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Update on trout stocking for EBPARKS

Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:53 am
by swimbait
An update for the East Bay Regional Parks Lakes (Contra Loma, Shadow Cliffs, Del Valle, Chabot, etc)

They are NOT recieving any DFG trout stocks at this time. The parks district has provided data on 'decision' species at the EBPARKS stocking locations to the DFG. DFG will have to evaluate now using the pre-stocking assessment protocol, then decide whether to stock, mitigate, or not stock.

How long this will take is unknown. How the assessments will be conducted is unknown.

Private trout stocks will continue in the mean time. My understanding with the private stocks is that they will be allowed to continue until the end of the year. After that if the lake is on a DFG no-stock list, then private stocks will not be allowed either.

Think on that for a minute.

Re: Update on trout stocking for EBPARKS

Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:49 pm
by massbaster
So do they still think they are going to charge us for daily permits? Because thats what they were to pay for, trout stocks. If they still think they ae going to charge for daily permits and not stock thats BS.

Re: Update on trout stocking for EBPARKS

Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:02 pm
by swimbait
Now you're starting to get it. Keep thinking on this some more because here's how it will go.

Some lake like Del Valle will turn out to have red-legged frogs. So they'll say no more DFG stocking, and at the end of 2010 they'll say no more private stocking.

Then what will be left at Del Valle? You just took away the draw for 90% of the fishermen so they just won't go any more. The bass and striper guys will have good fishing for about one year as the large fish get hungry and lose their inhibitions.

3 to 5 years later you'll have an average bass fishery with a lot of small fish. Stripers that had been eating trout will go around sucking up everything they can get (bluegill, crappie, crawdad, shad).

Cormorants, ospreys, and herons that ate stocked trout will either die off or move somewhere else. As if there aren't enough cormorants at Shadow Cliffs already.

The lake eventually settles out in an average bass lake, with a few leftover catfish and whatever else survived. The number of fishermen at the lake declines down by orders of magnitude, and then what?

Now does the EBPARKS have difficulty justifying the staffing to man the gates and allow fishing all week every day? If you think they will, you need to try going to San Pablo during the week. It's closed most days and has shortened hours! That's what happens when there's no trout and no fishermen.

Now really think ahead in to the future. If the parks can't justify keeping the lakes open, do we even get to fish there at all? If they figure it's going to cost $300,000 to keep a lake open and they're losing $200,000 a year because only 10 boats show up on a weekend, are they going to keep it open.

Oh, Delta Rats. Wake up brother anglers. What do you think is going to happen when the small lakes shut down or have terrible fishing? You can take every one of those guys with a boat that would have been on a small lake and picture them on your favorite opening in Franks or your favorite dock in Sandmound.

Sound like some kind of doomsday prediction? Yeah maybe. But if you told me 10 years ago that the state of Bay Area fishing would look like the list below I wouldn't have believed it.

Wake up dudes!

San Justo Reservoir - Closed to all fishing due to zebra mussels

Pinto Lake - Any boat with a bilge or livewell is banned from launching. Inspections for quagga mussels only conducted on certain days/times

Coyote Lake - Closed to all boating Nov - April every year (5 months). Increased launch fees. Strict mussel inspections. Rainbow trout stocks canceled.

Anderson Lake - Lake closed Wed/Thurs every week Nov - April. Increased launch fees. Strict mussel inspections

Calero Lake - Lake closed Mon/Tues every week Nov - April. Increased launch fees. Strict mussel inspections. No night fishing allowed

Uvas Lake - Closed to all boating

Chesbro Reservoir - Closed to all boating

Loch Lomond Reservoir - Closed to all private boats. Rainbow trout stocks canceled

Steven's Creek - Closed to all boating November - April every year (5 months) Rainbow trout stocks canceled

