Trout Scout Report - October 2022

October is the driest time of the year, so it's a good time to ask about how the Rainbow Trout have survived in the Arroyo Seco. ASF Education Director Angel Pinedo and his erstwhile troop of Trout Scouts have been monitoring the trout in the Arroyo thoughout the long, dry summer. The high count for trout was over 1000 in the summer, but as the Arroyo Seco stream dipped below 1 cubic foot per second, we knew that the number would decline.

Here's the report from Angel:

"On Saturday, September 17th myself and volunteer Paul Backes, an employee of JPL, surveyed the Gould mesa pool to monitor the previously 140+ trout found in the area. After extensive snorkeling and use of the GoPro to reach hard to reach crevices, not a single trout was found. No juveniles and no adults. Concerned we surveyed the known trout pools downstream in hopes to find evidence of migration only to find no increase in numbers. Some of these pools have gone dry and the trout presumably gone. But at least two pools downstream still had trout. One of which had the same 10 trout including a large adult of approximately 7 inches in residence. The Gould Mesa pool was cold and in very good shape with flowing water when checked. We fear that the last heat wave may have triggered a die off, but we havne't seen any evidence of carcasses either."

Angel contacted the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW), who we knew are also monitoring trout conditions in the Arroyo. A CDFW ranger responded that they had recently completed a recovery program for more than 100 trout in the area and moved them to larger pools and healthier conditions.

All this proves that the Rainbow Trout in the Arroyo Seco are remarkably resilient and that CDFW and ASF are on the job helping them out.