The San Gabes 2023 and beyond ...

[Bernard]

Hello All,

As some of you might know - my passion for So Cal's trout populations has had me recruited by CalTrout to play a unique role. As it defines itself (it's ever evolving), one of my roles is to help call to attention the move to expand the San Gabriel National Monument. Truthfully, like many, I am frustrated when I see trash accumulated in the rivers/creeks/roadside - in areas that are already designated National Monument!!! Poaching? arnson? It's a massive list of challenges to protect the "wilderness". Still, if anything kicks the ball even one inch further down the field in the right direction, I feel that it is worth pursuing. Interestingly, the new National Monument Expansion includes verbiage to add 45+ miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers designations. We as anglers should be aware of this and I feel, should view it all in a favorable light. Also, in the name of maintaining positivity: The recent task for CalTrout has found me discovering and also rediscovering concerned groups ranging from the legendary FRVC to commendable groups of citizen cleanup crews that are taking matters into their own hands. There is some sense of solidarity as I witnessed at a recent Listening Session in Azusa with Homer Wilkes (coming in from DC obo the Biden Administration). If you were not there, trust me, people from many walks of life are passionate and concerned. Most of these folks are from outside of the angling world (perhaps for the better). I always feel that the health of the fish, ideally, should be a side effect of a healthy ecosystem and stewardship for the environment with anglers and outdoor enthusiasts on the front lines. Here is the post recently shared on Instagram: https://bit.ly/sangabrielspostnov162023* and I am including below a few additional links that might be of interest.

Happy to keep the dialog rolling. This is an ever-changing topic and I know there are members who are interested and/or concerned ... please chime in and grab that coffee and check out the links below.

The fish will thank you,
Bernard

* All over So Cal, I am finding curious pockets of CHUNKY trout populations. A fractured rib from a slip has me in a coffee shop today versus out in the field. Go take a gander but do walk carefully!

- - - - - - - - And below is the ol' rabbit hole! - - - - - - - - - - -

The actual bill proposing the Expansion:
https://bit.ly/sgnmexpansion

A cool coalition of some of the concerned communities:
https://bit.ly/lanatureforall

Examples of a citizen-run crews:

Canyon City Environmental Project
https://bit.ly/canyoncityep

The FRVC - working numerous So Cal streams
https://bit.ly/FRVC

An article regarding Homer Wilkes' listening session from early Nov. 2023:
https://bit.ly/homerwilkesnov72023

My super sporadic blog where I hope to have some photos and other items posted soon:
https://thetrouthugger.com/

Last but not least, CalTrout is matching funds until Dec. 31
Please consider contributing:
https://bit.ly/caltroutdoubleyourimpact2023

[clee]

This landed on my feed. Interesting timing.
"Fodor’s puts San Gabriel Mountains National Monument on its 2024 ‘No List’"
https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2023/1 ... gsqhqaz8EU

[Bernard]

I do hope this article provokes change and improvement!

[DarkShadow]

I definitely need to read up on what is happening, as the San Gabes are in my back yard and was the first piece of moving water that I fished as a kid.

It sure has changed.

Considering how many agencies are involved, I wonder if bureaucracy and red tape are preventing proper management of this region.

And there are others who think that the area has just reached a point of saturation, where the only remedy is to have 1/2 of Los Angeles move.

I've visited the area a few times this year, but mostly to illegally fish Morris Reservoir. :-D (I kid, I kid) I've gone up to Crystal Lake as that has a lot of water this year and the area is truly magical on a weekday.

That last time I went on a weekend, I almost got hit head on by some drifter, and then saw a gnarly accident a few miles below Crystal where a car was upside down and one almost went down the embankment.

And as far as the trout? They're there. It's just the experience is no longer the same.

[Bernard]

"The experience is not the same..." - Well said.

There is no shortage of stories, evidence, articles, conversations, that point to the negative. I have seen enough myself to not disagree with anybody. Safety on the roads is definitely a huge concern. Unbelievable how many people think that the roads in the local mountains or some sort of race track.

I think one of the dynamics, for whatever it is worth, it's quite simply the fact that access is sort of specific to certain areas. Not only would it be nice if things were better manage such as maintenance and trash collection but if the distribution of access points and places for people to recreate were larger and more numerous, it might not feel the way it does. And at the end of the day, as long as my legs can carry me, a solid hike almost always puts me far from the madness. I continue to be blown away by the way trout populations seem to be springing back.

Wishing everybody a good holiday season!

Bernard

[DarkShadow]

I didn't know they were relocating fish from San Gabriel Reservoir to both the W and E Forks.

I hopped on my bike about 2 weeks ago, and almost made it to Cogswell. I had the opportunity to fish a few good stretches and got a pretty large rainbow (about 16 to 17 inches) which I assume was relocated from the Res.

They've been doing this for a while ever since the dredging project started at San Gabriel Res.