Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 44 Issue 01 | Page 15

Mokelumne River Steelhead Fishing Regulations

• The Mokelumne River ( San Joaquin Co ,) is open from Camanche Dam to Elliot Road from Jan . 1 through Mar . 31 with a limit of 1 hatchery trout or 1 hatchery steelhead . The Mokelumne and other Central Valley rivers have been closed to salmon fishing over the past two years .

• This section of river reopens from the Fourth Saturday in May through July 15 with a limit of 1 hatchery trout or 1 hatchery steelhead .

• From July 16 through Oct . 15 , the limit is 1 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead .

• From Elliott Road to the Woodbridge Irrigation District Dam including Lodi Lake , the season is from Jan . 1 through July 15 with a limit of 1 hatchery trout or 1 hatchery steelhead .

• From July 16 through Dec . 31 , the limit is 1 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead .

• The section between the Woodbridge Irrigation District Dam and the Lower Sacramento Road bridge is closed to all fishing all year .

• The Mokelumne River and its tributary sloughs downstream of the Lower Sacramento Road bridge and east of Highway 160 and north of Highway 12 from Jan . 1 through July 15 has a limit of1 hatchery trout or 1 hatchery steelhead .

• From July 16 through Dec . 16 , the limit is 1 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead .

• From Dec . 17 through Dec . 31 , the limit is 1 hatchery trout or 1 hatchery steelhead

Improved Mokelumne Salmon & Steelhead Return Strategies

• Stronger Pulses – Pulse flows reached higher magnitudes compared to recent years thanks to flood control waters released from Camanche Reservoir . These pulses provide cues for salmon to move up into the river . Additional pulses provided by reoperating Woodbridge Irrigation District Dam extended the period of pulses into November .

• Gate Closures – To prevent straying of Sacramento and Mokelumne River salmon , CDFW coordinated closures of the Delta Cross Channel Gates on weekdays and reopened for weekend recreation beginning in September .

• Tagging Data – Using Coded Wire Tag data from returning fish , the agencies measured the effectiveness of releasing fish on outgoing tides and limiting releases to no more than two consecutive days from the same location to increase juvenile salmon survival .

• Barging – The agencies have transported juvenile salmon from the Mokelumne River by barge and released them in the San Francisco Bay . Barging improves fish survival through the Delta and may also help with imprinting for juvenile salmon to re-trace their way to natal waters .

• Transfer Diet – Juvenile salmon undergo an incredible physiological change when moving from freshwater to saltwater . To ease the initial stress , a specialized feed containing higher salt levels is fed to the juveniles in the weeks before the release .

• Habitat Improvement – EBMUD and DFW have spent nearly two decades developing and implementing a plan to improve spawning and rearing habitat in the river below Camanche Dam .

Camanche Dam to Lodi Lake

San Joaquin County

Drawn by Dewayne Hight

Lodi Lake

Turner Rd .

Lockeford St

LODI

Jahant Slough

To Galt & Sacramento

Ham Lane

Acampo Rd .

Woodbridge Rd .

Woodbridge Rd .

Mokelumne River

To Stockton

Peltier Road

Victor

Kettleman Lane

Lockeford

To Stockton

Mokelumne River

Bear Creek

Clements

Harney Lane

• Black Bass , Catfish and Bluegill can also be found in the Mokelumne in the Lodi area , particularly during the spring and summer months . Henderson

• The ' Village river from Camanche Dam to Peltier Road is open to fishing from January I though March 31 , with a limit of 1 hatchery trout or 1 hatchery steelhead . The river reopens from the Fourth Saturday in May through July 15 , with a limit of 1 hatchery trout or steelhead , and from July 26 through October 15 , with a limit of one hatchery trout or one hatchery steelhead .

Bear Creek

Tully Road

Stillman Magee Co . Pk .

Brandt Road

Sargent Rd

Kettleman Lane

To Jackson

Fish Hatchery

Mokelumne Day Use

Area

McIntire Rd

Camanche Reservoir

& Dam

Johnson

Acampo Road

Fishing Notes

• Rainbow Trout and Steelhead fishing is best in the stretch from below the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery to Clements . Trout can be caught throughout the river from Clements to Lodi , but access can be difficult . Use nightcrawlers , Glo Bugs , Little Cleos and small spinners . Fly fishing Is good for anglers using a variety of nymphs or dry flies when hatches occur . Most of the trout are wild , though some hatchery fish are taken also .

Linn Road

Clements Road

Road agency is dedicated to balancing customers ’ water needs with environmental protection and river stewardship , according to EBMUD . Regarding the record salmon run on the Mokelumne this year , Scott Artis , Executive Director of the Golden State Salmon Association ( GSSA ), stated , “ This steps back to what we saw last year as well : that when we actually give fish the right water conditions or truck them past the Delta pumps , hot water and low flows , and give them a chance to survive , we see record returns despite all of the layers of bad salmon policy ,”“ Mokelumne River salmon are escaping all of Newsom ’ s bad water policies and are producing a record number of fish . That should tell us something ,” he noted . “ Whether the administration is Democratic or Republican , we need to make sure that at the end of the day we ’ re not killing tens of thousands of salmon jobs , entire coastal towns and cultures that rely on salmon ,” Artis concluded . Fishing for steelhead is open on the Mokelumne River from below Camanche Dam to Elliot Road from Jan . 1 through March 31 with a daily bag limit of one hatchery trout or one hatchery steelhead . Fishing then reopens from the fourth Saturday in May through July 15 , with a daily bag limit of one hatchery trout or one hatchery steelhead . Meanwhile , at the Coleman National Fishery on Battle Creek , a tributary of the Sacramento River below Redding , a low return of adults has resulted in only 5.5 million eggs being collected this fall . As a result , the hatchery management requested and received millions of salmon eggs from multiple hatcheries operated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife , including the Mokelumne River , Nimbus , and Feather River hatcheries .

Each year , Coleman NFH aims to release 12 million juvenile fall Chinook salmon . Spawning of fall-run Chinooks has been finished this year at the Feather River Hatchery and Nimbus Hatchery on the American River . The annual Chinook salmon spawning activities at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville have also been completed also , according to the California Department of Water Resources ( DWR ) reported in its Lake Oroville Update . “ The Hatchery collected enough eggs to meet its normal production goal of 2 million spring-run fingerlings and 6 million fall-run fingerlings , with additional eggs collected to increase production this year . Another 1 million spring-run and 6 million fall-run Chinook salmon will be produced to address declines in Central Valley Chinook salmon populations during recent years ,” DWR wrote . December 12 was the final date for salmon egg taking at Nimbus Fish Hatchery on the American River . The hatchery is now spawning steelhead . The final numbers of salmon returning to the Central Valley rivers and fish hatcheries won ’ t be available to the public until late February and early March 2025 , when all of the data is compiled for the Pacific Fishery Management Council ’ s meetings to craft the year ’ s salmon seasons . The CDFW will hold its annual salmon fishery information meeting at this time , but the exact date hasn ’ t been released yet . However , it is important to note that the Mokelumne River is a tributary of the San Joaquin River , not the Sacramento River , and the ocean abundance estimates for the setting of ocean and river salmon fishing seasons are based on the Sacramento River Index .

The Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery has spawned record numbers of fish like these here over the past two years .

Photo by Dan Bacher

Fall-run Chinook salmon have plugged the Mokelumne River in recent years .

Photo by EBMUD

Most steelhead on the Mokelumne River are in the 18 to 24 inch range like these fish in the hatchery holding pond , but larger fish to 12 pounds are always possible when you fish the river .

Photo by Dan Bacher