Wading rivers and streams

Tenkara
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Thanks Paul for joining in.

What would you say is the tipping point for a streams health in terms of wading traffic level?

What you are noting is that wading anglers simulate natural occurring agitation.

I know very little about the ecology of a river…but do recognize and am amazed by the difference in appearance between a river that has heavy traffic and one that has close to none. Diversity of plant life in and around the river is usually a difference but it’s hard to say whether it’s a matter of traffic or water quality…as many of the heavily fished rivers I frequent are also in or adjacent to residential or industrial areas. The industrial are the legacy mills that pepper the rivers here in the north east.

What would be your rule of thumb when choosing your route to fish a stream… if the stream and bank were equally viable options?

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While I do not have much time to reply further at this point, this is a brilliant thread everyone. Thanks for participating and sharing your experience and knowledge. I can say for myself, it’s helping me to think and expand my understanding. This is exactly why I wanted this forum.

Thank you everyone.

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That was one of the things we did in the project I referenced above and it was very successful for that purpose and it also helped reduce steam bank erosion.

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Gressak - I know you’re asking Tom and David, but I thought I’d respond as well. Where I fish, it is almost 100% wild brook trout streams. They are not highly pressured, and there is definitely nothing resembling a worn out bank of dirt! I rarely see more than 1 or 2 other anglers in a given trip, and I’ve gone months without seeing another angler.

The Rhodo-choked streams you mentioned…that’s what we’re talking about.

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Thanks. I welcome all responses as its helping me get a better formed picture of how I will choose to approach rivers and streams.

Knowing that occasional agitation my actually help a stream is a good thing to know when considering our affect on these waterways.

Most of the water banks that are dirt are reserves that also get extremely heavy use from dog walkers. We are talking hundreds of visitors a day. That particular water has a rotation of sections closed for restoration/ recuperation. Most of my water is withing striking distance of New York city so you can imagine the pressure. If every angler walked the stream bed it wouldn’t be long before it would be a mud slick.

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David,

Great material. I am tempted to buy those videos. they look great…especially for a guy like me who is so green.

Regarding the impact of wading page. I interpreted it differently than you. It sort of suggests minimal interaction with the stream, not just during spawn.

“The only thing you should keep in mind is wade only as much as necessary.”

Keep us posted on Wendell Ozefovich’s reply.

Regarding the Catch and Deny docs…I will reply to them on the Labyrinth hook thread.

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I saw this a little earlier and thought it apropos to his conversation; not to mention very true. It was posted by AIDA.

C65eAOoVsAAGK3k.png1024×512 1.12 MB

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Interesting point. Periodic disturbance appears to result in renewal. Constant disturbance , not so much. It’s like telling a joke, it’s all in the timing. :wink:

I recall reading that when hurricanes hit Florida it flushes out the everglades and reinvigorates the health of the ecology. The occasional hurricane is a benefit. There was a lot of hand wringing about the fires in Yellowstone 29 or so years ago, yet the diversity of plant and animal life in those areas and how quickly it rebounded seemed to astonish people. I made my first motorcycle trip through Yellowstone, I think , two years after the fire. Heck, I’ve long thought that periodic wind storms is nature’s way of pruning the forest. I think nature is more robust than many assume.

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Well I have fished East and West and North and South and on a couple of different continents and only some of the time can I fish from the bank, maybe 30 percent with dry feet; I almost always fish moving water. Tenkara also limits your distance and the fisher must set up his position for the cast and that requires mostly being in the water.
Besides when in the water I am trying to be as stealthy as possible so disturbance is at a relative minimum.

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I guess the main reason I wade has that for most of my streams the riparian vegetation is so thick that he cannot stand at the bank and fish. Also, the water levels go right to the edge of a vegetation. Most of my streams have banks lined with either willow or red twig Dogwood. Often, the branches of these hang far out into the stream.

Are they heavily fished? Some are and some are not.

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Hi Gressak,

In terms of rules of thumb for choosing wading/walking there isn’t a readily-available hard and fast rule - however you can probably take some reassurance from the fact that aside from certain critical events - such as spawning periods where “green” eggs are in the gravels - the potential for wading to have a measurably-negative impact is small.

