Berryessa Quarantine

[John H]

Berryessa has a 30 day boat quarantine in place to stop the spread of golden mussels which were found in the delta last month. You have to get a seal on your boat and then not launch for 30 days before you can return and launch at Berryessa. They plan to put in a decontamination station which would allow you to skip the quarantine but they don’t have it yet. If you are thinking of going there check out the restrictions before you go. Solano County Water Agency is making the rules but Markley Cove seems to have the current information and answers the phone.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

One of our neighbors in Davis, California, is a geologist and said that Berryessa has some natural pollutants and others from mining.

She told us that decades ago the City of Davis chose not to get its water from Berryessa which was a good thing.

The water that comes out of Berryessa is used for irrigation in the warmer months so does it affect our agriculture?

Most of us here are "catch-n-release" fly fishers so we are unaffected.


I Googled this:

"Lake Berryessa, in California, has several natural contaminants, including Mercury, a metal that comes from mining, burning coal and other fuels, and natural sources. Lake Berryessa has high levels of mercury, which can contaminate the food chain. Adults should eat fish from Lake Berryessa in moderation, and pregnant or nursing women, and children under six should not eat fish from the lake."

[Sonoman]

Starting Monday, November 25th, Lake Berryessa is closed to boaters launching unless you have your boat decontaminated at Steele Park RA for a cost of $150.00.

Lake Berryessa will operate like Lake Tahoe starting Monday. We all knew that this would happen, it was just a matter of time.

This is how it will work. Boats must have a red locking tag, that cables your boat to your trailer, and you cannot launch until 30 days after the date on the red tag. This is called the 30-day decontamination period. After 30 days you can bring your boat to Lake Berryessa to launch and the red tag cable will be cut prior to launching. When you pull your boat out to the water and you are leaving the park, a green tag cable will be locked onto your boat and trailer so you can return anytime to launch again at Lake Berryessa. This cable must be intact, not cut or damaged in any way or your will receive another 30-day red tag or have your boat decontaminated at your cost. This assures Lake Berryessa that you have not launched at any other location after the last time you launched at Lake Berryessa.

If you want to launch a boat on Lake Berryessa on Monday, Nov 25th, or any day after, and you do not want to wait 30 days for your boat to decontaminate with the red tag in place, then you must pay for a boat decontamination at Steele Park and once again this will cost you $150.00. So, if you want to get onto the Lake with your boat sooner that 30 days, you can pay the decontamination fee of $150.00 at Steele Park. The cost for this decontamination service at Lake Tahoe is currently $400.00.

Also, Cappel Cove Lauch Ramp is closed indefinitely. I am sure BOR will find a way to staff personal with tags at Cappell Cove for the Summer. But for now, CLOSED.

[Rossflyguy]

I wonder what they’ll do with the kayakers?

[Sonoman]

I talked to the sheriff that patrols Berryessa. He told me BOR panicked because golden mussels were found in the Delta and, per self-reporting at launch sites, some 1000 boats came to Berryessa last year from the Delta. BOR wants to prevent mussels from getting into Berryessa, a laudable goal, but he said the BOR does not have a plan and many details (like kayaks and the sheriff boats) have not been figured out yet.

[John H]

I got my red tag yesterday and will be clear to launch on December 24th but my wife says the 24th is a no fishing day so maybe the 26th. It is a bit of a dilemma because realistically it is either all Berryessa or no Berryessa. I am going with all Berryessa for now. My friend has two boats so one might be his Berryessa boat. This could lighten up the boat traffic there. We’ll see.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

In the Fall they have gamefish busting Threadfin Shad on top.

In the Winter some would troll small Rebels and Rapalas on top for nice Rainbow trout.

In the Spring it is famous for bass up in the shallows.

[Carl Blackledge]

Bill,

Back in the day I used to fish right below the Dam, that water ran right into the Bud brewery, Perhaps maybe that's why I never drink beer LOL

[MThompson]

I'm going to have to get creative if this goes the way that southern california went. Luckily we have a bunch more choices up here but there's no way in hell my boat sits on the trailer for a month. I'm crossing my fingers that other lakes don't take the same approach as Berryessa but if they do it will never go back to normal.

[John H]

You would get to fish every 30 days and you would have to plan your next trip 30 days in advance and drive to your next lake to get your quarantine started. That would be great. It seems like other lakes will follow Berryessa but you never know. Maybe all the clean lakes could honor the quarantine seals of the other clean lakes. That seems like it could work but they would have little incentive to do that since their main goal is selling water not providing fishing. I don’t see how Clear Lake is working. Boats from all over travel there and all they need to do is buy the monthly sticker. I guess we’ll see.