Santa Lucia Preserve’s June Fish Survey Counted 39 Trout in a 100-Meter Stretch of San Jose Creek

SANTA LUCIA PRESERVE, Monterey County — October 30, 2026. The Santa Lucia Conservancy has published findings from a late-June 2026 field survey of trout in San Jose Creek in Williams Canyon. Working alongside staff from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the conservancy’s biologists examined a 100-meter stream section using a standardized fish-sampling procedure. Their field account records 39 fish, ranging from approximately two to ten inches long.

How were the fish counted?

The team used electrofishing equipment operated by trained personnel to briefly bring fish into nets, after which fish were examined and returned to the stream. The account describes three passes through the 100-meter section; fish were temporarily held in aerated water and returned without reported injury. Electrofishing is a scientific survey method, not an activity for amateur visitors or anglers to attempt.

What did the size range reveal?

The team reported fish of varying sizes and estimated ages, from young-of-the-year hatchlings to some perhaps three years old. That provides evidence that multiple age groups occupied the sampled reach at the time of the survey. However, a single site survey does not establish how many adult steelhead migrate through all five preserve-connected streams, how successful spawning is across the watershed, or whether abundance has increased since the previous year.

Is this ongoing monitoring?

Yes. The conservancy’s July 23, 2026 account describes this as the third year of surveys at San Jose Creek. It says the resulting observations contribute to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Coastal Monitoring Program on the Big Sur Coast, led by environmental scientist Emily Campbell. The conservancy has separately identified five trout-bearing waterways crossing or beginning on preserve lands: San Jose, Potrero, Robinson Canyon, Garzas and San Clemente creeks.

Can visitors fish or walk into the survey site?

Nothing in the scientific report grants public fishing, creek access or entry into private preserve lands. Residents should seek permission from the relevant property manager and consult state fishing regulations and closures rather than infer access from photographs of researchers working on site.

Primary sources: Santa Lucia Conservancy, July 23, 2026 — Trout Tales from San Jose Creek; Conservancy — rare species and the preserve’s five steelhead-bearing creeks.

Editor’s note: The 39-fish count is the documented June 2026 sample, not a claim of the same count in October or a population estimate for the entire watershed.

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