Active SpawningPriority TributaryUSGS GaugedBarrier Removal
Kelsey Creek Most Important Spawning Trib
In 2020, every single one of the 1,672 hitch counted across all of Clear Lake was found here, in Kelsey Creek alone. No other tributary produced a single adult that spring.
Drought era. Kelsey ran low. Survey methods still being standardized.
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Source: CDFW and Lake County WPD visual spawner surveys, lake-wide counts through the 2025 season. Source archive · USGS OFR 2025-1018
Lake-wide Spawner Counts: Kelsey's Role Each Year
Year
Spawners (lake-wide)
2013
Fewer than 500
2014
1,119
2016
693
2017
517
2018
1,153
2019
612
2020
1,672
2021
120
2022
306
2023
2,548
2024
1,042
2025
1,567
About This Creek
Essential to Hitch Reproduction
Clear Lake hitch are obligate stream spawners. They cannot reproduce in the lake itself. Adults must swim up tributaries each spring, lay their eggs over gravel and cobble in flowing water, and fry must rear briefly in the stream before returning to the lake. Kelsey Creek is the tributary that reliably makes this possible.
Its drainage is large enough to sustain flow well into the spawning window even in moderately dry years. When other tributaries run dry or fail to connect to the lake, Kelsey keeps producing. That's what makes the 2020 concentration so alarming. It revealed the species had been reduced to a single functioning spawning stream.
In 2020, every single one of the 1,672 hitch observed across all CDFW visual surveys was recorded in Kelsey Creek. No other tributary in the Clear Lake watershed produced a countable spawning run that year.CDFW Clear Lake Hitch Surveys, 2020
✓ 2024 to 2025 Survey Status
Adult hitch confirmed at Kelsey Creek in both CDFW visual surveys. Among the leading active tributaries each season.
📍 Location
Rises in western Mayacamas Mountains · flows through Kelseyville and Big Valley · enters Clear Lake at Clear Lake State Park, south shore.
🔬 Monitoring Infrastructure
USGS streamflow gauge (11449500) · HOBO temperature loggers · CDFW annual visual surveys · LCWPD community science program.
⚠ Groundwater Pressure
Big Valley Basin pumping can rapidly dry the lower creek during spawning season. CA State Water Board issued 2024 monitoring orders for major pumpers.
Field Photos
Kelsey Creek in the field
Fish-ladder barriers and the detention structure, hitch and suckers at Merritt Road, the dry winter bed, and the creek mouth. Click any photo to open full size.
Barrier
Fish Ladder Barrier in Kelsey Creek at Main StreetDownstream · 4/27/26
Monitoring site
Upper Reach Kelsey Creek at Main StreetUpper reach · 4/27/26
Monitoring site
Kelsey Creek at Merritt RoadUpstream · 4/27/26
Monitoring site
Kelsey Creek at Merritt RoadDownstream · 4/27/26
Fish observed
Hitch and Suckers in Kelsey Creek at Merritt Rd4/13/23
Barrier
Fish Ladder at the Kelsey Creek Detention…12/5/23
Barrier
Dry Creek Bed Kelsey Creek of the Detention…Downstream · 12/5/23
Monitoring site
Downstream Reach Kelsey Creek at Soda Bay RoadDownstream reach · 11/22/24
Creek mouth
Mouth of Kelsey Creek4/22/26
Barriers & Restoration
What Hitch Have to Overcome
The lower reach passes through Kelseyville where road crossings and legacy structures delay or block upstream migration in low-flow years.
In Progress
Main Street Barrier Removal
The Main Street crossing in downtown Kelseyville is a documented migration barrier. A removal project is underway. When complete, it will open additional upstream spawning habitat and reduce delay-related mortality.
Monitoring Orders 2024
Big Valley Groundwater Pumping
Agricultural pumping in the Big Valley Basin can rapidly dry the lower creek during spawning and rearing windows. The CA State Water Board issued 2024 reporting orders for major pumpers, a first step toward regulatory protection.
Critical Risk
Late-Season Flow Cutoff
In 2021, catastrophic drought left only 120 hitch lake-wide as tributaries ran dry. Juveniles rearing in the creek were stranded when flow ceased. The Hitch Rescue Team responds to these events. Always call (707) 263-2344 if you spot stranded fish.
