March 9, 2010

The Sacramento River is in great shape right now for Sturgeon fishing. The past few weeks have been really hit or miss, with water levels changing every day from all the recent rains. Sunday looked liked a good day to hit the water and see if the fish were biting. We hit the water in the late afternoon and Joe hooked this beautiful  65" male. It put on a great fight and sure tasted good last night...

Feb 15, 2009

Well, I ran a few trips these past few days with mixed results on the Feather River. There seems to be plenty of Stripers, but I think you need be there at the right time. The DFG dumped their yearly Steelhead smelt last week into the Feather at Boyd's Pump. I think the majority of fish are stuffed full of 8" Steelhead. The picture below is one of the Stripers we caught today...

Legislation to Eradicate the
Striped Bass Fishery Re-Introduced!

By John Beuttler, CSPA Conservation Director

March 8, 2010 -- Assemblymember (AKA the bitch) Fuller has introduced AB 2336 to terminate the management and protection of the public’s striped bass fishery that inhabits the Bay-Delta estuary. The bill mandates the elimination of all regulations that govern the legal harvest of the fishery thereby eliminating its sport fishing protective status. Even though this would virtually destroy the fishery, the author alleges this is necessary to reduce striped bass predation on salmon and Delta smelt protected by the state and federal Endangered Species Acts.
 
This bill is similar to the one the Fuller introduced last year that was defeated by a coalition of anglers who care about the fishery and that acted in concert with sportfishing and environmental groups lead by CSPA. That bill was killed in its first committee hearing because the false arguments used by the author significantly overstated the impact of striped bass predation. Scientific testimony provided during the hearing made it clear that striped bass rarely, if ever, eat Delta smelt and that predation on listed salmon is so low that it does not impact the population level of the listed salmon.
 
This bill is different in that it calls for the elimination of “the program enhancement, expansion or improvement of the fishery”. Ironically, such programs do not exist! It also requires that the Delta Stewardship Council to establish programs to discourage the promotion of the Bay-Delta striped bass as a sport fishery. It further requires the Stewardship Council to evaluate predator suppression options and make recommendations to remedy these problems. 
 
CSPA finds it absolutely arrogant that Fuller and her bill’s supporters would advocate the destruction of this valuable public resource again! Why should they be allowed to usurp the professional management and legal authority the government has given the Department of Fish & Game and the federal fishery agencies to protect listed species? The fishery agencies and their scientists know a great deal more about the striped bass fishery and the impacts it has on species of concern. They also understand and what it means for fisheries to co-exist in a dynamic estuarine ecosystem.
 
So, why are the bill’s proponents focused on destroying the striped bass fishery instead of dealing with the huge problems caused to all the fisheries dependent on the estuary for survival? Why aren’t they fixing the problems cause by the state and federal water projects that have destroyed the estuary’s natural hydrology and the resiliency of its ecosystem? Why aren’t they immediately reducing the significant over allocation of the public’s water exported out of the Delta?
 
The bill’s supporters all seem to be dependent on water exported from the Delta and this attack is simply another way to misdirect the government away from the real impacts associated with the development of the public’s Delta water supplies.
 
CSPA is calling on anglers and the public to help us make another legislative stand by raising your voice in opposition to this bill. In addition to the sending a letter or FAX to the committee that will hear the bill, please remember CSPA needs your financial support to continue our efforts to protect and restore California’s fishery resources. Send what you can afford to support these efforts by using Pay Pal or mail your contributions to:
 
CSPA
6597 Cane Lane
Valley Springs, CA 95252
 
Send your letters to Jared Huffman, Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife (as addressed below), and be sure to copy your Assemblymember and specifically request they support your opposition to AB 2336 by letting this committee know of their opposition! The Committee Chairman is a strong supporter of the professional management of the public’s fish and wildlife resources, but we need a majority of the committee to oppose the bill.
 
Sample letter – be sure to put this in your own words. The Committee’s FAX number is 916-319-2196.
 
Assemblymember Jared Huffman, Chair
Assembly Committee on Water, Parks & Wildlife
1020 N Street, Suite 160
Sacramento, CA 94249
 
Re: My Opposition to AB 2336 (Fuller) - Striped Bass Eradication
 
Chairman Huffman and Members of the Committee:
 
I am writing to express my complete opposition to AB 2336. I’m outraged over supporters of the bill who think they have a right to destroy the striped bass fishery owned by the public. This fishery has co-existed with all the fisheries in the Bay-Delta estuary for 130 years and it has collapsed right along with our salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and the other fish dependent on the estuary. Even in its degraded state it still manages to generate some $250 million annually to our state’s trouble economy.
 
The issues of striped bass predation should be left to the state and federal fishery agencies that are charged with managing the public’s fishery resources. These are the professionals and scientists who have the expertise know how best to manage our fishery resources.
 
It is time the Legislature sent a message that divisive bills such as this one will not be tolerated. Instead, the Legislature needs to focus on correcting the ecological crisis in the estuary that is destroying our fisheries, including the immense impacts of excessive water development and export out of the Delta.
 
I will greatly appreciate your efforts to help protect our priceless fishery heritage!
 
Sincerely,
 
Name
Address

2010 Johnson's Bait & Tackle Striper and Sturgeon Seminar

March 20, 2010

This awesome seminar on how to catch Sturgeon and Striper is not one to miss. The morning will start off with a FREE pancake breakfast, starting around 8 am. Following, Captain Rick Bishop from 3 Rivers Guide Service will kick the seminar off with how to catch a Sturgeon. I am talking everything you need to know, from what tackle to use, to how to put the bait on correctly, even how to clean a Sturgeon. After Rick is finished talking Sturgeon, he will talk about catching Stripers. He will touch a bit on every style, from bait fishing to using live bait. After Rick is done with the Striper portion, there will be a FREE BBQ lunch starting at noon. After lunch, yours truly will discuss fly fishing for Striped Bass. I will talk about what type of rods we use, what types of flies and lines, and what types of water we look for that produce good results for the fly fisherman. I will also be doing some fly casting instructions on the casting pond at the side of Johnson's Bait & Tackle. Also, Master fly tier Jeff Lingenfelter will be tying flies throughout the day. This seminar is a great opportunity to learn a lot of good information you can use on the water. Look forward to seeing you all there... 

Jan 21, 2009

Well, we sure needed a good downfall of some rain. Below are a few pictures of the Tisdale boat launch on the Sacramento River during a flood. The trees in the first picture, is the spot I usually park my truck after I launch my boat.

This is a picture from the other side of the parking lot. You can see the water is five or six feet over the parking lot, dumping into the Sutter Bypass.

WOW, that's a bunch of water...