Just as an aside, “green” eggs are fertilised eggs, but before the “eyed” stage where you can recognise an actual baby trout inside the membrane. Eyed eggs are much more robust, whereas green eggs can die in droves from even a small shock. Hence the need to avoid wading on “redds” (gravel spawning “nests”) at the time of year that these are around on your streams.

Teasing apart cause and effect in biological systems is hideously complex (and I’m really fond of being mindful of the cognitive trap captured in the phrase “post-hoc - ergo propter hoc” (“after, therefore because-of…”). In other words, when your shaman does enough rain-dances - the one time it does rain afterwards; he will likely claim responsibility…but of course had no control over the weather.

Biology is littered with things like that to trip everyone up (especially biologists!), so I’ll try to give a better (perhaps slightly more useful) answer to your question about whether I generally favour bank or stream for walking along.

Essentially, I’ll just look to minimise trampling established vegetation (sometimes this is best done by sticking to established trails - sometimes by finding areas of rock to walk on) and mix and match between in-stream and bank-side walking.

It is different in desert areas (or anywhere else you get incredibly slow-growing vegetation). In those cases, it is better to establish the absolute minimum number of agreed trails/paths. Those trails will be “sacrificed” but clearly limited…The alternative where each separate visiting angler/walker/climber is free to ad-lib the path that they fancy winds up with a much, much larger area of impact (because just one or two people following that diverse network of paths is enough to destroy plants that could take 12 years or more to recover).

This was the case at a place I used to love climbing in the States (Hueco Tanks, near El Paso in Texas). Once the marked (and in some cases guide-accompanied-only) trails were established, the vegetation began to recover noticeably.

Fortunately, most trout rivers are unlikely to have such slow-recovery - and therefore you are more likely to be operating in the “intermediate disturbance” zone and probably doing the stream a small favour.

Paul

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Thanks Paul.

To summarize:

Be mindful of all interaction but not guilty of our impact as it may assist in creating diversity. If paths exist…make a conscious effort to use them. Avoid interaction with vegetation on both land and in the stream if possible.

Good stuff. I think I may dig into some of the material that David posted to help supplement the general notes. For the most part I really know little about the stream ecosystem. I suppose educating myself a bit more may help me identify events I should avoid trampling over.

Last year I noticed these stick fragments moving against the current. They seemed to be alive. I know it may sound funny but I did not know that they were caddis. A few weeks later I was invited to join a group of anglers on a river restoration project. We planted saplings and also installed some digital monitors into the river. My buddy lifts up a rock and shows it to the group. It looked like a porcupine and was covered with shelled caddis…the same critters I notice just weeks before.

Since then I have looked at the river in a different much more cautious way.

Still learning…

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I came across this image recently of a full tracked excavator involved in stream restoration.

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Now granted, it is in the interest of stream restoration but I generally feel that a 100 to 200 lb person that wades to fish, isn’t going to have a huge impact on the stream bed as would a horse, atv or vehicle. Those low water crossings however are not devoid of fish. I’ve seen low water crossings in national forests and as unlikely as it may seem, I would find at least one fish hanging out there. Probably not an optimal place to be but nevertheless, the fish are there. Just look at low water crossings that aren’t spanned by a footbridge or some other means. They are pretty beat up.

In the case of smaller creeks, like this meadow creek, a person would want to avoid stepping into the middle of it and opt to cross at a narrow point by jumping across. In this instance, the streambed is more fragile and should be treated as such. I would have to say that most fly fisherman I have come across, whether western or tenkara, were standing on the bank or maybe a few feet in the water from the bank while they were fishing, only having to enter the water if necessary or to cross.

20160922_104051.jpg2048×1152 1.26 MB

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Other than being aware that stepping on redds can kill eggs, I am not overly concerned that I am going to do permanent damage to the riparian ecosystem. When fishing a stream where something like this happens periodically, take a moment to realize how insignificant your impact is compared to one completely natural event like a flood. It is a lot like the discussion held a few years ago over damaging the forest by cutting one branch for a tamo. Compare that to even a small forest fire. I think we get a little carried away sometimes.

big-thompson-flood.jpg736×490 111 KB

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I totally get and understand the points, and understand that nature has the capacity to rebound.

My query was mostly as an ask the audience sort of thing, where I am trying to understand the impact of my actions.

I know very little about the ecology of the wetland and streams, I am just trying to be a bit more educated on the subject.

