This month Andrew and Haley joined Rod, Daryl and me for the trap placement and retrieval. It was really wonderful to see their scientific minds at work. Haley asks such great questions and enthusiastically recorded the data, while Andrew was keen to learn how to measure and handle the trout.
Hopefully Haley and Andrew will continue to be part of our team…..it was great to share the experience with them.
Continuing to trap for one hour below Site 1, we retrieved three cutthroat in an hour.
In August we were joined by Judy and we realized that Site 1 needed our attention. One trout and one sculpin were trapped, so we decided to leave a trap just east of site 1 (blue) to see what would happen.
We trapped one healthy cutthroat in an hour
The stream passes site 1 (yellow) and curls around a concrete dam. During the summer of 2017, when water levels lowered, the stream pushed it way under the concrete dam, leaving the stream bed dry.
Sites 1 (yellow) and 2 (red) have not produced many cutthroat.
July was a special month since we were joined by Beth Mitchel, and had the benefit of her experience and wisdom. We talked about Bee Creek, the spawning channel, construction and the future of Bee Creek.
The spawning channel is of special interest. A channel was dug to allow trout a quiet, safe place to spawn.
The channel dried out this summer since it was fed by run-off from nearby residences.
Until the rains start and run-off builds up, the spawning channel wont be able to support cutthroat.
The best month to date, since we got to share the experience with some neighbours. We began to see the potential for sharing this adventure with young and old.
The idea to build a site for educational purposes was born. The potential for community involved became apparent.
We caught 13 cutthroat in June.
In May, we started to learn how and why we monitor creeks that feed into Esquimalt Lagoon. Judy and I walked to each of four sites at Havenwood and we set four Gee traps, loaded with smoked oysters. Small trout swim in the either end of the trap as it lies on the creek bed and are unable to swim out.
The next day, we retrieved the trap, poured the water and trout into a bucket. After measuring each one carefully, they were gently returned to the creek. Trout were measured easily by placing them into a plastic bag which had a ruler at the bottom.
We retrieved eight Cutthroat in May.
Bee Creek Cutthroat 