Back to the subject at hand: (and a few more opinions)
As for changing the season open dates some waters that do not have conditions suitable for natural reproduction should be open year round no one should worry about that. It may require the DFW to plant more fish but it will not affect the natural order of the fishery.
However, in places where there is natural reproduction the months that fish naturally reproduce and where wading is the primary access, then the redds should be protected by having a closed season until after the majority of the fry have left the nest examples might be McCloud River, Hot Creek, Hat Creek, Putah Creek. I did not include the Fall River because the majority of fishing is done from a boat and there is a 0 take limit. I did not include Pit 3 because the difficulty to get in to that water does keep many people away from it.
It seems that the DFW wants to reduce the use of slot limits in order to reduce confusion, slot limits are useful to manage fisheries but I can understand where some people find it confusing or frustrating. When using slot limits the size restrictions need to be closely monitored and adjusted or they no longer serve their purpose. This also requires more effort on the part of the DFW wardens which we know are under staffed already.
Bag limits are a useful tool but unnecessary to go below 4 or 5 where the majority of the fish are stocked. In waters where there is natural reproduction reducing or eliminating bag limits is a useful tool for fisheries and it should be maintained in my opinion.
I guess one bone of contention is can year round fishing pressure, the use of bait or artificial lures actually decimate a fishery or does environment play a larger role. Again if the fishery is naturally reproducing it certainly will have an effect. If the the fishery is all or mostly stocked fish than in my humble opinion it does not matter, it just means increased stocking may be necessary.
As an example: Fishtopher asked for an example of a stream in CA where fish availability is in decline. Obviously in the case of Hot creek near Mammoth the fishery was decimated from it’s former glory and for the first time in many years stocking took place last year. That piece of water is open year round and it does have a restriction of artificial fly only (soon to be changed to artificial lure or fly).
Was it fishing pressure from year round access, excessive vegetation, drought, or year round access with the potential for redd destruction to blame? Perhaps it was the NZ mud snails that reduced the available microorganisms which in turn reduced the insect population or the use of insecticides at the golf course or within the town of Mammoth that caused reduced insect populations thereby reducing food and reducing fish. I have not seen a complete study on that piece of water that was conclusive on the cause of the reduced fish per mile. Regardless the DFW decided to stock it in order to maintain it as a viable fishery. This was the press release from CDFG: “For unknown reasons, the Hot Creek fishery appears to have declined substantially in recent years, with markedly lower catch rates and few trophy (>18”) fish coming to the creel. Drought-related impacts are the suspected cause, including low flows, lack of flushing flows in late spring/early summer to mobilize fine sediments and expose spawning gravels, potential changes in water quality/chemistry and increased aquatic vegetation.”
Changing the regs to allow artificial lures will probably not be a factor that would add to the Hot Creek waters decline and it is quite narrow so it is not necessary to wade it although some do. Of course having a reduced season and a no wading restriction might have stopped the mud snail and reduced the chance of a redd being trampled it might even have allowed enough fry to survive the drought and additional stocking would not have been necessary. It may be year round because I believe that the Hot Creek Ranch lobbied for that in order to maintain their business during the winter months. They also lobbied for the increased stocking for the same reason I believe.
Regards,
Tim C.
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Originally Posted by Jeff F
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