I'm a little baffled about what they did with the flows this year. We went up to 20,000 cfs at one time and then stayed at 16,000 for a few weeks. It only took about a week and a half and now we are at the average of 4,260. Would it had made sense to have a longer period of say; 8 or 9,000 cfs? Couldn't they have held a little higher a little longer had they not let it gush for a month?
I really don't know who or why the decision is made to regulate the flows. I've heard that they try to ensure a flow of above 4,000 cfs throughout the summer so they can produce enough electricity to fill the quota. I've also heard that they like to push water so way down low, like past the Break's down low, has enough water for the paddle fish to spawn. I've also heard rumours that the walley guys have some influence. Regardless, I'm sure there are many groups that get involved to influence the regulation of flow and I'm sure on top of that, it's very difficult to predict precipitation that also contributes to the formula. (Really? Does anyone really think we are going to get that much rain in July and August? We only receive about 13 inches of precipitation total for the year. Very little of which ever comes in July and virtually none in August.)
So now that the flow is down to around 4,000 cfs, what we can count on is a few weeks of happy fish that will come up to dries on good days that we have clouds and in the mornings and evenings. There are, and we will continue to have tricos but we also have suedos. Suedos suck. They are about a size 28 and when the fish key on them you may as well move on. We will also be fighting the weeds and probably the worst ramification of dropping the water so low, is the temps will warm up throughout the day creating dangerously high water temps in the afternoon. This will make the Cascade run a crap shoot at best so we can eliminate about ten miles of river to spread out on. We will also start seeing waves of boats heading up to the dam. So get out early folks. Beat the crowds and beat the heat. The fish are still there.
Keep 'em where they live...
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