# Trout is what it's all about Auburn Hills



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

In this river, trout is what it's all about Auburn Hills 
City hopes project will create a local fishery so anglers need not head north 

http://www.freep.com/news/cfp/4/tfish11t_20050811.htm
August 11, 2005 BY CECILIA OLECK FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER 

Area anglers may soon find a new reason to slip away from the office at lunchtime. 

The City of Auburn Hills is trying to create an urban fishery -- a habitat where trout can thrive -- so that those looking to experience the great outdoors won't have to travel far to find it. 

"Not everybody has the opportunity to drive Up North to fish," said Michigan Department of Natural Resources biologist Jim Francis. "It's great to have an opportunity like this that's local." 

The city is focusing on making the Clinton River friendlier to trout, which prefer cool, clean water -- not always maintained in urban areas, Francis said. 

Work on improvements for the expected $130,759 project, to be paid for out of the city's general fund, is scheduled to begin after Labor Day. 

Last week, Francis, along with other DNR biologists and Shawn Keenan, Auburn Hills' water resources coordinator, spent a day counting and measuring fish. 

The survey found five brown trout in an 1,800-foot stretch near River Woods Park. The DNR stocks the river with brown trout each spring -- 1,650 were put in this April -- and Auburn Hills stocks it with rainbow trout for its annual fishing derby in June. 

The problem is, the fish often move on to cooler waters. 

To prevent so much of that in the future, the city is planning riverbank improvements designed to make the river more trout-friendly. 

One of the major improvements planned is the installation of lunker structures -- underwater shelves that provide a cool, shaded space for the fish to rest -- north of the bridge at River Woods Park. 

The riverbanks at the park will also be planted with native vegetation, a contrast to the rocky terrain that's there now. The plants will help keep the banks from eroding, Keenan said. 

North of the underwater shelves -- which will run for about 160 feet under the west bank of the river and won't be visible to passersby -- the city plans to anchor logs to the riverbank in nine spots and put in seven clusters of boulders to create deeper pools in the shallow water. 

"The city really does take efforts to keep the water clean," Keenan said. "Since the water quality has improved over the years, we're trying now to improve the habitat." 

The River Woods Park site was pegged for the improvements to prevent riverbank erosion and because it is not far from Auburn Hills' downtown area; also it provides major public access as one of the city's larger parks, Keenan said. 

Being able to fish for trout would be an added draw to the area, said Brian Dennis, a Waterford Township resident who works in Auburn Hills. 

"You've got a lot of people up here who love the outdoors," Dennis said. He, his wife, Staci, and their two children were spending his lunch break at the park on the day of the DNR survey. 

If the project to grow a healthy trout population is successful, Dennis said he would be interested in bringing his children to the area to fish "when they're older." 

Contact CECILIA OLECK at 248-351-3692 or [email protected]


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

It's funny, you used to be hard-pressed to find info about local trout fishing, now it seems it's in the paper or on TV every week. I think the CRWC does good work...


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## DAN (Aug 13, 2005)

Thats awesome!! Thats less than a mile from my house. If you see a guy in waders carrying a fly rod walking down Squirrel rd during rush hour that would be me.


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## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

DAN said:


> Thats awesome!! Thats less than a mile from my house. If you see a guy in waders carrying a fly rod walking down Squirrel rd during rush hour that would be me.


Dan, where is that in relation to the Chrylser Tech Center? I work at the Featherstone Road facility........

This could be a great excuse for being late in the morning! :lol:


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

Gee I wonder how many nasty letters the editor will get for publicizing someones honey hole.


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

LOL If about 15 trout per mile is someones honey hole........

I think it's great what they have been doing. My only gripe is that the N branch has a ton of potential and is largely ignored when it comes to the Brown plants.


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## DAN (Aug 13, 2005)

Burksee said:


> Dan, where is that in relation to the Chrylser Tech Center? I work at the Featherstone Road facility........
> 
> This could be a great excuse for being late in the morning! :lol:


The park they refer to is at the corner of M-59 and Squirrel (south side of squirrel). I havent been to that park yet It looks nice though. Has anyone been fishing on paint creek? Ive tried it once getting in at the clarkston rd parking area. I had no luck and was very difficult to wade due to downed trees. I was wondering if there was a better place to get in at?


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

for more good news and discussion on the Clinton, click on the nest thread titled
"one question, one comment"


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Volunteers rid Clinton River of rampant logjams - 08/19/05 
We Are Here Foundation works to make congested Sterling Heights waterway navigable for canoeists.

Cleaver, president of the environmental cleanup company called the We Are Here Foundation, plans to remove the logjams in mid-September. When he is done, that will mean more than 20 logjams will have been cleared from the Clinton in the past two years by Cleaver and his crew.

