extinct in South County and only small populations of migrating steelhead trout remain. And their fluctuating numbers can vary dramatically annually depending upon water availability and quality.
Images © by Trout Unlimited: https:// www. tu. org /
Steelhead trout have spawned in the freshwater pools shaded by the oaks, sycamores, and willows of Little Arthur Creek for thousands of years. Their close cousins, the rainbow trout, do not migrate to the ocean choosing to remain in freshwater ponds and streams. Another relative, the Coho salmon, are larger than steelhead. They migrate only once during their life cycle. Mature steelhead trout are remarkably resilient fish preserving against many adversities. And, unlike salmon, steelhead are able to migrate to the ocean and return to their freshwater spawning streams more than once.
Steelhead trout spawn in gravel beds found in clean and cold flowing freshwater creeks. Their nests are called " redds." The fertilized eggs are soon ready to hatch, becoming " fry " feeding on bugs and pieces of vegetation for a few months. This is a particularly dangerous time for the baby fish. Oftentimes drought and warm water temperatures can quickly result in mortality. Organizations like Trout Unlimited and Gilroybased CHEER assist with steelhead rescues moving trapped " fry " to perennial pools of water.
If the " fry " are lucky to have survived for a year in a perennial pool of freshwater, they develop scales and are then commonly referred to as " fingerlings." A physiological change soon begins that prepares the juvenile steelhead to migrate from their freshwater habitat into the ocean. At this stage of their lives, the young fish are called " smolts." Smolts start the journey from their birthplace, leaving the tree-shaded, sheltered embankments of Little Arthur Creek, enroute to their new saltwater habitat in Monterey Bay. The intersection of Little Arthur and Uvas Creeks at ChitacTac was a prime home for the Ohlone Indians. Uvas Creek, Llagas Creek, and the San Benito River join at Betabel to form the headwaters of the Pajaro River. A successful journey for the steelhead trout is full of challenges during their migration of between 25 and 30 miles from Little Arthur Creek to the Pacific.
Among the many challenges for the migrating steelhead trout are environmental impacts such as multi-year droughts, warming ocean and freshwater temperatures, chemical pollution from agricultural fields, garbage dumped into the waterways, illegal harvesting by poachers, overpumping of groundwater, and barriers to fish passage.
One such barrier, the Pickels Dam on Little Arthur Creek, was removed in October 2024. It was built more than 100 years ago of poured-in-place concrete with a height of 30 feet. A fish ladder had been installed during the 1980s but it was deemed as mostly ineffective in helping fish passage. Downstream from the damface a cement pad was also poured in an effort to prevent erosion of the channel.
Removing Pickell ' s Dam October 2024
The Pickels Dam became recognized by government agencies and nonprofit groups like Trout Unlimited as defunct and a candidate for removal. The Santa Clara Valley Water District, now Valley Water, coordinated the removal project after concluding that the Pickels Dam " impeded the migration during all the life cycle stages of steelhead trout by obstructing passage to high-quality spawning habitat and by degrading creek functions that support a variety of aquatic life."
( Continued...) View with Pickell ' s Dam removed
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