as of 2 pm. This is up from our normal of about 400cfs. The water
temperature is 47-48 degrees.
What this means to us here on th Island is that the water is up about 4 feet. The boat ramp is usable and mostly
underwater. The levy to the Old Muddy has broken and it is now fully filled to the same level as the river. The
dirt road on the levy that allowed access to the Parkway land upstream, if still there, is currently underwater and unusable.
The remaining 5 ponds are higher and all fully accessible.
The river has breached the road heading up the south bluff toward Fresno and covered it with nearly 2 feet of water.
The breach is growing and causing a large "V" and internal splitting. This means this route is no longer safe for vehicle
travel. The undercutting on both sides make it more and more likely that a vehicle will cause a cave in to either side
into a nearly untowable situation until the water recedes. DO NOT TRY TO CROSS THIS ROAD. Also of note, although you are less
than 200 yards from Fresno, a tow truck will have to be dispatched from Madera to rescue you and your bill will
be over $100.
The conduits above the island and under the levy road toward Fresno are completely filled and creating a dangerous pool
to the leeward, downriver side.
Access to the Island and camping is not currently affected. In fact, most people are enjoying the higher water
levels, inspite of the fact that the fish have more room to escape their hooks!
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