That will pave the way for a 25-mile canoe and kayaking trip down the river, starting at the Yates Cider Mill in Shelby Township and going to the mouth of the Clinton River at Lake St. Clair.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/macomb/0508/21/B04-285610.htm


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## no neck (Aug 18, 2004)

Dan
Fished Paint Creek three times last two weeks, once where you put in. 
(1) 7-8 brown I havent fish the Paint in a few yaers but i took my girl friend to North Carolina and see got hooked on trout fishing (Don't no if thats a good or bad thing yet) But she wants to fish up here so we have fished the Paint and the Clinton at the park In the artical and other places.

the water temp in Paint Creek seems much higher than I remember.
Darrell


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Per "Volunteers rid Clinton River of rampant logjams"

They should check in with the DEQ for the proper permit to conduct this project. At that time they may discover that being too aggressive with the cleanup may conflict with the DNR fishery division that is reponsible for protecting fishery 'woody debri' habitat. An absolute clean river for canoeing is not what the fishery needs. There may be some compromise possible.


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

The past "clean ups" they have had have ruined some of my best areas. They don't just cut a little path through the wood for a canoes to pass through, they pull the whole log jam out, destroying the fish habitat and leaving little more than a sluice for the canoes to run down. All six canoes a year that traverse the areas I fish, with me accounting for five of them.


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

The area in question is from Yates down stream to the mouth. Thats the area they want to clear. This area is not trout water. It warms to much. The trout water on the Clinton is from Pontiac down to Yates. 
With the recent DNR study done on the Clinton i think you'll find that the above mentioned strech will be "managed" for trout, vs just the stockings they do now.
That means habitat improvements, spawing improvements, water quality improvements, adding overhanging banks and dug out areas and wooded debris
that the trout will need to survive. In short, things will be looking up for trout 
fishing on the Clinton. Hope it doesnt take to long for the DNR to implement 
the plan.


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

Mel,

I know you are fired up for the DNR assessing the upper reaches as a trout stream, as am I, but...

I was wondering if you could please tell the numerous small trout (Rainbow, Browns) that I caught last SUMMER in Sterling Heights' Riverland Park that the water is "not trout water." Maybe if someone tells them they will go belly up. My point is that there are many stretches of the Clinton (like the North Branch) that run cool South of Yates. They should NOT be totally disregarded as homes for trout. I think it would be SMART to leave some of the logs (not the jams, but some logs). Either way, the beavers will put some back if they take them all.

This is from another post I just typed:

That "We Are Here" group doesn't seem to have fishermen as a priority, I check out their webpage. http://www.weareherefoundation.com/ 

I will say this. I used to fish that stretch from Ryan on Down and there are a ton of logjams, many of which could be removed and would help the fishery, but I agree with ESOX, they need some to leave some. Imagine what kind of fishery we would have in River Bends Park down through Utica if it were actively managed. I also agree with the notion that the Upper Branch (Through Almont, Romeo) could be awesome. It has colder feeder creeks than the Middle and Lower Branches of the Clinton.


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

MEL said:


> The area in question is from Yates down stream to the mouth. Thats the area they want to clear. This area is not trout water.


There are other species of fish that utilize the shade and cover offered by logs in the water other than trout.


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

Very good point E. I know some people that love to fish that section for desireable non-trout species as well. Î understand you can't beat a Husky Jerk near the banks in Spring...


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

backtospol and esox

Guys i agree with you. im 47 and remember in the 60's and 70's when the Clinton was so polluted that the carp and suckers where dying in it. Saw a load of them floating down in Mt Clemens. I also remember the smell and filth.
So im all for cleaning and making as much of the river "trout" water as possable.
Im sure the north branch and the middle sections as well as other feeders and areas will get improvement. By stating that the Part below Yates was not trout water, that was the message that i got from the DNR study. I hope im wrong 
and they "manage" that part as well. All of us in S.E. Mich need some QUALITY 
trout water close to home and i hope and feel that the Clinton and tribs could give us a great fishery. Also, i think the canoe people can have there access to the river with out distroying the habitate that is there. Hopefully they will get some expert help from the dnr or tu to help save the trout habitat as well.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

There are opportunities to become involved with the Clinton River, work on the projects, and actually give your personal input on how you would like the river to be managed. 
Check this site out:
Welcome to the Clinton River Watershed Council 
http://www.crwc.org/


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Fish are killed by a chlorine release in river 
Deaths won't stop spruce-up plan 

Efforts to spruce up the banks of the Clinton River and make the water friendlier to trout in Auburn Hills suffered a setback when high levels of chlorine were released into the water, killing plants and fish.

http://www.freep.com/news/locoak/fishkill25e_20050825.htm


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

River cleanup clears the way
Army corps to rid Clinton of slimy sludge so boaters can easily navigate the path coming from Lake St. Clair.

HARRISON TOWNSHIP -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers soon will dig out the first bucket of slimy sludge from the Clinton River, and that's welcome news for Capt. Paul Gallas, whose cruise ship has been suffering from pain in the propeller because of low spots in the waterway. 
When they are done 2 1/2 months from now, the corps will have removed more than 18,000 cubic yards of sediment and other junk from the river, most of it in an area extending from Lake St. Clair outside the mouth of the river to 1,000 feet upstream.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/macomb/0508/26/B04-293409.htm


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