first trip up the American

[Joshua R.]

Wednesday of last week I confirmed with Sacramento Regional Parks director Jeff Leatherman, and the CDFW warden in charge of the American River Parkway that spears and spearfishing are allowed on the river just not in the parkway which is the land on both sides of the river from the Hazel street bridge to the Sacramento River. Met with a couple buddies Friday morning in Vacaville at 6 and by 7am we were suited up and ready to launch on the Sacramento River. We paddled up the Sacramento to the American and about 3.5 miles more to the business 80 overpass. The purpose of this mission for me was to scout and to lay some rumors to rest about how easy it will be to spear in the river and that you don't even need a wet suit so with temperatures supposed to be in the 100's I decided to bring a gun but to focus on video and go without a wetsuit. I'm just going to say there's no chance of anyone spearing a striper without a wet suit. There's no way someone is going to be able to be still and hunt for any length of time. It's fine if you're just going to jump in to cool off but not for what we do.

Our first stop was under the bridge for highway 160. This is where we saw the most fish, Greg spotted 3 on his third or fourth dive all in the 12-18 inch range. None that were obviously over 18 so he didn't shoot. A little while later he saw another one about 15 inches or so. I spent most of my time with my sidescan sonar looking for structure and fish while they dove and I would call them over to investigate if I found anything with potential but those would be the only fish close to legal that we would see today. Greg did see another school of babies up near the business 80 bridge but they were nowhere near legal, just cute. MIke got to work on some skills, stalking and hunting. How to use the dead spots to rest up for diving in the current, etc. Greg's skills are considerably further along than Mike's. I believe that Mikes noisy style may have scared the fish away which proves that these fish are not going to be easy and not everyone is going to be able to spear them.

The fish seemed to be floating above structure when idle or swimming across the current when spooked so the most success they had was finding structure at about 20 feet on the edge of the current behind or next to the pilons of the bridges, diving up current and drifting on the bottom with the current. Structure is the key. Another rumor was how easy it was going to be to shoot stripers from the kayak, or that they would just swim right up to you. We covered allot of river that day and I was looking intently the whole time and I never saw anything from the kayak that made me even wonder if it was a striper. The fish that Greg saw while diving spooked after one encounter of only a few seconds.

I was impressed that both Mike and Greg asked what size they should target knowing that I'm trying to promote an attitude of conservation in the spearo community and that some are worried about the big hens being targeted. I told them 24 inches should be fine with a little wiggle room either way but I wouldn't target anything over 30". We had discussions about the mercury and compared experience with the meat of larger fish vs. smaller fish. I don't have much experience with striped bass but Greg said he preffers the 10-15 pounders anyway. Next trip I'll be trying to get my first and I'll also be trying to get video of some big ones to see how they'll behave next to divers.

I realize that this is an anlging website and some are going to be incensed by this but I'm trying to start a discussion on how we can all promote an attitude of conservation by anglers and divers and be in this fight together.

[Mrs.Finsallaround]

I was impressed that both Mike and Greg asked what size they should target knowing that I'm trying to promote an attitude of conservation in the spearo community and that some are worried about the big hens being targeted. I told them 24 inches should be fine with a little wiggle room either way but I wouldn't target anything over 30". We had discussions about the mercury and compared experience with the meat of larger fish vs. smaller fish. I don't have much experience with striped bass but Greg said he preffers the 10-15 pounders anyway. Next trip I'll be trying to get my first and I'll also be trying to get video of some big ones to see how they'll behave next to divers.

I realize that this is an anlging website and some are going to be incensed by this but I'm trying to start a discussion on how we can all promote an attitude of conservation by anglers and divers and be in this fight together.

I have to say, you must have some guts to post something this sensitive to anglers [on this forum, anyway]. I will admit my stomach churned when I first read your post. My husband and I practice C&R about 98% of the time. Our own personal preference is to only keep 1-3 fish in the 3-4 lb range per year, if at all.

I do like that you mentioned a 30" preferential limit, however, the 10-15# preference of your friend will almost ALWAYS be over that 30", and would likely be a female. I would seriously caution anyone who would want to take these from our local rivers/delta, as they are the core of the striped bass's preservation [IMHO].

I will also recommend to others reading this post to read it more than once before responding in rage to keep the discussion open-minded, as desired by the author.

