What happened to all the fish at Lees Ferry

[mpriest]

Went up for the first time this year last weekend and between the three of us we only caught 5 fish total in two days. We were not seeing nearly as many fish in the water as years past. Everyone we talked to up there said they were not catching many either. Did the last flood wipe them out?

[HuntHarder]

5 fish in 2 days???? That is insane, we usually have 5 fish before the boat has been started for 15 minutes. I have not been yet this year, but last year in July, it was insane as usual.

[stanley]

Wow. Not like the usual Lee's Ferry at all! Historically, the floods they have been creating have not had any negative effect on the fish. Did you talk to any of the guides or fly shops up there?? Just curious......

 

S.

[Coach]

^{Great fishery, but it isn't like the old days, for sure. The way they manage the water isn't conducive to creating pools where minnows and leaches and all the food sources that used to grow huge trout have changed things a lot. The fish are long and weak because they are literally starving.}

[mpriest]

Didn't talk to any of the guides but the poor fishing didn't seem to slow down their business. We were fishing the same way we always do which usually lands us around 20 fish a day per person. Weird to see it so different, even from last year

[NOTAGS]

Coach, all the fish we have been catching for the last 4 or 5 years are chunky footballs, not sure when you were there last. In regards to the number of fish, we usually hit it in midsummer, some of the cooler months like April can be sporadic. I wouldnt judge it by one bad weekend. Like HuntHarder said the numbers are usually insane, he's in my boat most trips, and 30 + fish per person per day is not unusual. I would let it warm up( like hot) and hit it again.

[CouesPursuit]

I was just there 2 weeks ago, I concur with the OP that fish numbers were WAY down compared to my last several outings in the last 3 years. Not just fish to hand, but fish seen period. I still caught a lot of fish, averaging 12/day opposed to 25. But I honestly witnessed way too many perfect dead drifts go untouched. The first day I honestly caught none, last day I caught 18. The combination of a globug on top and zebra midge below was the ticket. Did not catch a single fish with san juan worm tied on the line, and not a single fish with a scud of any color. Most fish hit the zebra below, I only caught 2 fish in 3 days that were not on a zebra midge.

 

From what I understand and please correct me if I'm wrong, they had a prolonged water release to bring sediment downriver for some native fish restoration (and probably other reasons as well). After that, for whatever reason, they had some temperature issues with the water, creating oxygen depletion issues. The guides have been reporting some fish killed. When I was there, I agree it didn't look like their business was hurting to me either. They were a lot nicer than they had been in years' past as far as waiving and giving space on the bars.

 

Having said that fishing wasn't anywhere near what it was the last couple years, this could really be a great thing. There were way too many fish in there!! This will give the lower population size a chance to grow back into some of the pigs I've only read about. I'm optimistic, good things to come!

[NOTAGS]

Read the lee's Ferry Anglers post, very informative, and disturbing. Looks like the God Players creating floods to mimic nature screwed the Ferry up big time at this point. Hopefully the real Mother Nature will be able to reverse their damage with time. All for the beaches! Give me a break!