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can fish get over the dams?

818 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  silicone boy 
#1 ·
I have been wondering this for a while.

I had fished the poudre today around gateway park hitting the north fork and it was good for 10-12" browns and a lone rainbow that got off before I could land him...around 12" from what I saw...

anyway, on the way home I stopped to hit the dam below picnic rock because I can almost always pull something out of there in 5-10 min of casting nymphs and I saw a big something...bow or brown flying around in the foam at the base of the dam and trying to swim up and over. It didn't make it.

are fish able to get over these spillway type dams or is each section of the river seperate and independent as far as the fish are concerned?

If the fish can't get past dams, why doesn't the DOW install fish ladder type dams?

just curious.

and thanks again for everyone's previous help...my fly fishing has been incredibly consistant with all the advice from the forum.
 
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#2 ·
I know the area you are talking about, i drive by it often...and it doesnt surprise me you catch fish there, it looks pretty good, especially this time of year. As far as fish getting up and over that particular dam...i dont imagine it happens too fruequently, if at all. I dont think the DOW is too worried about it though, as "fish migration" probably isnt a concern with them on that particular river. i believe that stretch is all put and take type water which is stocked on a yearly schedule, so building a fish latter for fish that dont really migrate would be...well, not really too useful for either the fish and humans. It might get some use from the fish, but for the most part i dont think it would be something that you would see on a regular basis.

however...im no fish biologist. im just guessing...
 
#3 ·
Disclaimer: I don't know anything about that particular river, however I do know a little about barriers in streams.

Depending on the management goals of the river, dams can hurt or help achieve a plan.  Sometimes dams are purposely installed to prevent an unwanted fish from moving upstream (i.e. stop browns or brookies from moving up to an area containing native cutties).   But often the dam has been there longer than people have been concerned about maintaining healthy fish populations.  . . we just have to live with having an impassable barrier in the river.    For naturally reproducing trout, it's a problem because they can't move freely over the course of their lives to find the best habitat.  For stocked trout in a put-and-take fishery, the fish aren't ment to survive and reproduce so it's not really a loss.

my 0.02

TP
 
#4 ·
This is my overactive imagination at work, but when I read the title of this post, I heard the voice of Sasha Cohen posing the question. He's the host of the Ali G show on HBO, and he is also the voice of the lemur king in the movie Madagascar.

On the Ali G show, his character is , well, Ali G, a stupid ethnic British punk who likes to interview straight types. On one episode, he was interviewing a former astronaut . It went like this (in a British ghetto accent):

Ali: "So you walked on the moon, that's way cool, but have ever wanted to walk on the sun?"

Straight Guy Astrodude: "No, we don't ever plan a mission to the sun. It's way too hot"

Ali: "Well it wouldn't be if you went at night." ( he says this adamantly)

Astrodude looks dumbfounded.
 
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