# any actions at Yates park yet?



## wanderboy (Sep 24, 2008)

hi, has anyone try Yates Park lately? any hits? saw couple steelheads by couple guys last year, or a few tried to jump over the dam, but very few.


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## dobes (Feb 16, 2007)

Still early, give it another 3 weeks to a month before you see any steel.


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## Reel Addiction (Mar 5, 2008)

i didnt realize clinton got a fall run? how much of a run is it? does it last all the way through spring time?


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## Frogfish101 (Apr 5, 2007)

The clinton gets a decent run Judd, and it lasts through spring.


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## wanderboy (Sep 24, 2008)

yeah, i wouldn't call it a "run", because it's just handle will swim by. but I do see good size fishes.


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## hardworkplanning (Sep 15, 2008)




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## hardworkplanning (Sep 15, 2008)

bad run!


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## stinger63 (Nov 25, 2003)

steelies or any other fish do not run up or down in that river but they do swim in small schools at timesSeriously this river gets a small run of steelies throughout the fall and into early winter depending on flow conditions on the river.Its definately very low from what I heard recently from a friend of mine.A 80% chance of some good rain fall tommorow and into saturday should help rememdy that problem.


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## LPLOVATI (Oct 24, 2008)

Any fish being caught, salmon or other wise, ive been out last two weekends and only seen suckers.


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## stinger63 (Nov 25, 2003)

I hope you guys got that much needed rain down there today because we only got a few light showers up here where I live:sad:


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## wanderboy (Sep 24, 2008)

guys, 

any updates with the recent cold weather & few rains?


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## Reel Addiction (Mar 5, 2008)

wanderboy said:


> guys,
> 
> any updates with the recent cold weather & few rains?


 
i have noticed that the last few saturdays i've driven by, it looks like they are clipping you for a fee to park at yates Park. maybe thats the reason. I was downriver a ways, and based on some of the size of the log jams i saw, i dont know how a fish could get past. At least the jams filter all of the trash floating down the river.


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## jiggineyes (Feb 19, 2005)

Log jams are the reason why it cant produce a good return rate. Reduces the speed of the river preventing good incubation and obstructs returning fish. We should get a clean up going!


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## LPLOVATI (Oct 24, 2008)

Were are some of these log jams, will check with dnr to see if we can get cleaned up or will get a crew together to do it


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## wanderboy (Sep 24, 2008)

LPLOVATI said:


> Were are some of these log jams, will check with dnr to see if we can get cleaned up or will get a crew together to do it


i am in if someone sound the horn. good chance to meet locals & check out rivers, and ask questions to regulars.


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## Reel Addiction (Mar 5, 2008)

jiggineyes said:


> Log jams are the reason why it cant produce a good return rate. Reduces the speed of the river preventing good incubation and obstructs returning fish. We should get a clean up going!


 
im up for it for sure. plus i can use the chainsaw i got for fathers day!!!


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## stelmon (Sep 21, 2000)

jiggineyes said:


> Log jams are the reason why it cant produce a good return rate. Reduces the speed of the river preventing good incubation and obstructs returning fish. We should get a clean up going!


Please, do not remove the log jams in the river what ever you do. The log jams are not the reason for the poor steelheading in the clinton. Log jams are there for a reason. It's very healthy for the river. Removing log jams will only hurt the river like what happened to the Betsie river. Log jams create more nutrition then what you think. It create food for macroinvertabrates and other things which create food for young steelhead and other species of fish. It also shapes out the river and creates runs and hole. Removing log jams will straighten a river out, and all the holes will fill in with sand. Then you won't have any steelhead after that. 

Plus, it is ILLEGAL to cut out log jams. It has to go through the DNR and more then likely they will only cut out a little section for kayakers and canoers to make it through safely if there is a problem.

Mother nature takes care of herself. Log jams are a way of helping out the river. Don't try helping her out with something you think will help the river out. Unless your a biologist, your better off just leaving the river alone and fishing.


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## Reel Addiction (Mar 5, 2008)

stelmon said:


> Please, do not remove the log jams in the river what ever you do. The log jams are not the reason for the poor steelheading in the clinton. Log jams are there for a reason. It's very healthy for the river. Removing log jams will only hurt the river like what happened to the Betsie river. Log jams create more nutrition then what you think. It create food for macroinvertabrates and other things which create food for young steelhead and other species of fish. It also shapes out the river and creates runs and hole. Removing log jams will straighten a river out, and all the holes will fill in with sand. Then you won't have any steelhead after that.
> 
> Plus, it is ILLEGAL to cut out log jams. It has to go through the DNR and more then likely they will only cut out a little section for kayakers and canoers to make it through safely if there is a problem.
> 
> Mother nature takes care of herself. Log jams are a way of helping out the river. Don't try helping her out with something you think will help the river out. Unless your a biologist, your better off just leaving the river alone and fishing.


 
simmer down. its not like me or anyone else was going to march down there this weekend with chainsaws and start hacking up the place. today i had a great conversation with the gentleman who is the new CVTU president, (whos name escapes me at the moment), and we weighed the pros and cons, and i learned quite a bit in the amount of time we spoke. i now understand the importance of log jams. However, it wouldnt be a bad idea to organize something to get down there and clean all the trash that the jams have filtered. I dont think it takes a biologist to realize that the Trash all over the place is harmful to the habitat, much less awful to look at. 

if organizing something is too time consuming then i would urge any anglers of the clinton to pack a few trash bags and each outing pick up a little trash. little by little i think we could all get it looking nice.

just my 2 cents.


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## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

there is a balance between the keeping log jams and removing them. while jams are beneficial in some areas, other places they are not. some jams have to come out because they contribute to sedimentation. others actually can compromise sewer lines, like this jam i observed for well over a year which threatened to wash out what i heard termed as a "interceptor line" for sewage. in addition to the health threat, this jam formed a backwater large enough that it may have been affecting water temps and oxygen content in the summer. once removed, a high gradient cobble bottom stretch was restored.










here is another stretch which is free flowing but still has a good amount of woody debris that provides structure and habitat for fish and other organisms.


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## JimP (Feb 8, 2002)

Log Jams rarely block the fish from what I've seen.
We were exploring a NW creek the first weekend in October.
The water was an average of 4"-6" deep and maybe 12' across.
It was blocked EVERYWHERE with fallen trees, branches and brush.
We watch dozens of Salmon flop over on their side, stick their noses into the gravel under the logs, flap their tails so hard they were making roostertails 4 feet into the air and clearing themselves underneath and through the maze.
Or they would squeeze past at the gaps at the edge of the banks. With the deeper water in the Clinton they can probably get through somehow...unless the Steehead are woos'es and not as prone to fight the obstacles like Salmon.


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## wanderboy (Sep 24, 2008)

In case everyone all excited, this thread is actually meant to clean up the trash that trapped among the log jam ONLY. not the log itself. there's another thread that's specifically for that reason. please join in if you can offer any help when it's become reality.

cleaning out the trash will be good for the fish and fishermen alike.

again, NOBODY is touching the woods.


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