This is incomprehensible: The very same group that has had a profound effect on the decline of California’s salmon population is now suing to get the recently opened recreational season fishing closed!!
I’m sure it won’t surprise you to hear that a group of Central Valley irrigation districts that supply water to farms and cities is behind this one. The San Joaquin River Group Authority filed the suit on Thursday in federal district court in Fresno (hmm…Fresno…a perfect place to get your case heard by sympathetic ears!). It argues that the National Marine Fisheries Service and its related agencies violated their duty to protect the threatened Sacramento River fall run of Chinook salmon by allowing a full commercial season.
My blood’s boiling on this one…it’s like the guy who ran over your dog is now suing you…only worse! What an amazing slap in the face!
Read the whole story here in the LA Times
Big Salmon Run Helps Northern California Economies
Big salmon like this Smith River king are great for the economies of coastal towns!
Read all about how the Smith River’s epic king run last fall provided the a good boost to several downtrodden economies of Northern California in the WALL STREET JOURNAL Also, check out the cameo from our pal John Klar.
And for every one of you who benefited from the Smith’s kings (guides, tackle shops, gas stations, hotels and restaurants), it’s time to bust open the wallet and give a donation to the non-profit Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery…Without it, you’re probably out of a job!
Sun starting to set on California Delta’s fish??
It may be beautiful above water, but things aren't so rosy under the Delta's surface.
A new report regarding the health of the fisheries in the California Delta has just been released and…big surprise…things don’t seem to be looking all that great.
The Delta is a complex system that houses gamefish like Chinook salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, striped bass, largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, American shad, catfish and panfish…along with important forage species such as delta smelt, threadfin shad, splittail and many others. The problems that plague it are just as multifaceted: Water diversions are a huge killer, as is pollution and habitat loss.
You can read all about the decline and what biologists found in recent trawl studies HERE
Good to see you again, Chinook #14!
Kyle with our ol' pal No. 14
As most of you probably know, I’ve been involved with a multi-agency salmon project in which I’ve been hired to capture (with rod & reel…I know, cry me a river!) Chinook salmon and then outfit them with acoustic tags so their progress upstream can be monitored and tracked.
Well, we tagged 60ish spring-run kings in May and June and now we’re onto fall-run. While fishing for falls the other day, I encountered an old friend, Chinook 14. I hooked and landed him back on May 25 on sulfite-cured eggs and then on Aug. 31 he decided to sample a sardine-wrapped FlatFish. Proof positive that catch & release works.
Take a closer look of these two pics of him with my crew member Kyle holding — it’s not often that you get to see the same salmon at various life stages. Notice how many more spots he’s developed since he was a freshie. Overall, he looks pretty good considering he’s been hanging around for three months. Now, Fourteen…get upriver and make some babies!
Alternative commercial fishing gear to be tested on lower Columbia River
Back then, we thought the resource was limitless...now we know better! (Photo: www.nwcouncil.org)
I’m off the soap box now…go ahead and read on…
Starting this week, fishery managers from Washington and Oregon will test the feasibility of five types of alternative commercial fishing gears on the lower Columbia River. Expanding on a pilot project conducted last year, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will work with commercial salmon fishers to test purse seines, beach seines and trap nets.
In addition, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) will work with a team of commercial fishers to test commercial troll gear and tangle nets during fall chinook and coho salmon runs. Click here to read more…