[Darian]

Joshua,.... I appreciate that you're trying to reach out to others by providing your experiences while diving on the American River. Your description mirrors my thoughts on why I object to the practice of spearing Stripers in the river. It's the opposite side of the two edged sword.

Regardless of how Spearos were able to accomplish the reg change without public notice/hearings, it is clear that spearo's played right into the hands of DFW who really wanted to reduce or eliminate Striped Bass but was unable to accomplish that through normal procedures without major opposition from groups with influence and more numerous member numbers. That's water under the bridge, now.

Since the access issue has been settled, at least for now, there remains a public safety issue that's not been addressed. What happens when a diver enters the water upstream of fly or traditional fisherman, boat or bankies, and drift down into an area where casting/retrieving/trolling of lures is occurring at the same depths?? The river gets very crowded at times and Stripers will occupy the same waters as Salmonids at certain times of the year. Those on the surface may not be aware of a divers presence. If a flag is going top be employed to let people know that a diver is at work, is it expected that the divers activities take priority over boaters/surface fishers?? Who decides what?? I know, for myself, that if a diver drifts into an area that I'm fishing, I'll stop fishing and go somewhere else. I won't be overly happy about it but I wouldn't risk snagging a diver.

you've described only wanting to spear fish within certain length/weight limits. Others, including some traditional fisherman have no qualms about taking/killing larger Stripers for photo-op purposes (witness those on fisherman/Spearo Internet sites). The major difference being that the majority of fish taken by traditional or fly methods might be released, alive. No fish, small or large, that's speared will live even if they slip off the spear point. Since Stripers are already stressed and population numbers are at historical lows, killing one or more large fish or a limit is really not acceptable.

I do believe that you're trying to do the right thing here. But, as Robin has already said, it's just a very sensitive and controversial subject.

[Joshua R.]

Thank you very much for your reply. It brings up the question for me, how big is a 10-15 lb striper? I'm basing my target size on conversations that said fish over 25 lbs are usually female and that's what you'd consider a breeding hen so how big is a 25 lb striper? So you know, I probably wouldn't take more than 1 or 2 fish per year total. The freshwater season is May 1st to September 15th and with the exception of July that coincides directly with abalone season. The fun for me is in the diving and I'd be actually more satisfied to get multiple videos of fish swimming next to me and comfortable with my presence than actually shooting them. If the goal of a "big fish" picture is to show your skill than a video of a fish considering you non threatening is worth a dozen "big fish" pics.

I realize that this is a sensitive issue but not talking about it isn't going to bring us together.

[Joshua R.]

H.L. - This is the best way I know to have discussions that will bring us together. I wouldn't get in the water close to anyone fishing hook and line or diving because it would disturb the fish and my ability to focus so hopefully that will solve part of the problem. Also, I'm freediving (no tanks) so you'll see me on the surface most of the time. The flag is just to let you know if you don't see me I'm underneath. I'd consider it a great favor if you'd wait till I come up to figure out where I am but the reality is as soon as I hear your motor I'm going to come up because I don't want a boat to get too close before I need air. I do plan on taking a tank someday so I can see if my theory is correct that the bubbles would scare them off rendering scuba a useless form of pursuit.

[Fish Guru]

Joshua, thanks for reporting some of what you guys saw while diving on the river. It sounds like you guys only saw smaller fish, in my experience it's generally the larger fish that are not very fearful of a diver when underwater. It's nice to see that you and the guys you dive with aren't after the big hens, but sadly myself and many others feel that you guys are the minority in the spearfishing community. The same issue is a problem with hook and line anglers, as many on this board practice catch and release, the majority of anglers overall will kill every big fish that they come across. This is why it's going to be pretty tough for many of us anglers to ever endorse yet another way to harvest the largest fish from an already declining population of fish. In one of my trips over to spearboard, the general consensus of most of the posters there was that they wanted to target the biggest ones they could find. One guy even mentioned a 45 that his buddy shot that probably didn't taste good but made for a heckuva picture. Once conserving the resource was brought up, the old invasive species card was played, which many seemed to think justified cleaning out the river of breeder fish. The conversations that transpired on that site make it pretty hard to join forces with the spearfisherman as a group, for myself and many other hook and line anglers. Obviously, you do not share the attitude of many of the spearos that I have conversed with, but in my experience I have encountered a much larger contingent that could care less about the resource than those that do.
As for your size questions, a 10-15 lb striper will be between 28-36" depending on girth, and anything 25 lbs and up will usually be 40" or larger.

