5/25 Willow Creek Fieldwork Update

Post date: May 26, 2014 3:26:13 AM

We have now completed two weeks of on-the-ground tracking of our telemetry-tagged fish in Willow and Deception Creeks.

Most fish are currently spawning in Deception Creek, and more tagged fish seem to be arriving in Willow each time we go out. Trout appear to be spending time in the lower reaches of Willow below the Parks Highway bridge before moving up into Deception Creek to spawn.

Several fish don't appear to be spawning, and are in the lower reaches of Willow likely feeding on outmigrating salmon smolt. We have observed high abundances of outmigrating smolt, and arctic terns, Bonaparte's gulls, and rainbow trout appear to be feeding heavily on them.

A lone fish was found far up in the canyon of Willow Creek, we plan on investigating why he might be up there (spawning, feeding?) this coming week.

Our weekly tracking consists of one day floating Willow Creek from the canyon down to the confluence with the Susitna, one day of hiking lower Deception Creek, and half-a-day floating a northern braided channel of Willow. We also floated Little Willow Creek from the Parks Highway bridge to the Willow Creek campground but found no fish.

We observed roughly 6 trout on spawning beds missing one eye out of ~30 fish encountered (see photos below). These injuries are likely hooking scars inflicted due to the heavy angling pressure in Willow. I was able to approach these fish closely without them spooking, which leads me to believe these trout are highly susceptible to predators (bears, eagles) when on their spawning beds and injured in this manner. It is also likely that one-eyed fish are not as effective at foraging for food, and this may cause low survival.

Please note that Willow Creek is open to catch-and-release angling for rainbow trout, but Deception Creek is closed to angling until June 14 to protect spawning trout. King salmon will be arriving in Willow soon, and I believe catch-and-release is allowed by current ADFG emergency order (EO) below the Parks Highway bridge. Make sure you have your king stamp and check for updated EO's!

We will be out in the field tracking this week (5/26-5/29), and have an aerial survey scheduled for 5/26. The aerial survey will inform us if any of our trout are spawning outside Willow Creek (Little Willow, Kashwitna, Deshka, etc.).

Be careful if you are out on the water, you don't want to have to get airlifted out like these guys:

-Kevin