Fall Fish Festival
The Kokanee Salmon are the most colorful and fascinating fish in Lake Tahoe. The Taylor Creek Visitors Center in South Lake Tahoe is the best place to go and view the fish while they are spawning in the Fall. The US Forest Service constructed viewing center where the public can watch the stream profile through a window that has been built into the ground with a tunnel walkway similar to being at an aquarium. The Kokanee start to spawn in early October and around 80,000 salmon will swim upstream to lay eggs. As the fish begin to spawn, they turn a bright red color that is surprising to see in the water. When the female lays her eggs in the creek gravel, she will then start to turn white and begin to decompose, ending the one-year life cycle. The males will then protect the eggs for a few more days before the end of life cycle begins for them. To catch with natural life process in action is exciting and educational.
The first weekend in October the Taylor Creek Visitors Center, located 3 miles north of South Lake Tahoe, will be hosting the annual Fall Fish Festival. From 10am – 4pm on Saturday and Sunday visitors can stroll the 1/2 mile Rainbow Trail loop as Forest Service biologists will engage visitors in the wonders of Taylor Creek. The trail will take you through forests, meadows and marsh lands to the creek where the Kokanee salmon will be within a few feet of your own feet.
Events for the weekend will include children’s activities such as treasure hunts, fish art and a Smokey the Bear visit, educational programs and the Kokanee Trail Run on Sunday that includes a 1/2 marathon, 5K and 10K.
I’m looking forward to this event. Hope to see you up in Tahoe for this natural wonder.
Click here for more information.
Katie Tyler
Realtor®
BRE 01442453
c 530 277 1012
Kokanee Salmon
It’s fall in Tahoe, another beautiful time of the year all around the Lake as the trees light up with orange, yellow and red colors. The trees are not the only things changing color though. Look a little closer and you will find bright red Kokanee Salmon swimming up from the Tahoe area lakes into rivers and streams to spawn.
The month of October is the prime time to see these striking fish dart upstream to lay eggs. The fish, both the male and the female, turn from a silver grey to bright red bodies with green heads as they begin to mate. The male grows a large hooked beak and hump in the middle of their back making it look quite fierce. In some areas you can see hundreds and in others, just a few. It is like watching tropical fish as you see these bright colors in the crystal clear waters fighting the river current to swim upstream. They are in search of where they were born only 4-6 years earlier. This is where they will lay their eggs and die shortly after. This then creates plenty of food for bears and eagles. So, as you admire the Salmon down in the river, be sure to look around to see what other wildlife might be close by.
Taylor Creek, located on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe, is the primary spawning stream in the Tahoe Basin for the Kokanee Salmon. This location has been set up to showcase this beautiful act in nature. There are four self-guided trails. You will want to start with the Rainbow Trail that features the Stream Profile Chamber. This has been engineered into a diverted portion of the stream to provide an aquarium-like window of the creek profile. Watch under the water as the salmon swim by. Then back to the trail to venture along the creek, over bridges and through the golden landscape.
Sagehen Creek just outside of Truckee is another great place to spot the Kokanee Salmon. Totally different than the Taylor Creek location, this is a 2.5 mile hike out to the creek where the fish can be seen swimming out of Stampede Reservoir. During this quiet time of year in the area, chances are that you could be the only one out there. Enjoy the peace and take it all in as the salmon swim through the golden meadow upstream and perhaps you will also spot an eagle flying overhead.
Katie Tyler
Realtor®
BRE 01442453
c 530 277 1012
