Bill That Threatens California Delta Bass Passes Senate and House

[iceintheveins]

It's official. The California Delta is in trouble. Looks like California will be joining Colorado and Utah in sport fish killing efforts. As always, not a shred of scientific evidence to support it, and a big SCREW YOU to we the people:

 

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/delta-bass-1216.html

[Caliyak]

I have so many questions but I can't get political or even get close to it. So, I will hold my tongue. 

[FrankN209]

Is this a done deal, no petition can be formed?

[iceintheveins]

This type of killing occurs in my home state of Colorado and has for nearly 20 years because they wrongly blame bass and other sportfish for the decline of chubs, suckers and squawfish. To do it however, the state must approve it. So for the federal government to kill any fish, the State Of California must sign off. They probably will though.

[gulfcaptain]

We can all write a letter to our New Pres Elect and he could always sign an exec. order not to inforce it.  And it's illegal to possess pot by Fedreal law, but CA just passed a law saying it was legal.  So it would be up to the state to change our fish and game laws.  Bass have one thing going for them, most anglers practice catch and release, so it would be an uphill battle to tell those folks that they have to keep everything they catch.  It's a big economic force in that area of the state as well.  It was protested against on both sides earlier this year and the action was withdrawn.  Besides we see how well it has worked to get rid of the Snakeheads in some states, good luck getting rid of the bass and stripers in the Delta because it isn't gonna happen.

[J._Bricker]

On Friday, December 16, 2016 President Obama signed the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act into law.

 

Section 4010 of the bill (pg 648) "directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Adminstrator of the  National Marine Fisheries Service, and the districts shell jointly established and conduct a non-native predator research and pilot fish removal program to study the effects of removing from the Stanislaus River-

   (A) non-native striped bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black bass;

   (B) other non-native predator fish species"

 

Additional language.... " The pilot projects under this section shall-

   (A)  seek to reduce invasive aquatic vegetation (such as water hyacinth), predators, and other competitors that contribute to the decline of native listed pelagic and anadromous species that occupy the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries and the Delta; and

   (B)   remove, reduce, or controlled the effects of species including Asiatic clams, silversides, gobies, Brazilian water weed, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striped bass, crappie, bluegill, white and channel catfish, zebra and quagga mussels, and brown bullheads."

 

Among the removal methods...."consider using wire fyke trapping, portable resistance board weirs, and boat electrofishing."

 

I was one of many in the local/national sport fishing community who signed petitions against a proposed bill (HR2898) which aimed to do exactly (almost verbatim) what this bill intends.  My fear is if this "pilot program" is successful, it will complete the decimation of the SF Bay/Delta fisheries and it could be further implemented in lakes across the state.... JB

[WRB]

There was a spike in interest 8 months ago and that died out without any real opposition other than from a few bass anglers who tournament fish at the Delta, the silence has been deafening!

Tom

[jr231]

Although they may not be able to remove all of the bass.. this is seriously going to effect them. A world class bass fishery up in smoke is what it looks like to me.

[Gundog]

Not smart. Throwing away millions in the local economy for a notion that hasn't been proven. Things like this have happened before in other parts of the country. Politicians make a decision and don't look at the over-arching ramifications. Less money spent in local stores means less revenue for those businesses. Imagine them doing something like this at Guntersville or Okeechobee. 

[soflabasser]

 

4 hours ago, Gundog said:

Imagine them doing something like this at Guntersville or Okeechobee. 

Largemouth bass are native to Lake Okeechobee and the rest of Florida so this won't happen in Florida. 

[Gundog]

2 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Wow 

Largemouth bass are native to Lake Okeechobee and the rest of Florida so this won't happen in Florida. 

You are right but I remember reading a story about the lakes in the Santee Cooper area. This goes back to the late 90's or early 2000's.I believe it was Moultrie and Marion. The story goes that home owners along the lake were complaining about weeds clogging their boat docks. So the DCNR came in and killed 75% of the hydrilla in the whole lake. Bass fishing declined, which led to complaints by fishermen, which led to increased stockings of bass which was a waste of tax payers money. The lake has recently started to recover but it took alot of time. 

[soflabasser]

39 minutes ago, Gundog said:

You are right but I remember reading a story about the lakes in the Santee Cooper area. This goes back to the late 90's or early 2000's.I believe it was Moultrie and Marion. The story goes that home owners along the lake were complaining about weeds clogging their boat docks. So the DCNR came in and killed 75% of the hydrilla in the whole lake. Bass fishing declined, which led to complaints by fishermen, which led to increased stockings of bass which was a waste of tax payers money. The lake has recently started to recover but it took alot of time. 

