Make a stand April 13 to save our stripers!

Here’s the details from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance:

The AB 2336 Hearing is on Tuesday, April 13 in Room 437 at the California State Capitol Building. Fishermen need to be there EARLY – do not let the water buffaloes stack the hearing room! We will be meeting at 7:30 am at the west entrance at 10th street and Capitol Mall. Please try to show up no later than 8 am. The hearing formally starts at 9 am.

Once the doors open we will go through security (camera phones ok, but take no photos), and take the elevators toward the left to the 4th floor, where we will immediately assemble and wait for the meeting room (located near the elevators) to be opened. We may have to wait an hour, so be PATIENT. Note – meeting Room 437 may be changed, so everyone look at posted rosters. We seek the AB2336 Hearing of the Water, Parks & Recreation Committee – California State Assembly (not Senate).

We will possibly hold a post hearing rally, but this won’t be known for a while. A few things to note irrespective of whether we hold a brief rally or not:

1. DRESS: please no flip flops and we strongly prefer long pants. WEAR FISHING SHIRTS AND FISHING HATS. BASS GUYS – show us what ya got. We represent fishermen (hopefully proud fishermen!)

2. Signs/Banners: NO SIGNS ALLOWED. Just come in your most visable fishing clothes and be presentable

3. The best parking is in the lot at 10th & L street, very close to where we will meet at the west entrance. This parking facility takes credit cards.

Big fish photo scout, Clinton Bailey, sent in this photo of our ol’ pal, Tony Koregelos with a 21-pound striper he caught in early January on the California Delta with a white swimbait. T.K.’s no stranger to catching big fish…the only difference with this one was he actually was targeting stripers this time around. Long story…

Anyway, for his efforts, Tony is entered into our January Hawg of the Month Contest. To enter your hawg, click HERE

In a great show of solidarity, fisheries groups, biologists and conservation organizations from across California showed up in force at the State Capitol on Tuesday to help shoot down the dangerous anti-striper legislation, Assembly Bill 1253.

Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) introduced AB 1253 in the California legislature, declaring war on striped bass and proposing to remove all gamefish restrictions. If passed in its original state, AB 1253 would have removed all harvest restrictions, allowing unlimited take of striped bass (of any size) statewide, even by commercial methods such as netting. The bill would have even allowed sale of harvested fish. With a market already well established – as evidenced by the illegal poaching arrests that occur every few months – this lack of protection would have surely meant the demise of this prized (legally-introduced) game fish.

Assemblywoman Fuller discovered she had no supporters of AB 1253 on the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee; accordingly, at the 11th hour, she gutted the bill, deleting all previously-proposed wording and substituting an “amendment.” The “amended” bill calls for a study to compile existing information regarding predation on threatened and endangered smelt, salmon, and steelhead.

On 28 April 2009, the “amended” bill passed the California Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife against the better judgment of Mariko Yamada (D-Vacaville). Assemblywoman Yamada questioned whether further study was appropriate in light of the many existing, completed studies.

“The amended bill does not mention ’striped bass’ by name, which is a complete 180 from Fuller’s original bill. I trust Fuller’s amended bill will send a strong message to folks that striped bass should not be singled out and blamed for the ecosystem troubles”, states Gary Adams, former president of the California Striped Bass Association.” However, the study called for in the amended bill does not mean that this battle is over. Adams also points out that: “Our past history involving science promoted by the Cal Fed, Dept. of Resources and National Marine Fisheries has not been positive.

“As originally proposed, AB 1253 specifically targeted striped bass and did not mention the water and overriding fisheries and habitat issues that need to be addressed. The bill would have diverted efforts from the most significant problems. That is exactly what we don’t need,” states Doug Lovell of the Federation of Fly Fishers.

Assemblywoman Fuller’s bill ultimately provided a rallying cry for fishing stakeholders. Fisheries groups, commercial salmon fisherman, and conservation groups wrote letters of opposition to the bill. As stated by Dan Blanton, nationally recognized author and striped bass angler, “we came through this fight stronger, more unified, and better organized. We are in this for the long haul.”

