American update

[590Mike]

hit the american this afternoon at Sailor Bar below the island saw a swirl right off the bat.Missed the first fish on the second cast.

Heard a truck pulling into the parking lot and a few seconds later horn going off didn't think about it at first, saw a guy hauling butt up the bank. Realized it was my alarm, bastards buddy smashed my window grabbed my sunglasses and a reel. They were gone by the time I got up the bank but a couple pulling in saw them and got a good look at the vehicle ! Finally a witness !! They spotted an older nissan pickup wiht a "huge" camper shell. Called the cops.... they told me to call Monday !! So here's the alert lets keep and eye out if these guys show up.

Went back down to the water couldn't get back into the groove, came how vacuumed out the all the glass.

[Scott V]

That totally sucks. I'll keep an eye when I am down on the river.

[Ed Wahl]

Goddamnit! Somehow we've got to take our parkway back.

What's it gonna take to get better monitoring and enforcement along the American River?

This is probably a funding problem, so how do we get more funding for rangers and people to work the gates?

i Guarantee a 4 dollar entrance fee(if any were enforced) would have turned away these lowlifes. Ed

[Darian]

I stopped fishing the American from any of the access points where the parking is remote from where I'm actually fishing long ago. The first break in that I experienced was in the 70's. Entry fees have done nothing to even slow things down. That doesn't leave much. Over the years, enforcement hasn't been consistent even when the budget wasn't an issue. The county is even less likely to consider hiring more rangers as they're into deficit spending and the public hasn't seemed to want to pay for them before the downturn in the economy.... So what's the solution I already buy an annual pass and certainly don't want to pay increased user fees for less than adequate services....

Unfortunately, break ins/auto theft/vandalism are a common occurrence on most of our valley rivers. Given the current state of the economy/unemployment, things will probably get worse before they get better. Maybe the only thing that can be done is to make sure that nothing remains in our vehicles that would be of interest to a thief....

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

It would be pretty easy to put up some cameras?

[BigOkieWhiteBoy916]

How about a mock vehicle and some baseball bats?

[Charlie Gonzales]

I spoke with a park ranger about the situation the other day after getting off the water. He told me that they have actualy have gone through finger print training recently and have been able to make a few arrest. So if it does happen, make sue you contact a ranger to report it also.

[590Mike]

I'm with Ed, one of my uncles won't even fish the American because of all the brreakins.This has to be bad for business at the very least. I was for just a fleeting moment thinking of writing off the A myself. And that thought still lingers. since this is the second time a window has been smashed.

So I am wondering just who and how does this get done ? It seems to me that phone calls and letters and e-mails in a large number of people would be a good start. If the Sheriffs office can't get the job done maybe back to the days of volunteer sheriffs program. Or even volunteers at the gates to collect fees.

Does anyone have any experience in this area?

[STEELIES/26c3]

I've had it happen to me before. I wanted to stake out the area and use the Bigokiewhiteboy method... but rationed that that would diminish my time on the water and possibly get me locked up.

Really sucks.

I never leave anything valuable in my truck.

On a positive note... I witnessed a bust at Harrington this summer.

I can't say how it happened in order to protect the method... but Sac County Park District is indeed aware of the problem and has employed a tactic, in conjunction with a much higher authority, which is very effective.

Some rangers (like AJ Bennett) REALLY care and go the extra mile to get these guys.

They just can't be everywhere at once.

Rossmoor Bar, El Manto, Olive Access, Region II HQ/Hatchery, Harrington, Upper Sunrise are the most likely candidates for a break in (in descending order).

It's no fun to have to think/worry about being ripped off while fishing but such is the price we pay for getting our fix in a paradise surrounded by a major metropolitan area.

The best one can do to mitigate a theft is park in the most open area, under a light if possible, don't fish before or after sunrise, and above all... leave no valuables in the vehicle.

Could be worse, we could live in Oroville...

M

[Pez]

I live in Pleasanton and I used to fish the american once a week which no longer do. There are probably plenty of people like me who beside fishing contribute to the economy of Sacramento (fly shops, quiznos etc) unfortunately I don't want to take the risk. I still fish it but not as much, it's pretty sad.
What can we do? Like I've heard, report to the authorities, emails etc. Personaly, I'm willing to go as far as it takes.....our freedom is at stake.