Wild California Salmon: Part 1 // Hatcheries and Habitat

Follow Joe and Kyle as they search for spawning Fall Run Chinook salmon in California rivers. Watch female salmon construct redds (their gravel bed nests) and avoid predators like sea lions and eagles. Joe and Kyle also discuss the major changes to Chinook salmon habitat in California -namely the construction of rim dams. Joe and Kyle also visit a fish hatchery constructed to mitigate the loss of salmon habitat due to dams.
Chinook Salmon are the most prevalent salmon in California. During the salmon run, adult Chinook leave the ocean and travel upstream into freshwater searching for their natal river -the place of their birth. Once there, adult salmon spawn. Female salmon build a redd, a nest in the gravel bed, and lay eggs. After the spawn occurs, adult salmon die having completed their life cycle.
Chinook salmon spawning habitat is now limited due to the construction of dams. Dams form barriers preventing salmon from reaching reach native spawning areas. Fish hatcheries have been constructed to mitigate the loss of upstream native salmon spawning areas, but hatcheries don’t mitigate the loss of salmon to upstream ancestral lands, nor allow natural selection to occur.
EP1, Season One.

[@REAL4wd]

Amazing Chanel Thank you

[@Where_The_Wild_Roam]

Thanks SO MUCH

[@stellarsinger5339]

Thank you for raising awareness about the fact that this affects the tribes of so-called 'California' and interferes with natural selection. Liked, commented, shared and subscribed clicking 'All' at the notification bell. 😉

[@brentfrank7012]

Loves these videos

[@Where_The_Wild_Roam]

Thanks so much Brent!

[@kittygonzalez2827]

I had a river otter plop it’s huge body on a rock in my back yard ...we were about a foot from each other, and in 60 years, I never saw an otter in my creek! I screamed ..it screamed and we both went flying in opposite directions! If I saw a sea lion, my luck would be the same. Animals are attracted to me no matter where I am. I just prefer a little warning BEFORE hand!

[@kittygonzalez2827]

🙀😂

[@RebeccaLynnMusic]

This is essential information!

[@Where_The_Wild_Roam]

Thanks so much for the comment. Hopefully the next few episodes provide more :)

[@kittygonzalez2827]

Just to let you know, there are Lake Locked Salmon above the dam above Piedra ...in Pine Flat Lake. The have access to the upper Kings River. My husband and I found them trying to jump up one of the back creeks about 15 to 20 yrs ago. They are still back there doing their “thing”! You might want to put them on your list to visit! Not too many people are privy to this information ...I’ve personally only told you!

[@jesse75]

They are not as big as their saltwater cousins. But if the dams were gone, it would be interesting to see how they would rebound. Would they go back to saltwater ? Be an interesting study.

[@riskvsreward8821]

Excellent! When does part 2 come out!

[@Where_The_Wild_Roam]

Episodes will be releasing weekly! Keep an eye out on Thursday

[@corny.ankles]

love me some quality fish content!

[@SuperMajesticMan]

my new favorite show!

[@johnny7D]

The Sealions are running up the American River about 12 miles now. I see them almost every year now above the Watt Bridge chasing salmon and steelhead. Pretty wild.

[@FlyTech541]

They must be stop non native animal eating native species

[@benmiller3358]

Im curious how the McCloud and Pit rivers have such strong Steelhead runs but little to no Chinook runs?

[@murphworld]

ready for part 2

[@Where_The_Wild_Roam]

You salty ol ' El Dorado sailer! How the heck are ya?! Thanks for the comment. Same time/place next week for Part 2...Go Giants

[@bqxpd6]

Not sure about the impact of Sea Lions on Salmon but for sure they destroyed Steelhead fishing. They sit in the bottle neck of American river (not sure about other rivers connected to delta) and catch every Steelhead going by at that time.

[@Meepmeep888]

No way they’re the ones that destroyed it. It was the destruction of waterways/water quality, droughts, and just too much pressure from recreational fishing. Sea lions are a natural predator, they’re just doing what they’ve been doing for hundreds of years in the ecosystem

[@bssaassin1900]

I grew up in Carmichael and loved fishing the American both the lower for steelhead,salmon,stripers and of course the summer shad run,and the upper forks for trout. And I've seen those damn sea lions all the way up to nimbus and I think I even hooked one once when I was striper fishing off the bicycle bridge by William b pond.

[@jesse75]

Sea Lions destroyed the Steelhead run on the Cedar River in Washington State. They were chewing on them at the Ballard Locks while acclimating to fresh water.

