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I have attached another GPS track from when Yanling and I tried to do Clear Lake before (2010). Note how close we got before we ran out of time. That day we spent about 10 hours car to car. Since that year was a normal year, the brush was not as well developed as I found it this year. For example, the brush in the Avalanche area was only knee high when we were there in 2010. This year for me is was head high and some times over my head which made for slow going since it is an old talus slope now covered with brush.
Rex
Ted,
Thanks for your comments. We have been using this Generation 2 Spot for several years. We have found that irrespective of the batteries, if you do not have a good clear open sky, some messages do not get through. The big problem is that the unit still gives you a green light claiming that the messages were sent. Then without changing batteries, it works the next time if there is a good open sky view. They really need to find a way to provide the user with reliable feedback on whether the messages are getting out.
Rex
May I provide a little more detail. First, let me thank Mick Scott, Brian Curtis, John Taylor, and John Corallo for coming to look for me as well as the SAR personnel. I appreciate that there were concerns whether I was injured; the short answer is no. I have posted my complete trip report with photos and GPS route under Trip Reports on the Forum. Sorry for any worries that I caused. Maybe this is a good opportunities for all of us to learn what went well and what we need to do differently.
RexWe do not at this time have a complete list of the approved lakes for this year. If you go to the HLM Menu on our web page and open the Cyclic List, any lake that is approved will be marked as “Approved” in Green on the far left hand side. Lakes that have not yet been approved are marked “Not Yet” in White.
We are planning to do the SAP process at the June meeting. Only lakes without a current sponsor that have been approved will be assigned to a new sponsor.
Rex
Here is another article on the Trail Blazers receiving the Volunteer of the Year Award:
http://nwsportsmanmag.com/editors-blog/mountain-fish-stockers-named-wdfw-organization-of-the-year/
Since there is very little snow in the mountains so far this year, many of the lakes are already open. For example Mick Scott was able to confirm that Rachor Lake is already completely open and free of snow. This is one of the lakes on our list with confirmed Browns so if you are looking for a place to go to fish and want to get some more DNA samples for this project, Rachor is a good choice now. Another good choice would be Bog Frog Lake, although you need a Hancock permit here.
This year will be the second and last year of this project. If you look at the status of the lakes we are surveying, you will see that some lakes (Cooper, Blums, and HiBox) are in pretty good shape, but others need attention.
If you need more sample vials, you can get them from me, Brian Curtis, or Rich O’Connell. If you do not have a sampling kit, let me know and I will get one to you. If you are at a lake, catch an illegally stocked fish, and do not have a sample kit, take the fish home, freeze it, and call me so I can get a DNA sample.
With the lack of snow, this is great time to get out especially since there are no bugs yet. If you go to a lake on our DNA sample list, let me know what you catch or do not catch. All of this is important information.
Many thanks,
RexSince there is very little snow in the mountains so far this year, many of the lakes are already open. For example Mick Scott was able to confirm that Rachor Lake is already completely open and free of snow. This is one of the lakes on our list with confirmed Browns so if you are looking for a place to go to fish and want to get some more DNA samples for this project, Rachor is a good choice now. Another good choice would be Bog Frog Lake, although you need a Hancock permit here.
This year will be the second and last year of this project. If you look at the status of the lakes we are surveying, you will see that some lakes (Cooper, Blums, and HiBox) are in pretty good shape, but others need attention.
If you need more sample vials, you can get them from me, Brian Curtis, or Rich O’Connell. If you do not have a sampling kit, let me know and I will get one to you. If you are at a lake, catch an illegally stocked fish, and do not have a sample kit, take the fish home, freeze it, and call me so I can get a DNA sample.
With the lack of snow, this is great time to get out especially since there are no bugs yet. If you go to a lake on our DNA sample list, let me know what you catch or do not catch. All of this is important information.
Many thanks,
RexRich,
Remember, I just report the stats; it is you and all the other Trail Blazers that actually make the stats and make them look so good. It is easy and fun to report Great Stats!
Rex
We are wrapping up our efforts to collect DNA samples for this year (2014). We have presently collected 90 samples from 23 lakes that have illegally stocked trout. I think that is an excellent job. If you still have samples that you have not given to me, please bring them to the next meeting; I need to turn them in to WDFW soon.
Please hold on to your sampling kit, we will continue to take samples in 2015.
Many thanks for all your help on this important project especially the group effort to get lots of samples from Cooper Lake!
