Spearing Stripers....
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.
"America is a country which produces citizens who will cross the ocean to fight for democracy but won't cross the street to vote."
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