Fishing Report: Week of Sept. 23

Published online on Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2009

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, a central San Joaquin Valley native and local fishing expert.

BEST BETS

New Melones and Don Pedro rainbows are hitting, Danny Layne said. McClure bass and catfish bites are steady, Manny Basi said. Shaver trout are on a tear, Captain Jack Yandell said. San Francisco striper and halibut action is great, Jim Smith said. San Luis Obispo albacore are running, Virg’s Landing said. Big Delta stripers are slamming bait, Jay Sorensen said.

ROGER'S REMARKS

I got an e-mail from a Kaweah angler, Brian Chance, who is concerned about the destruction of that fishery by the loads of anglers taking huge numbers of bass and crappie out of the tiny lake, even lighting up the lake at night like a city. It got me to thinking about other lake disasters we've seen, as well as the general state of our Valley fishing and how we got to this point.

Isabella, Clear Lake, Eastman, Hensley, San Luis and now Kaweah - all have been rated as very good to incredible fisheries, but each has gotten mercilessly hammered at some point, followed by drastic fishing declines and little recovery. Roger Lockhart, a longtime Fresno Bass Club member, said he's seen Clear Lake transition from a big bass haven down to a fishery with declining sizes and numbers. He says it is due mainly to live-bait fishermen targeting the oversized bass. On the other hand, most anglers agree, Hensley, Eastman and Kaweah have been hit hard by anglers taking lots of undersized fish as well as full limits home. Anglers with stringers of undersized fish are pretty easy to find.

I've put together some ideas that I think need to be considered, and I know some of them will probably not be popular - but we're going to have to think outside our normal box to correct these problems.

1. The DFG needs to seriously look at reducing the bag limits. Says Merritt Gilbert: "Reconsidering or reducing current limits, or even putting a moratorium on taking any fish, may be necessary to protect a vulnerable fishery with shoreline access at low water levels."

2. Close roads quickly, or change regulations, due to adverse conditions. Why wait until a lake is history to change things? Of course, enforcement is key.

3. Trophy bass fisheries like Eastman need to ban live-bait fishing. I hear the howls - but I'm talking about preserving a special trophy fishery. I've fished live bait all my life, too, and I know that big bass are very susceptible to it, especially during bedding times. Chances of injuring a fish with baithooks is a fact of life, but just look at the decline in the fishery since anglers started hammering them with crawdads and minnows. Very few big bass taken on bait go back in the water in my experience. Of course, there are always exceptions.

4. Increase license fees to include a small fee for game wardens to be used only in the region they are collected.

5. Add another small (for regional-use only) fee just for fish planting. We need to insist on a dedicated warm water program to be funded by DFG from these fees, not just cold-water trout plants. Texas has a great program worth looking at as a model. My guess is an additional $15-$20 dollars a year - about the cost of two to three fishing plugs - would make a difference.

The question is: What lessons have we learned from our mistakes? Lockhart said it well: "If we don't manage our resources, there won't be one!"

- Roger George

FISHING PODCASTS & VIDEOS

Millerton supervising ranger Kent Gresham talks about the management of the lake and the regulations anglers need to know in a fishing tips video.