 

Most of the lakes in my area are filled with hydrilla and have healthy populations of bass.

[Glenn]

They've done the same thing to the Columbia river - a world-class smallmouth and walleye fishery.

 

...or was.

[Gundog]

25 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

 

Most of the lakes in my area are filled with hydrilla and have healthy populations of bass.

What I was trying to point out with using Okeechobee as an example is what if the Florida DCNR, or whom ever controls it, decided to suddenly remove most of the vegetation from the lake. Businesses would feel the lose of income. What is going to happen to the california delta is somewhat akin to what happened to the Santee Cooper lakes. Local companies who thrive on bass fishermen visiting, fishing, bringing families are going to suffer which leads to loss of tax money. Killing the goose that lays the golden egg...so to speak. 

[soflabasser]

That's true.Hopefully they find a way to keep both the bass fishermen happy and increase the population of endangered species in the Delta.

[iceintheveins]

4 hours ago, Glenn said:

They've done the same thing to the Columbia river - a world-class smallmouth and walleye fishery.

 

...or was.

Do they actually kill the fish here or have they just removed the bag limits? With as massive as the Cal Delta is and The Columbia is, I doubt they would be able to reduce the population that much, but they can do some damage.

 

This management started in my state in the late 1990s. We have a world class smallmouth bass and pike fishery in the Yampa River, which is far smaller than the Columbia and is several times smaller than the Sacramento. They have been killing fish in it in favor of native suckers, chubs, and squawfish for two decades. The fishery in the Yampa hasn't declined all that much actually. Mechanical removal is VERY ineffective long term. And the fish they are trying to recover have NOT recovered. 

 

What this is, is a matter of water users and environmentalists teeming up together to place the blame on introduced sportfish rather than dams and diversions. Both groups have huge pockets, and bully anglers. It is true, lawmakers DON'T CARE about recreational fishing and sportsmen. A shame to see other states taking after corrupt Colorado, the first state to do this on a large scale. It has spread to our lakes even now, and if not stopped, they will spread this management to other lakes and rivers in California.

[Caliyak]

They can dump all those bass in the Aqueduct or move those bass to other lakes or reservoirs. 

[WRB]

This bill will end tournament bass fishing at the Delta because as written any bass caught must be killed, no catch and release allowed.

Tom

[iceintheveins]

6 hours ago, Caliyak said:

They can dump all those bass in the Aqueduct or move those bass to other lakes or reservoirs. 

 

But why remove them at all when no real science links bass to salmon declines? There is a plethora of science that shows nonnative fish aren't the cause of the declines. Why undertake such a horribly expensive and unpopular undertaking that won't work? They've been killing sportfish for years in Colorado and Utah, and it hasn't helped native rough fish.

4 minutes ago, WRB said:

This bill will end tournament bass fishing at the Delta becuase as written any bass caught must be killed.

Tom

It's disgusting they think they can do this, must kill regulations aren't even enforceable and could lead to nasty confrontations. But again, they don't care about us or about we the people in general. They are morally bankrupt.

The best course of action we can take is as follows:

 

1. Flood President Trump with hand written letters about this.

 

2. Flood the California Fish And Game with hand written letters asking them not to let this move forward, since they have the final say on management. Whoever wants to help me, send me a PM here and we'll jump all over it.

[Caliyak]

16 hours ago, iceintheveins said:

 

But why remove them at all when no real science links bass to salmon declines? There is a plethora of science that shows nonnative fish aren't the cause of the declines. Why undertake such a horribly expensive and unpopular undertaking that won't work? They've been killing sportfish for years in Colorado and Utah, and it hasn't helped native rough fish.

 

Ice, we are talking about California. They will spend billions on transporting fish if need be. Also, they wiped out half of the central valley farming for 3 smelts. This is California so please lower your standards, common sense and expectations. LOL 

[WRB]

To have a basic understanding of water in SoCal read the book Rivers in the Desert by M. Davis, 1974.

Several petitions were on fishing forum sites including BR asking for bass anglers to write thier congressman and women not to support the bills, didn't do any good! This is about money not ecosystems.

Recreational anglers including bass anglers make up a small percentage of California's population, we don't have any leverage!

Tom

[Redlinerobert]

Incredibly disappointing.  The only positive here is that potentially some of these 'invasive species' will find their way into some CA reservoirs, which means that the fishing at San Luis Reservoir and O'Neill Forebay could get exponentially better.  These two bodies of water also happen to be in my backyard. 

