Anti Bass/Sportfish Nuts At It Again On the Delta

[iceintheveins]

They continue to use bass and nonnative fish as a scapegoat for salmon and endangered fish declines, just like how it started here in Colorado. There is a petition to sign here to oppose raising the limit on black bass and striped bass. Colorado, California, Utah, Washington, and Oregon are really starting to suck. There isn't a lick of science to back up killing sportfish. It's all about dams, diversions, and habitat loss. But water users and environmentalists, both with deep pockets, are teaming up to beat sportfishermen over the head.

 

http://www.westernbass.com/article/bass-anglers-urged-to-fight-anti-bass-movement-in-california

[Glenn]

Yep, there's a petition to stop them:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bass-ban-california-8416.html

And if you don't think they'll succeed, think again.  They've already removed ALL restrictions for bass, walleye, and catfish up and down the Columbia river - declaring an all out war and bounty on bass....with absolutely no basis for it whatsoever. 

So yes, it will continue to happen, first on the West coast, and then throughout the country, if you don't stand up and fight it now.

[AndrewJ]

Signed the petition, it took me 30 seconds to complete....everyone on Bass resource should sign,  BTW, according to the article, we only have 4 more days until the petition needs to be delivered.

[Senko lover]

Sign the petition guys, do your sport a favour!

[Bluebasser86]

Signed.

[whitwolf]

Done

[OCdockskipper]

As an aside to this, I wonder if any move to change limit sizes on black bass will make a difference?  I would suggest that the majority of black bass caught are done by folks who choose to practice catch & release, or who just occasionally keep a few fish.  Those who are out to catch as many fish as they can to eat or fill their freezer tend not to catch that many bass in the first place.  It seems in our current fishing culture, as one acquires the skills to become proficient at catching, a switch kicks in to not abuse that skill.

The attempt to force people to keep what they catch is a different matter.  It is more dangerous & sinister, but may not be constitutional.  If something like that passes, I see most bass anglers becoming extremely clumsy when attempting to land a bass...

[iceintheveins]

This started in Colorado, and has spread to other western states where bass are an introduced sportfish. In Colorado, bass are being removed and killed from lakes and rivers in favor of suckers, chubs, and squawfish of all things. As Glenn said, there is no evidence removing nonnative sportfish helps at all. In fact, in Colorado, there have been no increases in endagered fish, and the very agencies killing our fish admit there is no real evidence removing sportfish is increasing their numbers. It's all about water users and environmentalists teaming up to deflect blame.

As for OCdockskipper, the no limits really don't have a huge impact, most people continue to release what they catch. Forcing people to kill what they catch is practiced in Utah but has been found to be unenforceable. Even the removals of sportfish via electrofishing and netting have been of limited effectiveness, but have done SOME damage in some areas. It's more the idea of it that's repulsive. Smallmouth bass, walleye, catfish, and pike are thrown up onto the banks to rot on our rivers in Colorado and Utah due to this madness. And no conclusive science supports the efforts at all, just speculation, bias, and politics.

[IndianaFinesse]

The whole idea of this is stupid, I hope everyone else on bassresource signs the petition.

[contium]

Great idea. Lets encourage people to take and eat more largemouth and stripped bass when the state itself has said they really aren't that safe to eat.

http://oehha.ca.gov/advisories/statewide-advisory-eating-fish-californias-lakes-and-reservoirs-without-site-specific

[S. Sass]

Signed

 

[Choporoz]

I'm confused.  What's changed since we discussed this months ago?  It doesn't appear that the Senate bill will get out of committee.  What does the petition do?  Who does it go to?  Why Aug 11?  The web site refers both to Feinstein's Senate bill, and to a "proposal before the California Fish and Game Commission".  If we're petitioning CA F&G, I'm surprised that they'd care about my input - since I'm on the other end of the country and have no science or biology background.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm fully against the proposals as I understand them...but I sure wish that 'activist web sites' were a LOT more forthcoming about what it is they are doing and what it is they want me to do.

[iceintheveins]

Fisheries science and biology in these liberal western states is nothing but politics and agenda, not scientific fact. 

[WRB]

This a continuation of the earlier efforts that passed the state bills and now looking for federal matching funding, recreational sport fishing is under the gun and we are loosing the fight.

Barbra Boxer is being replaced by Kamala Harris and things can only get worse, never thought that could be possible.

Tom

[J._Bricker]

Just heard some good news. ....

"Regarding the August 24-25 2016 California Fish and Game, Folsom   Please note: The petition number 2016-011 (striped and black bass) has been withdrawn by the petitioners. As a result the Commission will not be taking action on this petition." http://www.fgc.ca.gov./ 

Thanks to all who signed the petitions.  As stewards of the outdoors and our fisheries, if we don't protect them no one else will.... Continued good fishing, JB

[Caliyak]

A victory for California 

[WRB]

Not really. Califirnia already passed Senate S.1894 and House HR  2898 bills to achieve the same goal last spring. This action was to get federal funding to support the cost of implementing those bills by using the Department of Fish & Wildlife.