Assemblywoman Fuller’s bill also provided yet another rallying point for Bay-Delta advocates: as Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, the executive director of Restore the Delta stated, “we must not pit the needs of the central valley farm workers against those of farm workers in the delta vicinity – we must provide solutions to benefit us all. As Save Delta Fish founder Robert Johnson, Jr. stated, “we Californians must now engage and propose a 21st Century water policy to solve our state’s water issues, all the while preserving our Everglades of the West.”

John Beuttler, Conservation Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, summed up the day: “Of course, one victory does not win the war. Given the opposition and its very effective and well financed water lobby, we must continue to work collectively to engage the legislature if our Bay-Delta fisheries are to have a future, instead of becoming a memory of the past.”

With 25% of all warm water and sportfishing species, as well as 80% of the state’s commercial fishery species, living in or migrating through the California Bay-Delta estuary, the water wars in California are just beginning.

Many thanks to all the groups that got involved to fight the good fight, including: Robert Johnson Jr of SaveDeltaFish.com, SaveOurStripers.org, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, California Sportfish Protection Alliance, California Striped Bass Association, The Fish Sniffer, Restore The Delta.Org, Nor-Cal Council of Federation of Fly Fishers, Dan Blanton’s Bulletin Board Comunity, WaterForFish, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association, Bobby Barrack, Pro Bass Angler and Delta Guide, Capt. Mike Costello, Striper fly fishing guide, Western Bass, California Trout, Inc., Natural Resource Protection Alliance, John G Sherman Photography, The Sierra Club, Friends of the River, Environmental Defense Fund, American Sportfishing Association, California Fly Fisher, DeltaKeeper, Delta Watch, Black Bass Action Committee, Bass Classics of Santa Clara, Delta Fly Fishers, Diablo Valley Fly Fishermen, Tracy Fly Fishers, Fishery Foundation of California, Fresno Fly Fishers for Conservation, Fly Fishers of Davis, Friends of Butte Creek, Gold Country Fly Fishers, Granite Bay Flycasters, Grizzly Peak Flyfishers, Mission Peak Fly Anglers, North Coast Fishermen’s Association, NORCAL Kayak Anglers, Palo Alto Flyfishers, The National Wildlife Federation, Salmon Aid, Friends of the Trinity River, Alameda Creek Alliance, Golden West Woman’s Fly Fishers and many more!!

Striper fishing in California’s Central Valley can be an emotional roller coaster at times. The highs can be so sweet, but then the lows can come outta nowehere and kick ya to the curb. Unlike other anadramous species like salmon that pretty much head one direction — upriver — stripers can disappear overnight and you’re never sure if they went up or down.

Here’s a glimpse of the beauty of striper fishing…the chaos, excitement and, in this case, family bonding, from a recent trip of mine…

If you value striper fishing in California, you’re going to have to act quickly because assemblywoman Jean Fuller, (R) Bakersfield, wants them dead!

Fuller introduced AB 1253 to take game fish status away from California’s striped bass.

AB 1253 will remove all protections that striped bass currently enjoy and will allow unlimited harvest in all waters, fresh or salt, throughout the entire state. Even commercial harvest of striped bass will be legal if this bill becomes law. And guess what, largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish, brown trout, brook trout, mackinaw, kokanee are next on the list!

What you can do:

1) Sign the petitions at:

SAVE DELTA FISH.COM

SAVE OUR STRIPERS.ORG

2) Comment on AB1253 at CA STATE ASSEMBLY (Just type “1253″ in the bill number box and “Fuller” in the “Author/Text” field.

30 Attend the rally. The Assembly Bill AB 1253 Hearing will be held on Tuesday, April 28 at 8:00 am at the California State Capital Building and we need a STRONG showing of anglers!

Also, watch the following video for more information…

More facts on this subject, from www.savedeltafish.com:
AB 1253 is only the latest ploy by water agencies to divert attention from the major cause of fisheries collapse; the massive, unsustainable export of water from the Delta. For example:

1. Striped bass have coexisted with Delta smelt (and salmon) for more than 130 years.

2. Striped bass have co-existed with Atlantic Salmon on the east coast for (THOUSANDS of years)

3. All key Delta fish species are at historic lows! – the decline of striped bass closely parallels the declines of salmon, Delta smelt, and other fish.

4. Water exports from the Delta peaked to historic highs between 2003 and 2007 (above 6 million acre-feet/year), and in this period ALL these fish populations have plummeted. 2008 survey’s fish survey’s clearly show a Delta ecosystem in collapse.

