Over the years (since they stopped dredging the mouth of the Nechako) the river mouth has grown wider and shallower.
Boats with props have tried to plow a channel through to the Fraser but have given up. Just too hard on the props and the price too much. Some have thought of drifting down from the boat launch but the thought of the motor not starting once in the
Fraser and the Fort George rapids below makes for second thoughts.
Plus, to get back up the Nechako to the boat launch they would have to wade to pull the boat up through the shallows. Now only jet boats try to get through the gravel maze.
The poor sturgeon might just have to come through at night because their backs would be exposed to the sun and get sun burnt.
One old timer jokingly said the sturgeon have to struggle so hard to get through the shallows that they inhale quantities of gravel making it hard to navigate up the Nechako with the extra weight.
No matter what city council decides to do, they find themselves in deep water. If they dredge the gravel, it adds to the already (political) muddied waters of the Fraser. If they don't dredge the sturgeon pay a higher price to get through the shallows.
Dan Clay, Prince George