It is a known thing that human traffic can have a negative impact on the environment, but unlike a natural event we have some level of control over it. River restoration projects and closures are perfect evidence that there is need of some level of control.

This winter is my second winter fishing. I have noticed a dramatic shift in the amount of trout in a lot of rivers that previously held plenty. I am trying to understand the scope of why. I know with certainty a large part of it is the drought and as a result the state has not planted any fish this fall and winter. In knowing this…what is curious are that some brooks and rivers still have a healthy population. Some seemingly much smaller waters with far less flow. Of course the reasons for this are probably far too complicated for my mind gather, but one thing I have noticed is that the water still holding trout seem to be more remote waters with less evidence of human interaction. The all seemed to have more diverse plant life both lining the streams and in the stream itself.

In reflecting on this I may be connecting dots that don’t connect. I am still trying to form my own personal opinion on it.

Some of the notes of the thread are sensible to me. Like the need for some agitation to help promote diversity. Other parts like a blanket statement that its 100% ok to wade as long as you do not disturb redds, seems incomplete. As there is always the variable of traffic. Sort of like a path on land. The more traffic there is on it, the less able there is for something to grow there. To add to the redds there are other fish and creatures in the stream that I am sure have their own spawn/reproductive cycle. Parts of the puzzle that I know little about.

I see this topic similar to the sentiment of catch and release on a 100% wild stream. If one angler keeps his limit of trout from a stream, the trout population can probably rebound. If one hundred anglers do the same thing, the fishery may really become unhealthy.

Will my thoughts stop me from wading? No.

Will I continue to be cautious? yeah probably…

I think in general what this thread has done for me is to free me from some level of hesitation when in a really remote stream. I probably will be more apt to wade up it than I would have previously.

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This afternoon I received a reply from Ozzie (Underwater Oz) who wrote -
“This subject is very dear to my heart. I don’t have time now to properly answer your request, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

I think it will interesting to read his views on this topic.

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I too am curious to hear his response. If you haven’t already, you could always send him a link to the thread and he could reply too. :wink:

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I did.

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A bit of an update. Yesterday I received an email reply from Ozzie. However, he also asked if he could reply to the forum, and of course I encouraged him to create an account and post his thoughts here directly. I will hold off on what he sent me for a couple of days to see if he post here himself.

On another topic, previously I mentioned having seen somewhere a report by Paul Gaskell about stream log pinning to improve spawning habitat, which Peder also has some experience doing. I thought I found the article I was thinking about on the Wild Trout Trust Vimeo channel. But while the host is Paul it is not the one I recall seeing before. While a bit off the topic of the impact from wading, in light of Paul’s recommendation to consider the whole river system, not just the stream bed, maybe you will also find these videos interesting.
They were uploaded a few years ago.

Log Pinning.
https://vimeo.com/32317564
If nothing else, this video provides a few clues where fish lay their eggss so you can try to avoid those areas if you do wade during the spawn .

Ah ha, Here’s the one I recalled seeing a couple of years ago.
Secure Tree Kicker Installation
https://vimeo.com/72720550

A bit farther off topic, but also interesting.
Risks of stocking fertile hatchery fish
https://vimeo.com/63397187

Some other stream side environment topics on the WTT Vimeo channel might also be of interest.

https://vimeo.com/user9310225/videos/page:1/sort:date

Or on the Wild Trout Trust website, for what is going on in the UK, and Ireland.

http://wildtrout.org/

I don’t know if Paul Gaskell is still at WTT.

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Interesting videos.

The log pinning is curious to me. Something about it reminds me of a skate park.

This aspect of Imposing a design to emulate nature always seems like an error to me.

One of the rivers I fish gets maintained in a a curious way. When trees fall into the river. It does not take long for the park to remove them, which always seems strange to me to prune a natural occurrence…but that is the attribute of a park…manicured nature.

Regarding log pinning. The business of just planting log segments without branches seems to be a way of producing structure that is angler friendly but far from natural. Most trees that fall are dead or decomposing wood…not healthy timbers. Branches provide all kinds of cover for all kinds of organisms. This sort of planting is much like a home aquarium. A cultivated ecosystem, but still far from a natural one.

Yes, I am being a bit of a devil in my criticism, but I always get suspicious of man’s ability of attempting to intellectualize and oversimplify what nature does.

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