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Why Are There Salmon In A Creek Behind A Roseville Movie Theater?

ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — It's a fishy mystery in the shallow waters behind a movie theater in Roseville—salmon far from where they're normally found are in creeks instead of heading up the main stream .

Just above the quiet, tranquil and extremely shallow waters of Dry Creek in Roseville is a busy Eureka Boulevard. But below that hustle and bustle, nature is busy too.

Surprised hikers and bikers are seeing spawning salmon—large and in their final moments of their life before they die and breed a new generation of baby salmon.

Many people walking along the trail are wondering what the salmon are doing in a creek behind a movie theater parking lot, and not several miles away in the American or Sacramento rivers.

We asked state fish and wildlife officials if the drought was responsible for forcing the salmon off course.

"The majority of the fish that spawned are usually in those particular drainages," said Lt. Patrick Foy. "Some of them will stray."

He says it's nothing new to Dry Creek.

"So now we have a group of salmon—not that many—but a group that have gone up Dry Creek to spawn and they will likely successfully spawn there," he said.

But don't think about grabbing those vulnerable salmon any time soon. The fines handed down for poaching the salmon would likely be several hundred dollars.

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