Squawfish as Stressors

[Dustin Revel]

there are millions of stressors that live down south. Lets feed them to the coyotes!

[590Mike]

Anybody ever keep one? . Maybe smoke em?

I could never keep them lit, I gonna stick with cigars.

[Frank Alessio]

Tony .... I like your approach, you not only went to the meeting to oppose the Bill but you at the same time gave them something to think about other than their target fish.... It is rather sad we have to keep fighting our own elected officials to keep our Fishing and Hunting (Bear and Doves)... We need to think hard when we go to the Polls in November... No more Reckless Voting that gave us what we have now......Thanks Again

[malbers]

Bear and Doves --- Mountain Lion taste like pork roast. CA rules prohibit that too.

[Frank Alessio]

Lick your lips in Nevada... Mountain Lion Hunting in California is gone FOREVER......

[Frank Alessio]

Her is one for you Dustin R....

[Dustin Revel]

Her is one for you Dustin R....

IMHO its more fun at night with a 12 gauge...

[ycflyfisher]

Last Tuesday I went to the Assembly meeting and voiced my opposition to the bill and at the end I added that the committee should also consider the native stressors as well as the non-natives. I mentioned the Pike Minnow (Squawfish), as well as the cormorants and the merganser ducks that all take their toll on salmon and steelhead smolt.

As I read a bit more on the pike minnow, there have been numerous studies about their predation especially on salmon and steelhead smolt. At Lake Pillsbury they were introduced which lead to a complete devistation of the salmon and steelhead on the Eel River. Oregon has had a bounty on them in the Columbia River system where there are no striped bass. The Russian River right here in California has had a bounty on them for some time. These "native" stressors are prolific in every river system they enter, and they gorge native salmon, trout, and I'm sure Delta Smelt too.

I think if anyone were to compare the damage by predation between squawfish and striped bass, they'd see that squawfish are a much bigger threat to endangered species than ever thought.

On the Sacramento and Feather rivers these things are as thick as fleas and they're not small by any means. They eat tons of smolt and fry all year long. I'd like to see more concern get placed on these pike minnows as a culprit and get away from blaming striped bass for everything.

No offense meant Tony, but the squawfish conspiracy theory you seem compelled to advance is laughable and the conclusions you seem to arrive at regarding PM’s, to put it as bluntly as possible, are largely wrong and/or misleading. I’d encourage you and anyone else who feels compelled to fight this one to ditch the total striper worship mentality and also the abject hatred for the water projects(they’re both potential contributors to very differing degrees IMO) and familiarize yourself with the available science regarding the POD and Sac River Chinook collapse. Can’t say stripers are my forte and it’s been 2-3 years since I’ve read anything on the POD, but even back then the science around the root causes of the POD were pretty well developed as was/is the cause of the Salmon collapse. The science in this case, was almost completely on your side and makes what was gutted from AB2336 look as ridiculous as this PM theory, and I can’t imagine it (the science) has changed direction in the last few years.

[Tony Buzolich]

If you had gone to the assembly meeting last Tuesday you would have heard the term "stressor" brought up numerous times. It's a new word for me that I've never used before but it seemed to fit the discussion. Stressing the delta's water system was the obvious subject everyone there was dancing around. Fuller's attack on striped bass was simply a diversionary tactic that failed and she had to quickly amend her proposal. I believe that the plan was to eliminate the striped bass, eliminate the salmon, and in so doing eliminate fishermen from fishing. If there's no one fishing, there will be no one to complain about the lack of water and the dying delta. It Didn't Work!

As for the squawfish (I'm old school), they're just another nail in the coffin. They're not the only cause for the salmon failure, but they're a damn big one. Everywhere they exist salmon and steelhead have suffered. Sure, damming, logging, and siltation have all added to the problem too while at the same time improving the habitat for the squawfish.

All different kinds "stressors" are contributing to a failing enviroment and it all comes down to WATER. Our state is over-run with "illegals" ALL drinking water. The world population is growing beyond capacity and sooner or later everything is going to suffer and unfortunately our natural enviroment is first to feel the effects of limited supply.

Anytime some one attacks something you love, you respond aggressively. I love striped bass just as many others on this board love steelhead or tarpon or bird-watching, and if we can all contribute something toward saving a little bit of nature maybe our grandkids will get to see a little of what we've come to enjoy. And, if killing a few squawfish along the way helps save a few remaining striped bass and salmon, I'll bonk a lot more of them.

[Dustin Revel]

and if we can all contribute something toward saving a little bit of nature maybe our grandkids will get to see a little of what we've come to enjoy.

Sorry Tony, but Striped bass are not natural to the west coast. Pike minnow are! as far as i'm concerned we should be bonking stripers not PM. sometimes we must look past our own personal enjoyment to do what is right.