Everyone Waits for Salmon to Arrive

Wednesday, October 31, 2018   730 am, 44 degree

            I opened my front door to see the end of the brilliant pink strips of sunrise just before they faded to gray. By the time I reached Fair Oaks Bridge, bright white and scattered clouds showed no sign of the intense colors they held only moments before. The sun was already shining yellow over the horizon.  Today the chilly air feels heavy with moisture.

Today is the final day of fishing in this part of the American River for the rest of the year. I saw so no one catch salmon and missed their leaps high enough out of the water to be seen. I missed seeing their struggles to set themselves free – seeing only a few random splashes instead.

Other bridge visitors told me that salmon were swimming out in the river, but more of them had already reached the weir at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. I will be looking for leaping salmon at “the narrows,” passage upriver in November during the heaviest part of the fall run.

Fair Oaks Bridge, Fair Oaks, American River, mornings, river, wildlife, water, ducks, fishermen, boats,
On this last day of fishing for 2018, this fishermen sits in one of a dozen boats lining the American River and around the bend. Ducks swim peacefully through the still water, reflecting the Fair Oaks Bridge.
clouds, American River, mornings, sky
Feather arrow clouds extend across the sky

           

 

I am surprised there is still no scent of decaying salmon. Nearly 100 seagulls gather and wait in the American River and on the sandbar a mile east of Fair Oaks Bridge. I watch and wonder when will the salmon show themselves?

seagulls, American River, salmon, mornings, Fair Oaks, food, Chinook salmon, salmon
Hungry seagulls wait for salmon to arrive
Great Blue Heron, American River, water, mornings, Fair Oaks Bridge, boat luanch ramp, study
Great Blue Heron studies the river