Rains have arrived! Where are the coho?

Rains have arrived! The new rains and the increased "attraction flow" released out of Kent Lake reservoir into Lagunitas Creek bringing what I expect to be our first big weekend of coho migration through the Lagunitas Creek watershed. Past records indicate those coho are likely already in the watershed, somewhere, holding and hiding and waiting for the swell of the creek to signal their leaping and dashing to the best spawning habitats upstream. The amazing Leo Cronin Salmon Viewing Area and parking lot opens this Saturday! Our first Creekwalk of the season will be there! Click here to register for a Creekwalk with a trained SPAWN Naturalist! We are ready to welcome our coho home after they have spent the last 18 months out in the Pacific ocean enjoying what most marine biologists believe were two very healthy and productive seasons off of our coast. The strong upwelling brought high productivity offshore, lots of krill and plankton, lots of whales and marine wildlife sightings, and all that is great news for the salmon. On the other hand, the summer of 2012 was also the first summer in three years to have an open season for salmon fishing offshore our coast, and while coho has been illegal to catch and keep for many year, their may be some unexpected impacts from the fishing activity. When fisheries biologists report the estimates of spawning coho returns they call it "escapement" and that is because these are the big spawners that have ESCAPED the fishing fleets to return home safely to their native streams!