[Mrs.Finsallaround]

Thank you very much for your reply. It brings up the question for me, how big is a 10-15 lb striper? I'm basing my target size on conversations that said fish over 25 lbs are usually female and that's what you'd consider a breeding hen so how big is a 25 lb striper? So you know, I probably wouldn't take more than 1 or 2 fish per year total. The freshwater season is May 1st to September 15th and with the exception of July that coincides directly with abalone season. The fun for me is in the diving and I'd be actually more satisfied to get multiple videos of fish swimming next to me and comfortable with my presence than actually shooting them. If the goal of a "big fish" picture is to show your skill than a video of a fish considering you non threatening is worth a dozen "big fish" pics.

I realize that this is a sensitive issue but not talking about it isn't going to bring us together.

Joshua - Others may correct me if I'm wrong, but in my experience, 18-21" is about 1 pound, and they gain approximately a pound for every inch after that. I caught a few 8#'ers that were 28-28.5 inches long. This seemed to coincide with that that theory. THAT said, a 30" fish should be about 9-12 lbs, depending on the time of year. My conservation experience taught me that breeding hens can be 12# and up. Males can be up to about 15#, but are usually <12#. Following this same theory, a 25# striper would be in the 33-36" range.

Since the access issue has been settled, at least for now, there remains a public safety issue that's not been addressed. What happens when a diver enters the water upstream of fly or traditional fisherman, boat or bankies, and drift down into an area where casting/retrieving/trolling of lures is occurring at the same depths?? The river gets very crowded at times and Stripers will occupy the same waters as Salmonids at certain times of the year. Those on the surface may not be aware of a divers presence. If a flag is going top be employed to let people know that a diver is at work, is it expected that the divers activities take priority over boaters/surface fishers?? Who decides what?? I know, for myself, that if a diver drifts into an area that I'm fishing, I'll stop fishing and go somewhere else. I won't be overly happy about it but I wouldn't risk snagging a diver.

As Darian stated above, I would be equally concerned about the safety of wading fisherman and spearos in the same vicinity...

[mar]

I’m confused. Is spearfishing now allowed in the AR?
I thought this issue was settled. Oceansunfish posted a link to a memo from Jeffrey Leatherman dated June 4, 2013.

Here are some verbiage from the memo:
Definition of the American River Parkway boundaries (bottom of page3):

“The American River Parkway Plan is defined to include the American River and adjacent floodplain, from the confluence with the Sacramento River up to Folsom Dam. The County of Sacramento, however, has day-to-day management responsibility for the portion of the Parkway from the Sacramento River confluence to Hazel Avenue (exclusive of the fish hatchery facilities).”

Final determination (last page):

“Determination
The revised Fish and Game Regulation authorize spearfishing within Sacramento County, including on the American River, for specific species and locations. The Plan and County Code prohibit ballistic devices which includes spear guns within County Parks. The Department has determined that continued enforcement of Sacramento County Code section 9.36.060 is the most appropriate policy for the American River Parkway. Allowing exceptions for weapons with the potential to transport them in multiple areas of the Parkway is inconsistent with the Parkway Plan and County Code and therefore an exception will not be issued by the Director of Regional Parks.”

Unless I missed something, this memo clearly states that spearfishing is not allowed in the AR Parkway, which includes the American River.

This does not agree with the information that Joshua received from Mr. Leatherman. Is this in writing writing somewhere? Did I miss the latest memo?

[Joshua R.]

Ok, so my size estimates coincide with yours, if we target 24-30" we should be ok even if we go over by an inch or two.

I wouldn't worry about the vicinity thing. Spears are teathered to the gun and can only go about 10 feet before reaching the end of their line. Unless you're practically standing on top of someone there shouldn't be a problem.

Guru- we should have these conversations on spearboard and NorCal Underwater Hunters too. Spearos are new to this fishery and unaware of what has happened up until now. I know the difference between a non-native and an invasive species, but many don't. Westgate has done an excellent job of spreading their propoganda haven't they?

[Joshua R.]

Jeff Leatherman
(916)875-6961