Rod (left) and James, joined up to help the season opening of the Bee Creek monitoring season.

Wet, cold spring weather in Victoria delayed plant growth until hot dry sun brought on fast spurts of plant life and within a few weeks Bee Creek became quickly overgrown.

The shade provided by new plant life provided protection for the new juvenile trout and and the same time, supported an abundance of food for the Cutthroat, such as fresh water shrimp, caterpillars, spiders, and plenty of caddisflies.

As for the trout, all but one site on the creek, held a good number of healthy Cutthroat.

In addition to ample food for the trout, predators such as the blue heron were seen at the mouth of the creek and further upstream taking the occasional trout. Overall, the creek looks healthy and nature has provided the trout with ample protection and food this spring.