 

I don't know if there's any correlation, but I've heard from friends that the striped bass and large mouth fishing in the Delta has been steadily getting worse.  Could there be some initial harvesting already happening? 

[iceintheveins]

On 12/20/2016 at 9:37 AM, Caliyak said:

Ice, we are talking about California. They will spend billions on transporting fish if need be. Also, they wiped out half of the central valley farming for 3 smelts. This is California so please lower your standards, common sense and expectations. LOL 

Yeah you're unfortunately totally correct. Environmental extremism rules California, not common sense, not science, and not liberty. This is the same state trying to control cows burping and farting. Other liberal states such as Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have also proved they don't care about science or recreational angling as well.

On 12/20/2016 at 10:50 AM, WRB said:

To have a basic understanding of water in SoCal read the book Rivers in the Desert by M. Davis, 1974.

Several petitions were on fishing forum sites including BR asking for bass anglers to write thier congressman and women not to support the bills, didn't do any good! This is about money not ecosystems.

Recreational anglers including bass anglers make up a small percentage of California's population, we don't have any leverage!

Tom

Yep, again you are sadly correct. California is basically a dictatorship run by environmentalists and uber libs, where logic and facts are foreign concepts, let alone the freedom and liberty the USA is supposed to have.

[J._Bricker]

On 12/21/2016 at 10:15 PM, iceintheveins said:

Yeah you're unfortunately totally correct. Environmental extremism rules California, not common sense, not science, and not liberty. This is the same state trying to control cows burping and farting. Other liberal states such as Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have also proved they don't care about science or recreational angling as well.

Yep, again you are sadly correct. California is basically a dictatorship run by environmentalists and uber libs, where logic and facts are foreign concepts, let alone the freedom and liberty the USA is supposed to have.

 

iceintheveins, this has everything to do with a water grab by big Ag in the Central Valley and Southern California water interests that has been 50+ years in the making. I believe this bill is the precursor to implementing the building of the Twin Tunnels, Jerry Brown's SECOND attempt to complete his father's legacy, and is now using the "how do you eat an elephant" methodology. Environmentalists, fishermen, and delta farmers have been trying to prevent this visible decline of the SF Bay/Cal Delta ecosystem.

 

The petition 2016-011, which called for changes to recreational fishing size and bag limits for striped and black bass was withdrawn by the petitioners who championed the species eradication. The petitioners were: The Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, California Chamber of Commerce, California Farm Bureau Federation, Kern County Water Agency, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Northern California Water Association,  San Joaquin Tributaries, Southern California Water Committee, State Water Contractors, and Western Growers. (Ref. Keep America Fishing, August 24, 2016)

 

Almonds and pistachios are wonderful snacks, but most (67%) are exported. It takes 1.1 gallons of water to produce one (1) almond, and there are 276 almonds in a pound, which takes 303.6 gallons of water to produce that pound of almonds. By 2020, the California almond industry is projecting to harvest over 3 billion pounds of almonds, opening a new market for almonds in Mexico and expanding markets in Europe......

 

Merry Christmas, JB

 

 

 

[iceintheveins]

8 hours ago, J._Bricker said:

 

iceintheveins, this has everything to do with a water grab by big Ag in the Central Valley and Southern California water interests that has been 50+ years in the making. I believe this bill is the precursor to implementing the building of the Twin Tunnels, Jerry Brown's SECOND attempt to complete his father's legacy, and is now using the "how do you eat an elephant" methodology. Environmentalists, fishermen, and delta farmers have been trying to prevent this visible decline of the SF Bay/Cal Delta ecosystem.

 

The petition 2016-011, which called for changes to recreational fishing size and bag limits for striped and black bass was withdrawn by the petitioners who championed the species eradication. The petitioners were: The Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, California Chamber of Commerce, California Farm Bureau Federation, Kern County Water Agency, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Northern California Water Association,  San Joaquin Tributaries, Southern California Water Committee, State Water Contractors, and Western Growers. (Ref. Keep America Fishing, August 24, 2016)

 

Almonds and pistachios are wonderful snacks, but most (67%) are exported. It takes 1.1 gallons of water to produce one (1) almond, and there are 276 almonds in a pound, which takes 303.6 gallons of water to produce that pound of almonds. By 2020, the California almond industry is projecting to harvest over 3 billion pounds of almonds, opening a new market for almonds in Mexico and expanding markets in Europe......

 

Merry Christmas, JB

 

 

 

Exactly. Like I said, this is the water users and environmentalists teaming up against Sportsmen. These two groups are nasty and have very deep pockets. We should still do all we can to fight this, but it's a WAY uphill battle considering the money these tyrannical groups have.