[@bqxpd6]

@@jesse75 True.

[@jesse75]

My friend. I'm an avid fisherman. Commercial troll caught salmon From Fort Bragg California to Port Angeles Washington State. I've seen everything. To prevent Sea lions from ripping up our expensive fishing gear, we had a rifle on board. One of those breach at the stern of the boat and bullets would fly. They wouldn't come back. At the mouth of the Russian, Smith and Klamath rivers, piles of sea lions lay all fat drying and sunning themselves, waiting to tear up the next run of fish. Something has to be done. I say let the natives hut them again. Take them of the endangered list. Look at the counter Sea Lion measures at the dam on the Columbia River. Sea lions have even swam up to the dam on the Nisqually. They have infested themselves where ever there's a free and easy food source.

[@bulletscreenprinting]

Hatchery’s can provide far more fish then any other means. There should be one on every river

[@memeboi6017]

They are a bastardization of the natural fish, salmon aren’t a service, they are a keystone species that should be protected. Hatcheries only exist because the rivers that salmon normally are born in have been so degenerated that they can no longer be born there. Fix the river, don’t spend taxpayer money to ruin wild fish stocks.

[@jesse75]

Cowlitz river is a success story in restocking salmon above dams. Problem is California Fisheries is too stubborn to learn what has already proven successful. Let me give you an example how California fish and game doesn't give a rats azz about salmon. Just below Keswick dam on the upper Sacramento river, rock creek runs into the river. Right below the walking/ bike path bridge over the creek, it is built up so fish can't migrate up the creek to spawn. During very high water, when Keswick is releasing water, you will see fish trying to attempt jumping the man made barrier. This is just one example. Want more ? There's plenty. Upper Ash Creek above Shasta dam, is ideal to repopulate spring Chinook. If any salmon restoration should take place, start there.

[@Where_The_Wild_Roam]

GREAT point about Ash Creek. We love it up there

[@tomsmith476]

You want to save the salmon get rid of the sea lions

[@wadewoehrmann2835]

Why gross?

[@Where_The_Wild_Roam]

Did we say gross?

[@wadewoehrmann2835]

@@Where_The_Wild_Roam 5:00 +- "does his little shimmy - gross" I could be wrong but sounds like...

[@kittygonzalez2827]

What a weird way to go! Human Beings killing them before they can feel that Natural best part of their lives...spawning! We rob them of God’s gift ! Lol😂

[@kittygonzalez2827]

There’s also a really cool Hatchery up on Friant Road in Far Norther Fresno County. They have some of the most beautiful trout...and HUGE! They plant all of our local region all the way up to the high Central .sierra!🏕🙀😎

[@eriks9576]

Sorry but hatcheries are California's only chance for salmon..... There is WAY too much habitat degradation too ever expect for wild salmon numbers too increase unfortunately

[@jesse75]

No other subject gets me more pissed off than this one. State management of salmon stinks.

[@Where_The_Wild_Roam]

As we always say: it’s really society. We, while it might not feel this way all the time, set the priorities for our politicians and their Agencies. It’s really up to us to emphasize the protection of species… we know, that sounds a bit eye-rolly, but not sure what else we can do?

[@jesse75]

@@Where_The_Wild_Roam I'll tell you what we can do. I purposely bought property that has a creek on it. The first thing I did was clean it out and sift parts of the gravel and create holding water and eddies. It was hard work. I repopulated that portion of the creek with two runs of Coho salmon. An early run that arrives at just around October 31 first and another on December 1st. It took around 10 years to establish the two runs. Restoration is then on the grass route level. People are tired of waiting for government agencies and policies that don't work. Also. Many creeks can dry up during summer. I know many of them that do. Pools of small salmon and steelhead and cutthroat trout are trapped. Every summer my uncle, kids and I, rescue these fish before the creek completely drys up. One creek we work each summer, the creek bed really percs, so we have to keep an eye on it early spring. So another favorite creek had a small population of Coho and Chums in it but no Chinook. Some of my friends are Native Americans that net a river each Tuesday. I would go with them when they took the fish out of the nets. If a female Chinook was running eggs, I'd fill them in my buckets and fertilize them with a buck. Take them over to one of my favorite streams and put the fertilized eggs directly in the gravel. Now the salmon have established themselves in that creek. Okay. Go ahead and arrest us.

[@dylanmcclintic6084]

California sucks

[@jesse75]

Fish management does. I get in arguments with the so called experts. Look what kind of job they have done. There's a huge labor force of us retired seniors that will work for free. Enjoy and love our work. Instead of these loser college grads.