FishwithJD

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Finally, some good fishing news!

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Vinman with a nice Clacka steelie


Well, it seems like good fishing and fishery news is harder to come by these days, but here’s one for ya: The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife today approved a temporary rule increasing the combined steelhead/salmon bag limit (total of three fish a day ) on the Willamette, Clackamas and Sandy rivers, effective June 18 through Oct. 31.

Under the rule change, anglers are permitted to retain up to three adult adipose fin-clipped fish per day. The combined three-fish total allows for retention of steelhead, salmon or both, of which no more than two may be salmon.

The temporary measure was enacted in response to strong early returns of summer steelhead that have been observed at ODFW fish counting stations in the three rivers.Click here to read more…

Know of any good bass ponds??

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Hi JD-

I just read the article about your experience at Bruin Ranch – sounds awesome. I’m a big fan of bass fishing on such smaller lakes/ponds with no motor boats and the local example I really like is Lake Francis near Oregon House/Dobbins off Hwy 20 between Nevada City and Yuba City.

I’ve long been looking for something similar to Bruin Ranch or Lake Francis where the bass fishing is good and it’s great for a float tube or maybe my Seyvlor inflatable Fish Hunter with a small electric motor – no motorized boats allowed.

Question: Do you know of anything similar to Bruin Ranch or Dobbins’ Lake Francis, within 150 miles of Sacramento?

Thanks and take care! –Jerry

Hey Jerry, have you ever tried Rancho Seco Lake? Some HUGE bass in there and no motors!

Anti-striper bill gutted before hearing!

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I got an email Monday night with some good news! It was sent from Dave Hurley over at USA Fishing who had received the news that Assembly Bill 2336, the “anti-striper” legislation has been gutted and amended prior to Tuesday’s hearing at the Capitol. Apparently, Assembly Member Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) has once again underestimated the angler opposition to this bill and, just like last year when she introduced a similar one, ended up backing off at the final hour.

This is awesome, though we can’t rest yet — this battle isn’t over as there’s a lawsuit pending that would declare open season on striped bass. That’s coming around this summer. In the meantime, here’s the letter passed on to me by Dave, from John Beuttler, Conservation Director of the
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance: Click here to read more…

Time to fight the anti-striper bill!

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Make a stand April 13 to save our stripers!

They’re at it again! The water mongers down south are trying completely turn California into a fishless desert. This time around, the target is striped bass. Another Assembly bill (AB 2336) has been introduced into the California legislature that would de-list stripers as sportfish, opening them up to anarchy-style fishing in which there would be no bag or size limits.

It’s basically a striper eradication plan by the water users in Fresno…they’re claiming that striped bass are the reason the salmon collapse has occurred…which, of course, is just to divert attention from the fact that the massive water exports are really one of the main causes. And if this passes, guess what’s next? Other non-native species like largemouth, smallmouth & spotted bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill, etc.

Here’s where you can help! There will be a hearing at the State Capitol Tuesday, April 13 in Room 437 at 9AM and we’re encouraging everybody who fishes for stripers to come out and show your support. Click here to read more…

Santa Cruz anglers get salmon on opener

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Anglers fishing the salmon opener along the California coast were generally met with some tough conditions — wind and a big swell — and a scratch bite. However, there were some fish caught out of Bodega and San Francisco…but the best bite was down south in Santa Cruz (just like I predicted).

The fish were all pretty deep (100+ feet down) and were typical early season 6 to 12 pounders, though a few kings to 25 pounds were taken. For the breakdown in Santa Cruz, check out Bayside Marine.