Rex
We are wrapping up our efforts to collect DNA samples for this year (2014). We have presently collected 90 samples from 23 lakes that have illegally stocked trout. I think that is an excellent job. If you still have samples that you have not given to me, please bring them to the next meeting; I need to turn them in to WDFW soon.
Please hold on to your sampling kit, we will continue to take samples in 2015.
Many thanks for all your help on this important project!
Rex
Summary on the Upper Twin Lake stocking trip:
We were contacted by WDFW Bio Travis Maitland concerning helping WDFW to stock Upper Twin Lake with Twin Lake Cutthroats when the airplane they normally use became unavailable due to mechanical problems. Travis suggested November 19th and 20th. Several volunteers from the Trail Blazers offered to help with most being available on Thursday, November 20th. The plan was to access the lake via Big Meadow Creek Road that come in from the southeast. This road goes within ½ mile of the lake and is gated to the public.
Unfortunately, several of the volunteers for Wednesday, November 19th ended up with issues and were not able to come, so just John Taylor and I drove over to help on this first day. We were surprised to hear that Travis was hoping that if everything went well, we could haul all 50,000 fry in only one day.
John and I met the gang at the Big Meadow Campground at 9:30 AM on Wednesday morning. The weather was partly cloudy and 24F. We were concerned that the lake might be frozen. Travis came with 2 tanker trucks (one with fry and the other with just water) and 2 other vehicles loaded with 10 people to help.
After driving all the vehicles to the end of the road, an assembly line was quickly setup with 1 person prefilling the jugs with water, 2 people transferring the fry into the jugs, 1 person adding O2 to each jug, and everyone else ready to haul. The fry averaged about 150 to the pound. Since it was a short haul, each jug was loaded with about 4 pounds of fry. Each person took at least 2 jugs and some people carried 3 or 4. Unfortunately the fry had been held back a little too much and they were clearly showing signs of stress; there were a number of them belly up in the tanker truck.
The trail from the end of the road to the lake is obvious and well used, but there were number of windfalls that we had to negotiate which was fun with a pack weighing at least 50 pounds. With the 24F temperature, portions of the trail were icy especially near the lake. At the lake, we were all overjoyed to find it not frozen; in fact I measured the water temperature at 45F. It is such a large lake; it must take a long spell of cold weather to cool it down. After a short temper, we put the fry into the lake and headed back for another load.
With approximately 50,000 fry to carry, we estimated that at 4 pounds of fry, each jug would be about 600 fry. If each person carried 2 jugs, it would take about 42 trips total. With 9 people carrying fry, each person would have to do 4 to 5 trips. Since some people carried more than 2 jugs per trip, it worked out that John and I only had to do 2 trips. I think we were all pleasantly surprised when the last of the fry were loaded into jugs at about noon and by about 12:30 we were packing up our vehicles to head home.
So, this group stocking trip worked out amazingly well. Travis Maitland was very appreciative for our help. We got all 50,000 fry transferred to the lake in record time and it was a near perfect day for doing it; it was not too hot, it was not raining or snowing, the trail was not difficult to do, the lake was not frozen, and we had an excellent team. On the drive home, John and I agreed we had a good time and it was nice to be out in the mountains.
I have just received word from WDFW that they are hoping to transfer all the CT to Twin Lake on Wednesday, so that is the day they will need the most help. They are hoping to bring 12 WDFW employees, but at this time all the volunteers I have heard from have indicated Thursday is the day for them.
If you can possibly help out on Wednesday, please contact me. The plan at this time is to meet at the Big Meadow Campground at 10AM (Up the Big Meadow Creek road that starts just to the east of Fish Lake). We will be able to drive to the end of the road and from there to he lake is only 1/2 mile. Bring warm clothes and large jugs. We will carry fish all day and try to get it done.
Thanks,
RexKeith,
I am planning to come to the September meeting and will bring a couple kits. I know you get to a lot of lakes so if you can do some of these DNA sample lakes, that would be great.
Many thanks,
RexThese are the Hedwin jugs that we have been using for sometime now. They have the solid lid so they are not likely to leak like the jugs that have a value for the lid. There is also a possibility that these jugs will not be available much longer. The company (Hedwin) has been having financial problems and then recently they had a major fire at their factory. As a result of all of this, they have filed for bankruptcy, and are no longer manufacturing. The company that we found who is selling these jugs is doing so as a close-out. Unless someone else starts making these jugs again, this may be our last opportunity to buy them.
Rex
