Color in Cowlitz?

DerekWhipple

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
Not sure where exactly to put this question, but since there are a lot of folks that know a lot about this river and it's quirks, and I don't...

River took a jump after the rain event, then went back down to 3.5k. It was like that for a while, but when I went yesterday, it was off color with maybe 2 feet of viz. It make sense when it was way up to be off color, but it has been 3.5 all week, and hasn't cleared. What causes the color when it's this low and it's below a dam? Will it take another shot of water to have it clear up again?

Was actually able to catch a few cutts swinging a large (3 inch) black/purple rabbit strip muddler and taking only a couple of steps moving down stream, one of them probably being the biggest I've caught in that river.
 

Cowlitz Bottomfeeder

Life of the Party
The dirty water came from the Tilton. Mayfield Lake is full of dirty water now which may take some time to settle out. Pretty crowded at the Barrier Dam now but they’re catching some bright silvers. Congrats on the big CT. Good to hear about that.
 

Salmo_g

Legend
Forum Supporter
That's one of the downsides of dams with storage reservoirs. Undammed rivers rise higher during heavy rain events and clear up faster as the water level drops. The Cowlitz in Mayfield reservoir fills with dirty water from the Tilton River and Wilson Creek. Since the Cowlitz doesn't get as high due to flow regulation, it takes weeks instead of days to flush out the turbid water and begin running clear again.
 

Cowlitz Bottomfeeder

Life of the Party
That's one of the downsides of dams with storage reservoirs. Undammed rivers rise higher during heavy rain events and clear up faster as the water level drops. The Cowlitz in Mayfield reservoir fills with dirty water from the Tilton River and Wilson Creek. Since the Cowlitz doesn't get as high due to flow regulation, it takes weeks instead of days to flush out the turbid water and begin running clear again.
Woe is us! The lock jawed Cowlitz Coho are biting in that dirty water.
 
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