Stout Grove and More

Busy Day! On the agenda today: A visit to Rowdy Creek Hatchery for Chinook and Steelheads run by the Kiwanis Club, a drive and a hike through an old growth Redwood stand called Stout Grove in the Jedediah Smith part of the Redwood Forest, a stop by the mammal rescue unit, and an exploration of Crescent City Harbor including Fisherman's Pier.

Highlights of the day: First, at the hatchery, the fry in the steelhead tank were barely an inch or so long but they were trying to jump up the water stream that was falling about 6 inches or more from a pipe into their tank. It was a riot, and something that I have never seen before at any hatchery we have visited. Amazing little fish- training to be amazing big fish. Second, the dirt road that carries you though Stout Grove is barely wide enough to get you between some of the trees. It, however, is a two way street, which made it kind of hairy on more than one occasion. Besides, it was slick from all the rain we are having and a couple times we did some slipping and sliding in spots where I thought we would go over the edge and be in some real trouble. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Man, those were some big trees! And finally, it was great to see dungeness crabs caught left and right at the fisherman's pier, where, you are permitted to crab and fish without a license. Tomorrow we'll try our hand at crabbing with the three traps we bought today. Psyched about that!

Chinook Fingerlings

 

  

Dungeness Crab