5. Federal law (CVPIA) calls for the protection, indeed, the doubling of striped bass (and salmon) populations.

6. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Delta smelt Biological Opinion acknowledged that there is no evidence that striped bass pose a significant threat to Delta smelt.

7. Recent surveys of predators in the Delta have not found Delta smelt in the stomachs of striped bass. Indeed, the evidence indicates that striped bass may actually help Delta smelt by preying on significant predators of smelt.

8. Respected fishery scientists like Peter Moyle and Matt Nobriga agree that there is no hard evidence that striped bass have caused Delta smelt populations to decline.

So, what’s the best color for a swimbait for striper fishing? Well, here’s our no-frills, super-easy to follow, at a glance guide!

Keep ‘er simple, that’s what I say! In general, go more subtle in clear water/sunny conditions and brighten everything up on dark days or in murky water.

Reilly and I snuck down to the Delta for one last fishin’ mission Dec. 30 to round out the year and we came away with a handful of stripers, including this nice one I got on a popper right at sunset.

Barring any unforeseen trips on the 31st, this striper has the honor of being my last fish of the 2008 campaign. The year definitely had its ups and downs with the salmon closure and all, but I still had a great 2008. Here’s a quick photo tour of my year on the water…

In Jaunary, I got clients into some nice American River steelies...

...and more steelies on the Feather River.

In February, it was more Feather steelies and more happy customers...

In Feb., I also got Coop out on the water for his first steelie trip.

In March, Vin-Man and I made our first-ever trip to Pyramid Lake to try for cutties.

A trip to Humbold Co. to fish with K-Dawg and Madman rounded out my March.

We kicked off April with some nutty topwater striper fishing on the Sac River.

The last week of April found me, Go Home Kinne and the VinMan on yet another epic BC steelie mission.

Nothing too exotic in May -- but plenty of stripers and shad!

June was a busy month, beginning with some surf fishing in Kauai...

...and then the incredible 7-day self-guided Alaskan float trip K-Dawg and I embarked upon.

With no Valley salmon to fish for, it was back up to run some mack trips on Tahoe in July.

In August, I went back to guiding on the Klamath River.

Then back to the Klamath in September...the only salmon game in town!

Right after the Trinity, it was onto the Virgin Islands with the family (cry me a river!)

...and our 1 Valley king of the year, which Reilly got while striper fishing.

Reformed salmon angler Tony Koregelos of Sacramento, CA shows off a chrome 20-pound Chinook salmon that ate a swimbait intended for striped bass in the California Delta.

In light of the crappy salmon situation in the Valley, Tony recently off-loaded his jet sled and bought a bass boat so he could spend more time catching…um…stripers. Oh well, it was a nice thought, anyway.

On a year when salmon are so few in number, Tony’s fish is significant because he caught it on the San Joaquin River, which has far fewer fish than does the Sacramento River side of the Delta. Furthermore, you can see that the king is missing his adipose fin, which means it had to have come from a hatchery. Judging by the photo, I’m not totally sure, but it looks like the fish was taken above the mouth of the Mokelumne, which means it was likely a Merced River Hatchery fish — which has been seeing under 50 fish a season in recent years. A rare catch, indeed!

For more “Salmon out of Nowhere” action, check out the video of the king trusty sidekick Reilly and I nabbed a few weeks back HERE or the photo the big king one of my clients caught last season while striper jigging on the San Joaquin HERE

Hey JD,

Thanks,
Robert

Robert,

For fishing swimbaits I use a GLoomis 7.6-foot GWR 901, which is rated for 10-20 lb. test. Lately, I’ve been running my old Shimano Curado Super Free 201 spooled up with 20-pound braided line and 20-lb. flouro leader. Swimbaits are from Mad River Outfitters: (707) 826-7201.

I’ll also be doing seminars on stripers at the Sacramento International Sportsmen’s Expo this winter, so stop by for more info!

Take care,

JD

Just how hungry are the stripers in the Delta? Just ask trusty sidekick Reilly, who got this double-header on one plug while fishing Sunday evening.

“We found ‘em on a flat we’d never tried before and the fish were there — and going crazy,” he says. “For the last few minutes before dark, they were eating our Pencil Poppers as fast as we could cast them back in…it was crazy!”