While in a beautiful setting of Lithia Park, Ashland Creek is basically a glamourized ditch. The creek unable to move and shift naturally within it’s high piled rip-rap banks. It gets both summer and winter steelhead. There are two dams on Ashland Creek that do not allow gravel recruitment downstream. With the lack of gravel recruiting from above the dams and locked in by man-made rock embankments, there are not very many places for fish to spawn. Many try to spawn in trash bin lid sized gravel deposits that will be lost to high water events. Ashland Creek has the best water quality throughout the Bear Creek basin. Thus, providing the best summer juvenile rearing habitat.

Many rocks were moved, river bed dug out, choked streambed re-opened, with gravel purchased and distributed throughout the new spawning sites.

A total of 11 spawning sites were developed this spring which could support multiple redds in each. I hope to next year show you pictures of steelies using these sites.

I wont bore you with all of them but, here is a smidge of what we accomplished this spring…

This video is two hours in 30 seconds

Thanks again for all your support last year, it makes these projects a reality!

Things happen daily. And what things they may, keep a fire lit inside. Over for now, still it burns.

Took awhile, but we got him to go. James Boyd with a player

Amanda and her first steelie, stoked to be part of it

Dues paid in full, Brady earned this gal and maybe another one

Last cast of the run, Janet did the exact same thing in the exact spot last year

Another summer/fall season has come and gone, so much fun. I can’t thank those enough that came fishing with me but, thank you! Still tying floating line bugs and thinking of runs, missed fish, midday breaks, hot days, swims in the creek, all the good that summer and fall bring…until next year. Now to become a weatherman!

Rich & Blue

Creekin

Thanks again for all your support last year, it makes these projects a reality!

Nutshell