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This one comes to ya from the “Well, it seemed like a good idea initially…but things got a little off track along the way” file:
On October 11, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed legislation that repealed the requirement for anglers to purchase a Bay-Delta Enhancement Stamp with their fishing licenses beginning Jan. 1, 2010.Click here to read more…
OMG! Check out this graphic from StormSurf showing the unbelievably gigantic swell that’s supposed to hit the Northern California coast this weekend…43 feet!!! You know what that means, right? It’s going to be waaaay too dangerous for big boats to get out on the water…but perfect for the crazies who like to ride 8-foot slabs of fiberglass. Maverick’s will be going off! Check out the live webcams at Maverick’s atSurfline.com
So, just how bad has the salmon situation in Northern California gotten? Well, here’s a little spreadsheet I found stapled to the wall of the Nimbus Fish Hatchery on the American River near Sacramento.
Take a close look…the numbers to the right of the red line are Chinook salmon counts; to the left of the blue line are the corresponding years in which those fish returned to the river. Beginning in 2000, we had five straight years of 100,000+ kings in the American. And then by 2007-08, the run had dwindled to 10 percent.
I floated an 8-mile stretch of river on Nov. 1 just to see for myself how things were shaping up for the 09-10 fall and I saw a total of two alive kings, 1 dead one and no redds. A trip to the hatchery a few days before revealed a few fish behind the weir, empty holding ponds and no water yet even running down the ladder. This, my friends, is not looking good…
Late October and not a single fish in the hatchery...
J.D.
I enjoy fishing Lake Almanor and reading the fish reports in W.O.N. Usually the articles say where they are catching fish. Example: the A-frame, El Dorado Inn, rec 1, rec 2, the springs. None of the maps I have of the lake show where these spots are. Do you know of a map that I can buy that will show where these spots are located on the lake? I would appreciate any help you can give me.
Larry P.
I’m not sure of a specific map, but the Lake Almanor Fishing Association can hook you up with all that info.
Record numbers of steelhead returning to the Snake River system has prompted Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to increase the bag limit for adipose fin-clipped steelhead in several northeast Oregon waters.
Beginning on Sunday, October 18, the bag limit for adipose fin-clipped steelhead will increase from three to five fish per day and will remain in effect through April 15, 2010 in the following areas:
* Grande Ronde River from the Oregon/Washington state line to the mouth of the Wallowa River;
* Wallowa River from the mouth to Trout Creek; and,
* Imnaha River from the mouth to Big Sheep Creek.
In the Snake River from the Oregon/Washington state line to the angling deadline below Hell’s Canyon Dam, the bag limit will be five adipose fin-clipped steelhead of which no more than three may be 32-inches total length or greater. The states of Idaho and Washington have implemented similar regulations in the Snake River and tributaries.
The June 1 through October 10 count of steelhead at lower Granite Dam is over 230,000 this year, about double the 10-year average. With such a large run in the Snake River, managers expect abundant hatchery steelhead to return to trapping facilities on the Wallowa River, Little Sheep Creek (Imnaha basin), and at Hell’s Canyon Dam on the Snake River.
“We expect a very good fishery this year,” said Bill Knox, ODFW fish biologist in Enterprise. “There will be plenty of fish and we encourage anglers to keep adipose fin-clipped, hatchery steelhead to help reduce the potential interactions with ESA-listed wild steelhead in these waters. Retention of adipose fin-clipped hatchery steelhead will also help reduce surplus returns to hatchery trapping facilities next spring.”
Anglers are still required to record steelhead on their combined angling tags and follow all other regulations contained in the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations.