BSC - Is It In Trouble

[mic]

I took a long break from BSC, but have been back lately.  Yesterday I fished from the HWY up to private land.  I'm concerned, and would like to see the DNR resample that stream.  It is a wild stream and a couple of big flood events can change things.  However, I noticed from the HWY to the Red Gate exit off the creek there just are not the holes there used to be.  Sure there has always been long stretches of creek that were wide, flat, and shallow, but they were separated by narrow stretches with deeper water and cover plus the occasional over hanging tree root holes.  Now... that whole section (for the most part) is flat and shallow.  The " red gate area" still has holes, but they are shallower and shorter then in the past.  Anyway... I'm just a layman, but I love the creek and care about.  Anyone else been there lately and see what I am seeing?  Am I being over cautious?   

[FishnDave]

I've only fished there once, a couple years back.  There is a lot of shallow water, for sure, and big rain events can shift all that small rock around pretty quick.

We just came off a fairly dry summer/fall.  Do you suppose the water level in the creek is just less than usual, making it appear the deeper spots are more filled in?

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3 minutes ago, FishnDave said:

I've only fished there once, a couple years back.  There is a lot of shallow water, for sure, and big rain events can shift all that small rock around pretty quick.

We just came off a fairly dry summer/fall.  Do you suppose the water level in the creek is just less than usual, making it appear the deeper spots are more filled in?

I didn't think about that... may be the case.  The rain events are good and bad.  They clean out the creek and move stuff around, but DNR will not invest in trout projects because they get washed away over time (so I'm told).  

[ColdWaterFshr]

I haven't fished it in a couple years, but that stretch from the Hwy bridge up to the red gate has always been the most feature-less part of the creek in my opinion.  Not as curvy, more wide and shallow.

[tjm]

DNR doesn't do anything for any fish, they control mining and water/sewage quality.  MDC owns/manages all wildlife including fish, but I doubt that any agency will try to alter our flood-drought cycle. Those trout have been self sustaining for decades, so evidently they can survive the cycles. One thing about the exposed gravel in many Ozark creeks is that water flows through/under that gravel and resurfaces cooler down stream. Trout like cooler.

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5 hours ago, ColdWaterFshr said:

I haven't fished it in a couple years, but that stretch from the Hwy bridge up to the red gate has always been the most feature-less part of the creek in my opinion.  Not as curvy, more wide and shallow.

Not sure when it happened, but it "appears" they did something with tubes going under the highway.  They don't have a waterfall affect anymore, and that deep hole is gone.  However, that is a good thing.  Lets fish move up and down as they need to.  

[mic]

So I asked... here is what the state biologist said.  I'll try to post the charts when I get to my personal computer, but looks like they are estimating 750 fish in the stream.  The most fish were in the 4.5-5 inch range, with decent population of 7.5 to 9 inches, and looks like they got one 13 incher (a beast in this creek).  The average over time is 1000 fish with 2010 survey just blowing out the rest at over 2000 (but 2013 being the worst around 250) and 2016 being the last good year around 1750.  

Thanks for your interest in Blue Springs Creek!  I am the biologist that oversees it and other Meramec basin streams.  We typically survey the wild trout population about every 3 years, and just completed a survey this past fall.  While numbers of fish are lower than we’ve seen during wetter years, there is still a great population of trout in the stream.  I’ve included a graphic showing population estimates over several decades – the population is definitely impacted by the amount of precipitation we get, with wetter years having more fish than drier years.  In addition to total numbers of fish, we look at sizes as well (2^nd graphic) – the management goal for the wild streams are that we have at least 3 year-classes of fish present, so we should see 1 yr old fish in the 4-6 inch range, 2 yr old fish in the 7-9 inch range, and 3 yr old fish at 10+ inches.  I was happy with the sizes we saw this year.   

Regarding the habitat, depth & cover does change over time in Blue Spring Creek – depending on the rainfall event, it can deposit gravel in one flood and scour it away in another flood.  We try to ensure the wooded riparian area next to the stream is in good shape to keep streambanks stable, that trees/rootballs fall in the stream for fish cover at a natural rate, and also provide shade for the stream.  While there are shallow spots with not much fish cover in the area you mentioned, there is enough habitat to hold several year classes of fish through that stretch.  As holes deepen or another tree falls in and creates a scour hole, the fish seem to find those areas relatively quickly. 

Hopefully this helps reassure you that although this was a drier fall than average, that the wild trout are still surviving well in the stream.  Please let me know if you have other questions,   

 

 

 

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Like someone said above... all about rain.

[FishnDave]

I just watched a video from an Illinois angler, "618 Fishing" I believe is the YouTube channel.  He didn't name the stream in the video, but I recognized it right away.  He showed the pool below the culverts you mentioned.  Wow!  Yeah, just like you said, that pool is filled in.  He says those trout are McCloud strain (McCloud River Redband Trout), based on the orange at the top of the dorsal fin.

[Johnsfolly]

1 hour ago, FishnDave said:

I just watched a video from an Illinois angler, "618 Fishing" I believe is the YouTube channel.  He didn't name the stream in the video, but I recognized it right away.  He showed the pool below the culverts you mentioned.  Wow!  Yeah, just like you said, that pool is filled in.  He says those trout are McCloud strain (McCloud River Redband Trout), based on the orange at the top of the dorsal fin.

I stopped watching the 618 fishing guy. I called him out when he fished Little Piney creek and titled his video that it was illegal to keep fish from the creek when the MDC allows keeping 18 inch or bigger fish. Because of the hyped up title I was done.