The Taylor Creek mystery is solved

Outdoors, By J.D. Richey, Journal ColumnistRemember a few weeks back I told you of the big fish kill on Taylor Creek? I said I?d keep you posted on the developments there and now I?ve got the skinny on what happened.For those of you who weren?t tuned in that week, let me get you back up to speed quickly.Taylor Creek flows out of Fallen Leaf Lake into Lake Tahoe and is the big lake?s main kokanee salmon spawning stream. In addition to the up to 40,000 plus kokanee salmon that run upstream each fall, Taylor also harbors populations of resident rainbow trout as well as fall-run brown trout.In October, a large fish kill was observed and it appeared that the stream may have been poisoned. That, of course, spawned many juicy conspiracy theories ? all of which turned out to be wrong. Yep, you can call off the X Files Investigation Team.Here?s what really happened.The flows in Taylor Creek can be regulated by releases from the dam at Fallen Leaf Lake. Like most streams in California, Taylor was running abysmally low in early October ? which is when the first big waves of salmon typically ascend the creek.To ensure plenty of salmon would be in the creek for the annual Kokanee Salmon Festival, releases from the dam were increased. The higher flows did exactly what they were intended to do and a large push of salmon left the lake and entered the creek.After the festival, however, the flows were dropped and ? presto ? in a couple days, you had a bunch of dead salmon and trout. What happened, in layman?s terms, was Taylor Creek was a little heavy on fish and a tad light on water. So many fish ran up the stream when the flows were increased that there was not enough dissolved oxygen in the water to sustain them when the releases were cut back.The good news is plenty of salmon successfully spawned in Taylor Creek and the future populations should be in good shape.TRUCK TROUT TIME: In case you haven?t noticed, the weather?s made a dramatic turn of late. Cooler weather and water means the Department of Fish and Game?s trout trucks should be visiting a lake near you soon. The DFG won?t leak when exactly they?re going to dump a load of trout but here?s as much as I could get from them. This week, Rancho Seco Lake, Folsom Lake and Arden Bar Pond are on the schedule.When the DFG plants Folsom, it?s typically at the Granite Bay launch ramp, so you may want to head down there if you?re looking for something to do. The first few days after a plant, Kastmasters are killers ? particularly the silver/blue and the all orange models. Power Goo is also a good choice. Work the area near the boat ramp right after a plant and then move outward from there as the days after a stocking pass. Truck trout mill around in the area they were planted for several days and then disperse slowly.If you?d rather go to Rancho Seco, the access points on either side of the dam are typically pretty good. There are lots of good bank-fishing spots on the lake and some well-maintained fishing piers as well. Again, try hardware in the mornings and then switch to bait. Weeds on the bottom can be a bit of a problem here, so a longer leader will often help you get more strikes when fishing inflated crawlers or power slime.Arden Bar Pond is a small lake alongside the American River. It?s located near the end of Arden Way and you can get there by entering Goethe Park?s north gate and following the signs. Just like Folsom and Rancho Seco, take along some spoons, spinners and Power Bait and you?ll be in business.oooJ.D. Richey graduated from Placer High in 1986. He has been published nationally. To reach him, call (916) 736-9031 or e-mail him at JDRicheyOutdoors@aol.com.