# Youtube: Steelies over Yates dam



## jellybread (May 4, 2008)

Didn't know if this was ever posted (I searched but there was just too much to dig through) - besides - cool for those who haven't seen it:

[youtube]aZjX8k6b9_Q[/youtube]

Don't bother watching the first minute and twenty seconds. The fish jumps the dam close to the camera and definitely makes it over. I never bothered to stare long enough to see one make it over.

Neat. This would confirm the suspicion that these fish are reproducing in the Paint and other tribs (they have found rainbow parr there that have been much smaller than the plants).

I say get rid of the dam thing altogether. Yates doesn't use it anymore.


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## DE82 (Nov 28, 2007)

jellybread said:


> Didn't know if this was ever posted (I searched but there was just too much to dig through) - besides - cool for those who haven't seen it:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZjX8k6b9_Q
> 
> ...


A few things - 

First I'm not positive but I think a forum member put that video up and he shot it, so pretty cool and thanks to Jose if it was you(I think it was)

Second as we talked about on here and PM jellybread some trout reproduce in the Clinton, there isn't a whole lot, a definite work in progress but some which makes me optomistic about the future. In fact around mid-August(maybe a bit earlier) I caught two small rainbows around 3inches long on a CD3 rap just casting over some really shallow water, I've caught quite a few fish of that size this season in the Clinton and some over plant size, such as around 12-15inches(browns and bows)

Third, I agree lose the dam, for those who have ever been there if nothing else somebody could get bad hurt(a child) if they stepped wrong or was playing by it. As you said it serves no purpose. - Bryon


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

I have attended many meetings/workshops regarding the Clinton and here is the message from the DNR...

The dam at Yates serves a dual purpose, and no, one of them is not to drown drunk kayakers.

#1) The dam "mostly" keeps the Steelhead in a concentrated area, thereby increasing the likelihood of Joe Average catching one...

#2) The dam prevents "mostly" the upstream migration of fish into Paint Creek. The DNR manages PC as a brown trout fishery and their science tells them that an unfettered flow of steelhead will compete with, and eventually undo the years of work making it a brown trout stream for a mere seasonal run...

Don't shoot the messenger, I am just saying what I hear whenever the topic is brought up...


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## DE82 (Nov 28, 2007)

back2spool said:


> I have attended many meetings/workshops regarding the Clinton and here is the message from the DNR...
> 
> The dam at Yates serves a dual purpose, and no, one of them is not to drown drunk kayakers.
> 
> ...


You could very well be right, thanks for the info - Bryon


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## wanderboy (Sep 24, 2008)

I remembered this time of the year last year will see lot more fish jump over the dam. around end of Sep to end of Oct.


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## fishing-finlander (Sep 30, 2008)

The one guy is exactly correct. Paint creek is reserved for browns. When I was a kid and belonged to the MUCC we did work with Trout unlimited and the DNR to clean, restore, and put in undercut banks in paint creek for the sole purpose of browns. Supposely trout unlimeted was going to bring a de-silter through I dont know if that happened or not? but that was the word in 88-89.

Also rainbow's/steelies love!! brown trout spawn.


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## jellybread (May 4, 2008)

I stumbled across the Clinton River Assessment and thought that I would add the official MDNR comments regarding the Yates dam. They make sense, I suppose._

Some discussion is warranted regarding Yates Dam, which is the first dam encountered on the Clinton River mainstem, moving upstream from Lake St. Clair. In general, Fisheries Division supports removal of dams because of their negative affects on aquatic habitat, but each dam has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Yates Dam is approximately 31 miles upstream of Lake St. Clair and has an approximate head of 6 ft. The dam is a barrier to fish migration for all species except adult steelhead (potamodromous rainbow trout). Steelhead have been confirmed passing over Yates Dam, but it is unclear how efficiently they pass. There is not much depth in the pool at the base of the dam, which likely inhibits steelhead passage.

The original purpose of the dam was to operate a mill, which is no longer functional. The Clinton River behind the dam is deeper, but the dam itself does not create an impoundment. Removal of the dam would open an additional 16 miles of river before the next obstruction, where the Clinton River is piped under Pontiac. It would also open access to three important tributaries; lower Stony, Paint, and Galloway creeks. Removal of Yates Dam would be positive because it would eliminate the restriction, distribution, and exchange of genetic material of fish and other aquatic organisms. Removal would also eliminate a safety hazard; there have been two drownings from 19992002 at Yates Dam.

Although there would be benefits created by the removal of the dam, there are also fisheries management reasons to leave the dam standing. For example, while the dam acts as a barrier for native fish migrations, it also acts as a barrier for exotic species. While sea lamprey are not a major concern, round gobies have been documented migrating up the Clinton River (see Present Fish Community). It would also act as a barrier to exotic species that may get established in Lake St. Clair at a later time, such as ruffe or Asian carp.

Additionally, because Yates Dam slows the migration of steelhead, it creates a significant fishery below the dam. Based on a creel survey conducted during the steelhead migration in 1986 and 1987, anglers fished 21,000 angler hours annually immediately downstream of Yates Dam. The location of Yates Dam is important because there is very good public access for a long stretch downstream of the dam (Figure 55). Thus, the dam has the dual benefit of creating a fishery and providing it in an area that has very good public access. Removal of the dam would likely significantly reduce the fishery in this area. Furthermore, public access is much more limited above Yates Dam and the fishery would be much more dispersed.

A final consideration is that steelhead would likely pass above Yates Dam and into Paint Creek. Paint Creek has been managed as a trout fishery for 50 years and is the only significant trout fishery in Southeast Michigan (see Present Fish Community and Fisheries Management). Removal of the dam would create two problems on Paint Creek. First, Paint Creek is a Type 1 Trout Stream, meaning that anglers could not fish for steelhead in Paint Creek when they would be available in the spring, because the fishing season is closed. Second, research has shown that the introduction of steelhead to a resident brown trout population can result in a significant reduction in older age classes of brown trout (Nuhfer 2003). When steelhead were introduced to a resident brown trout population, the interaction between the juvenile steelhead and brown trout resulted in a significant decline in overwinter survival of brown trout. This decline in survival carried over and resulted in reduced abundance of older brown trout. Thus, removal of Yates Dam would allow unimpeded access for
steelhead to Paint Creek, putting the current brown trout fishery at risk.
_


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## hardworkplanning (Sep 15, 2008)

:yikes:


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