Calaveras River Offers Tail Water Wild Rainbows   By: Dan Bacher January 29, 2008 More Articles by Dan

I was daydreaming when the fish slammed my Panther Martin, nearly yanking the rod out of my hand. I set the hook and the fish took a long run downriver, going too close to a brush pile for my taste.

I worked the fish upriver up into slower water, but every time I got it close to me, it would dart back down into the fast water. I finally tired the fish out enough to get it into shallow water next to the bank.  

Before releasing the fat, healthy 17 inch rainbow trout back into river's cold December water, I got a chance to admire the beautiful fish. It had a silvery sheen like a steelhead, but the numerous spots and the iridescent stripe adorning its plump body indicated it was a resident trout.

I was fishing the Calaveras River below New Hogan Dam, a classic tail water trout fishery. Though much of the land, like other Central Valley rivers, flows through private or water district land with little access, anglers can find access to the river in the canyon immediately below the dam by means of the "River of Skulls Trail" or in Mormon Slough below the Belotta Weir. 

And similar to other Central Valley rivers, the Calaveras, in spite of its prime trout habitat and historic salmon and steelhead runs, has been abused and neglected over the decades by the water districts and federal and state governments.

The river, a tributary to the San Joaquin River, has been for years a "sleeper" fishery for fly fishermen and spin fishermen willing to put in the time hiking into the canyon. Anglers catch beautiful wild rainbow trout while fishing an array of flies and spinners. 

The Calaveras River downstream from New Hogan Dam and the diverting canal (Mormon Slough) from Bellota Weir downstream to Interstate Highway 5 (Calaveras Co.)  is open from the Fourth Saturday in May through Mar. 31. Only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used. Although the regulations allow anglers to catch 1 hatchery trout or 1 hatchery steelhead, hatchery fish are rarely if ever caught on this system.

"The Calaveras River below New Hogan is an incredibly productive tail water fishery for rainbow trout," said Trevor Kennedy, executive director of the Fishery Foundation of California. "The rainbow population is one of the Central Valley's best kept secrets. The river grows trout faster than any other stream in the valley and has a high density of trout.

"The Calaveras is the finest Valley trout stream," agreed Bill Jennings, chairman of the California Sport fishing Protection Alliance, whose organization has fought for the restoration of the river through litigation and other measures. "The stretch of stream from the dam to Jenny Lind is marvelous habitat for trout and steelhead, with a great pool to riffle ratio. This river is a prime candidate for fishery restoration."

The Calaveras  is unique among Central Valley streams in that steelhead and rainbow trout have never been planted in the river below the dam, so the fish found there are all wild fish, in contrast with most other San Joaquin Valley steams where a variety of steelhead and rainbow trout strains have been planted over the decades.

"Our understanding is that the rainbows found in the Calaveras are the original strain of rainbows," said Jennings. "Even during the drought of 1977-78, the fish survived in the deep pools in the canyon."

The Calaveras is also unique in being the only river other than the Sacramento that historically had a winter chinook run. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that there were 2,000 winter run chinook salmon, 500 steelhead and 500 spring run chinook, that ascended the river before New Hogan Dam was completed in 1962. the DFG documented runs of approximately 1,000 winter run chinook again in 1972 and 1976.

Unfortunately, during the drought of 88-92 when large sections of the river dried up, the winter run was extirpated, according to Jennings. Late fall and fall run chinooks are the only salmon remaining - and these fish are only able to ascend the river in years with heavy precipitation.

During the drought years, the smallmouth bass, carp, catfish and Sacramento pike minnow populations that once cohabited with the trout also disappeared in the river from Jenny Linda to Bellota Weir and in Mormon Slough, according to Fred Solari, Stockton resident. Fortunately, the populations of trout in this stretch of river came back as it was colonized by fish in the canyon section below the dam.

"Since the drought, all I've caught on the river have been trout," said Solari. "I haven't seen any smallmouth bass, pike minnows or catfish."

In spring of 1998, Solari caught two 18 inch wild steelhead behind Fine Road at Avinson. He also caught a jack salmon between Shelton Road and the old gravel plant in 2000, as documented in Department of Water Resources biologist Glenda Marsh's fascinating and well-researched report, "Historical Presence of Chinook Salmon and Steelhead in the Calaveras River released in June 2006.

