HOUSTON — While salmon season is over for the more mature, the juveniles clogged a stream in Houston, thrilled at the prospect of landing some fry.

On Friday, 20 fifth-graders from Big Lake Elementary made the short trip up the Parks Highway to Coho Creek for some stream-side education with practical applications.

“It’s a chance to take the classroom outside and learn how their world works,” said Andy Mickelson, the teacher in charge of the program. “You just can’t find this stuff inside.”

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At the first station, a group of students gathered around as Catherine Inman of the Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District pulled on a rope attached to a fish trap.

“This is a permit from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Like a fishing license, I can’t put the trap in the stream without one,” Inman said, as the students watched, eagerly waiting to see the fruits of harvest.

The trap was installed the night before, Inman said, with the permission of land owner Roger Register. Register is committed to using the best conservation methods on his 23-acre plot with the help of organizations like Inman’s. This is the second year students from Big Lake Elementary have come to his property, and Boy Scout troops often do programs as well, he said.

“I want to expand it to other schools and groups,” Register said. “I would have loved doing this type of thing when I was a kid.”

Back at the stream, the students exploded in wows when Inman pulled the trap onto the bank. She explained how, because the air was so cold, the fish had plenty of oxygen to survive out of water on their way to the bucket.

Inman scooped one of the fry into a plastic bag filled with two inches of water. She explained the minute science of identifying the species. A flat anal fin and a clear spot on the adipose fin means chinook salmon, she said. A sickle shaped anal fin means coho, and pink spots means Dolly Varden.

“Let’s call it Frank!” one fifth-grader shouted as Inman held up a big Dolly.

By the time Floppy No. 5 was back in the stream, Inman explained how one of the students was recording the length and species of each fish. This record will be sent to Fish and Game as part of its continuous stream monitoring efforts.

While one group was counting and naming fish, another was splashing in the stream, awkward in their parents’ oversized waders. Students were reaching down into the stream and pulling up moss-covered rocks, sunken logs and whatever floated into their tightly woven nets.

Back at the insect identification table, the students inspected their findings with magnifying glasses and tweezers. Laminated charts helped with identification, and the low-powered macroscopes made even the smallest bug look monstrous.

“Macroinvertebrates are indicator species,” Inman said. “Stonefly, caddisfly and mayfly larvae are very sensitive to pollution. If they are in here, the stream is doing well.”

Fifth-grader Malaki Barrett said he normally likes science anyway, but he lit up when he identified a Northern Case-Maker Caddisfly.

“Without macroinvertabrates, there would be no fish,” Mickelson said. “By finding different species, they can tell how much a stream might support.”

At the last stage, the students tested the water of the stream for oxygen content, pH level, temperature and clarity. The students use a kit from the World Water Monitoring Day and are able to compare their results with other students from around the world.

“Temperature is one of the most important factors for salmon. That is why creekside vegetation is so critical. It provides shade that keeps the temperature down,” Inman said. “We’re seeing the temperature rise on core-area creeks like Cottonwood Creek, but a tributary of the Little Susitna like this one tends to be pretty good.”

With good water quality, populations of macroinvertabrates, and increasing chinook smelt, Inman said Coho Creek is a model fish habitat.

“Even the highest oxygen indicator in the water monitoring kit is too low for the levels we see here,” Inman said.

As far as an educational opportunity, the sum of the three stations gives students a complete picture of how a stream works, Mickelson said. What’s more, he said, is the students are allowed to do most of the hands-on work themselves. This opportunity is a reward for the students on the highest level of the school’s responsibility program.

“They are being rewarded,” Mickelson said. “There are not many kids I can trust to play in a stream in the middle of October.”

Shortly thereafter, one student yells at another, “You’re getting water in your waders!”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.