Striper count at Knight's Landing on the Sacramento River

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I found this report on Dan Blanton's message board:

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Posted by Kyle Murphy on 2007-04-27 15:37:53

Hello Folks,

DFG has been tagging adult striped bass since the late 1960’s as part of a striped bass population study. Data collected allows the DFG to estimate legal-sized striped bass abundance, natural mortality, and harvest rates. These estimates are used to guide the striped bass management.

The tagging operation takes place during the months of April and May. Capture methods used include gill nets deployed from DFG research vessels in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, and by the use of fyke traps in the Sacramento River near Knights Landing.

This year’s tagging operation is being conducted with the use of fyke traps only. The traps were set on April 1, 2007 and fishing will continue through the end of May.

The daily catch varies each day, based on the number of traps fished and effort (e.g. the numbers of hours each trap fishes). The catch summaries posted below are approximate as this is data reported from the field.

The data summary posted below is for catch from April 1-26, 2007. I should begin receiving catch updates from the field crew twice a week and I will try to update this post with those additional catch summaries as they become available.


Date; legal striped bass observed; number of traps

4/2 ; 7; 6
4/3 ; 22 ; 8
4/5 ; 115 ;8
4/7 ; 155 ;8
4/8 ; 114 ; 8
4/9 ; 253 ; 8
4/10 ; 245 ; 8
4/12 ; 503 ;8
4/14 ; 232 ; 8
4/15 ; 115 ; 8
4/16 ; 98 ; 8
4/17 ; 96 ; 8
4/19 ; 254 ; 8
4/21 ; 253 ; 8
4/22 ; 73 ; 8
4/23 ; 24 ; 8
4/24 ; 36 ; 8
4/26 ; 1016; 8


I hope you find this information interesting. If you have any questions about the program, please fee free to contact me via e-mail at kmurphy@dfg.ca.gov.

Good Fish’N,

Kyle Murphy
Senior Biologist, Supervisor
CA Dept. Fish and Game
Bay Delta Region - Stockton

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A "slug" of them went through Knight's Landing yesterday.

[Darian]

I'm not familiar with a Fyke Trap. Can anyone provide what its outside dimensions are and how the trap works I was impressed that 8 traps could catch/hold over 1,000 fish as on 4/26.

[JerryInLodi]

Tristan, what do all the number mean? What are the historical counts?

[Darian]

Tristan,.... Are the Fyke Traps always located in the Sacramento River at the same place or are they planted in all valley rivers If only planted in the Sacramento (or other river), how does DFG account for the problems of counting when flows are altered to cause Stripers to use a river other than where the Fyke Traps are located

[sculpin]

Tristan
Your right about the stripers spawning and the fishing being slow right now. We saw fish spawning 4 times Thursday. I was in the area camping on a bar above Colusa and gear fishing between Grimes and Colusa. We really had to work for fish and travel a long way looking for them. We wound up catching 10 stripers, in 2 days, including shakers and 1 sturgeon that measured 65" along side the boat before release. I may have passed you in front of Wards Friday, mid- day, if that was you headed down river, in a F&G boat.

Mark

[Bryan Morgan]

Does anyone know if they use the trap at Watt Ave. for Striper counts, or is it strickly for Salmonid species .

[robdog]

As to your question about Verona, you cannot wade the mouth, but a lot of the sandbars upriver are open and should provide decent angling when the fish return to the area. (I fished one the other day and got skunked)

I fished up that way on Friday morning. I was at Joe's Landing & near Beer Can Beach on the Feather. (hey, that is what I heard it was called). I didn't get any hook-ups, but I was trying to use pile worms. I will go back to Beer Can Beach, cause I believe I can wade out into the river & fish a lil' chute there. I think it might be pretty productive, especially when the Shad present themselves. Tight Lines

[Darian]

Hey Tristan,... Thanks for the photo. I've seen those things before but didn't know what they were. I thought they were used for catching crawdads....

[David Lee]

Those would be some FREAKIN' BIG Crawdads !

Lobster , anyone ??

David

[Hairstacker]