Solari fishes the river below New Hogan regularly with his children and friends. Although he has landed trout up to 22 inches, he has lost much larger trout. Though fly fishing is the most popular method used on the stream, he regularly catches fish, ranging from 6 inches up to 20 inches, year round while tossing out Panther Martins, Mepps and other spinners on light spinning gear.   

The fish in the river feed on small Baetis Mayflies, caddis and chronomids, so fly fishermen should use flies in these patterns on the Calaveras. 

Solari marvels at the color variations in the trout that he sees. "Some fish are solid silver like a steelhead, others are a beautiful lime green color, and others are bluish with red and black spots," he stated.  

The future of the river's  salmon and steelhead runs looks brighter, due to a number of measures being taken by fishery conservation organizations. The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance in December of 2005 filed a public trust waste and unreasonable use suit over the method of diversion on the Calaveras. The board accepted the complaint, made a site visit and is expected to hold a hearing about the issue sometime in the future.

The East Stockton Irrigation District diverts the majority of the river flow at Bellota Weir. Below the weir, the Army Corps of Engineers made the former Calaveras River into a narrow flood control channel with little if any water. The majority of water left in the river is released into Mormon Slough below the weir. 

In 2005 the Alliance also filed a 60-day notice to sue Stockton East for violations of the Endangered Species and Clean Water Acts after steelhead were found dead and stranded in Mormon Slough. The organization is pushing for a variety of improvements to the river, including the imposition of minimum regular flows, pulse flows, removing obstacles to fish passage and screening all unscreened diversions.

Management of the river is now coordinated through the Calaveras River Watershed Stewardship Group (CRWSG), whose mission is "to encourage preservation and proper management of the lower Calaveras River below New Hogan Dam through watershed-wide cooperation between landowners, water users, recreational users, conservation groups, and local, state, and federal agencies."  

"There is huge potential for restoration of steelhead on the river," said Kennedy, whose organization has jointly submitted a proposal with the water district to remove or modify the four top barriers to upstream fish migration.  "However, the biggest obstacle to steelhead is having enough water for the fish to migrate."

Calaveras River Facts

Location and General Information:   The Calaveras flows southwest for 80 miles from its headwaters at about 5,000 feet in elevation in northeast Calaveras County to its confluence with the San Joaquin River just west of the city of Stockton. New Hogan Lake, formed by New Hogan Dam after its completion by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1963, is the only major dam on the river. The dam was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers primarily for flood control. The 400 square mile watershed is mostly located below the typical snow level, so most precipitation falls as rain.

Fishing Season: The Calaveras River downstream from New Hogan Dam and the diverting canal (Mormon Slough) from Bellota Weir downstream to Interstate Highway 5 (Calaveras Co.)  is open from the Fourth Saturday in May through Mar. 31. Only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used. Anglers are allowed one hatchery trout or steelhead, but stray hatchery fish from other systems are very rare on the Calaveras, since the river is a wild trout fishery. No salmon may be taken or possessed.

Public Access: The "River of Skulls" hiking trail closely follows the Calaveras River in the New Hogan Reach below the dam. The trail, located below the dam at the Monte Vista Recreation Area, was named after an ancient Native American battle.  Monte Vista is also the staging area for an eight mile equestrian trail. The river just below the dam is prime habitat for trout, with lots of pools and riffles. The levees on Mormon Slough below Bellotta Dam also provide public access. Unfortunately, no trespassing signs have   been placed by the water district at bridge crossings on the river, even though the California Constitution guarantees anglers public access to all of the state's navigable rivers.  

Camping: The closest camping facilities are located at New Hogan Reservoir. New Hogan offers 177 campsites in its three developed campgrounds. Acorn East and Acorn West have hot showers and flush toilets while Oak Knoll is more primitive. A group campground is also available at Coyote Point. 95% of these campsites and the group campground are available by reservation. To make reservations call toll free 1-877-444-6777.

Facilities Information: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Hogan Lake, 2713 New Hogan Dam Road, Valley Springs, CA. 95252, phone (209) 772-1343, email: NewHogan-info@usace.army.mil, Website: www.spk.usace.army.mil/organizations/cespk-co/lakes/newhogan.html

Snail Advisory: The New Zealand Mud Snail, a non native invasive species, is now found on the Calaveras River. Take the following precautions., including freezing waders and other gear overnight (at least 6 hours); having extra waders and boots that are used only in infested waters; and after leaving the water, inspecting waders, boots, float tubes, boats/trailers—any gear used in the water.  For more information, go to: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/mudsnail/

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