It's good that the petition worked to delay funding but those rascals are far from finished attacking California's sport fishing.

Tom

[soflabasser]

From what I have read the Delta Smelt are a endangered  species that are being eaten by bass.Lets see what happens. 

[WRB]

On August 25, 2016 at 3:16 PM, soflabasser said:

From what I have read the Delta Smelt are a endangered species.

On August 25, 2016 at 3:16 PM, soflabasser said:

 

The Delta Smelt population is in the 100's of millions, far from being endangered. 

The little fish is a pawnin a big game of water power and was successfully used to get the bye pass tunnels funded to reduce danger of killing Delta Smelt near stations where waters is pumped  into the Feather River project channels that transports water to central and Southern California. This fight lasted over 30 years, Governor Brown sighed off on the tunnels this year.

Now the water power folks are using the drought along with native species act to protect steelhead and salmon from being eaten by non native fish like stripe bass, largemouth and smallmouth bass. The reduced water flow into the delta by the tunnels creates several problems. Salt water incursion due to reduced fresh water pressure, young salmon and steelhead are subject to predatation by birds, seals and predator fish. The increased water flow is used from agriculture primarily and big money in California.

The losers are sport and recreational fishing and local delta area farmers who's wells go bad from salt water.

Tom  

 

[soflabasser]

Then why is it that every article I read says the Delta Smelt is a Endangered species of fish?I have fished California before,it is a unique place that I plan on going again,but something needs to be done to protect the native wildlife. 

[OCdockskipper]

The Delta Smelt is on the Endangered species list for the same reason the gnatcatcher (a bird) and the El Segundo blue butterfly are - to be used by one group of people in an attempt to control the actions of another group.

The coastal portion of California, from Oregon down to Los Angeles, is hyper liberal.  The population in this area is large enough to create legislative & bureaucratic action that affects the more moderate & conservative portions of the state.  They will use anything, including animals improperly placed on the Endangered species list, to enact their agenda and create havoc for those they oppose.  They have no interest in protecting wildlife, otherwise they wouldn't have pushed for a solar farm near the Nevada desert that was killing birds to the tune of 100 a day for the first year of operation http://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/greenenergy/2015/04/23/ivanpah-solar-plant-bird-deaths/26273353/ .

I was born in Southern California, have lived here over 50 years and watch as what was once a wonderful state is being destroyed from within.  You may have visited here, but with all due respect, you are blissfully ignorant of the politics at play.  What you perceive to be actions to protect the native wildlife are anything but.

 

[J._Bricker]

On August 25, 2016 at 3:39 PM, WRB said:

On August 25, 2016 at 3:39 PM, WRB said:

The Delta Smelt population is in the 100's of millions, far from being endangered. 

The little fish is a pone in a big game of water power and was successfully used to get the bye pass tunnels funded to reduce danger of killing Delta Smelt near stations where waters is pumped  into the Feather River project channels that transports water to central and Southern California. This fight lasted over 30 years, Governor Brown sighed off on the tunnels this year.

Now the water power folks are using the drought along with native species act to protect steelhead and salmon from being eaten by non native fish like stripe bass, largemouth and smallmouth bass. The reduced water flow into the delta by the tunnels creates several problems. Salt water incursion due to reduced fresh water pressure, young salmon and steelhead are subject to predatation by birds, seals and predator fish. The increased water flow is used from agriculture primarily and big money in California.

The losers are sport and recreational fishing and local delta area farmers who's wells go bad from salt water.

Tom  

 

 

I'm not sure where you got the information on the Delta smelt population Tom, because I found different numbers.  

 A June 6, 2016 article in the Sacramento Bee regarding the 2016 U.S. Fish & Wildlife's release of the spring trawling surveys that track adult Delta smelt found "handfuls" of smelt across the areas they are know to spawn, leading biologists to estimate the population likely to be 13,000 smelt.  The survey began in 2002, estimating the smelt population about 600,000 (597,000 posted) to the current low in 2016 of 13,000 fish.  By the way, Delta smelt's life span is only one year.

The article did say Dr. Peter Moyle, a UC Davis biologist who has studied the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta fish species for almost fourty years, said the smelt were the most numerous species in Delta when he began his work, numbering in the millions.....

[WRB]

My thinking is so biased on this topic with many conflicting reports it's possible the smelt is in trouble. The fact it's been used as a pawn in the water rights fight blurs my objective thinking.

So we eliminate all non native fish to save the Delta smelt....no. The objective plan would be set aside areas where bait fish can re establish it's population.

Tom