Lexington Reservoir - Closed to all boating. Rainbow trout stocks canceled

Almaden - Closed to all boating

Cottonwood Lake - Closed to all boating. Rainbow trout stocks canceled

Lake Chabot - Increased fees for car top and inflatable launch

Shadow Cliffs - Back ponds closed to all fishing

Del Valle Reservoir - Increased launch fees. Strict mussel inspections

San Pablo Dam - Increased launch fees. Shortened lake hours in addition to Nov-Feb closure. DFG rainbow trout stocks canceled

Lafayette Reservoir - Rainbow trout stocks canceled

Contra Loma Reservoir - Increased launch fees. Mussel inspections

Alpine Lake - Rainbow trout stocks canceled

Spring Lake - Rainbow trout stocks canceled

Los Banos Creek - Rainbow trout stocks canceled

Hennessey Lake - Rainbow trout stocks canceled

Re: Update on trout stocking for EBPARKS

Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:15 pm
by massbaster
Yes it would have a huge impact. I would say at least 90% of the people that fish these lakes are fishing for trout,and maybe catfish.

Re: Update on trout stocking for EBPARKS

Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:21 pm
by jimmy87
dose anyone care about a redleg frog?
How do we stop these morons? They are destroying a huge recration for people of all ages.
Anyone can bank fish for trout.

Where are the lawyers who love to fish?

take away trout from these lakes and we will see them close.

That is exacly what these people want to do.
CLOSE OUR WATERS

Re: Update on trout stocking for EBPARKS

Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 6:20 am
by npangler
you better listen to swimbait I believe he is right on the money, this state is screwing over fisherman more and more i believe it is time for us you and anyone who considers themselfs an outdoorsmen to ban together and do something before it is too late the time for talk has passed, along time ago, If we dont start some sort of organization to deal with all the poor dicissions affecting our sport soon fishing will no longer be a viable option. just my opinion. all of you touny directors bait shop owners ect your
time has come do something before you no longer have a buisness

Re: Update on trout stocking for EBPARKS

Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:27 am
by swimbait
I've gotten a copy of the pre-stocking assessment sheets for Del Valle and Shadow Cliffs (attached below in PDF format). We can learn a lot from these sheets.

1. There are 13 species that require mitigation if they are present where trout are stocked in this region. We don't know what "mitigation" means yet but most likely it means NO TROUT STOCKED FOREVER. The other species do not require mitigation. I'm not sure why they are listed other than to think that this could be a hedging by the CBD in case any of these additional species become endangered (then the mitigation flag would be set for them). The list of the 13 that matter is below.

2. It looks like in DFG Region 3, any reservoir that has an outflow where steelhead trout are present will NOT be stocked EVER AGAIN. For the East Bay Regional Parks that means Lake Chabot and Lake Don Castro. Del Valle is questionable. It is unknown whether they will try to get approval for sterile trout.

3. There is still tremendous gray area in terms of how these assessments will be evaluated. For example, golden eagles require mitigation. But what does that LOOK LIKE? Godlen eagles EAT TROUT. How a trout could negatively affect a golden eagle is beyond my comprehension. Yet there they are on this list of species that require mitigation. As soon as I learn more about how these evaluations will work I will post it.

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files ... lValle.pdf

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files ... Cliffs.pdf

13 species requiring mitigation:

Steelhead (Central Valley DPS)
Steelhead (central California coast DPS)
Steelhead (south/central California coast DPS)
Chinook salmon (California coastal ESU)
Chinook salmon (Central Valley fall-/late fall–run ESU)
California tiger salamander
California red-legged frog
Foothill yellow-legged frog
San Francisco garter snake
Golden eagle
Willow flycatcher (except southwestern subspecies)
Bank Swallow (nesting)
California Black Rail

Re: Update on trout stocking for EBPARKS

Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 4:17 pm
by basshunter4u
Rob, Thank you for your persistence on this crisis. Yes crisis in my mind and something has to be done real quick so you guys need to pay attention when Rob posts updates. I have a question that is not to far fetched I think. If this frog is so rare and endangered why dont they start some frog farms and release them back into the wild? Seems like a pretty easy thing to do if you ask me. I know it will take money but they can use some of the permit monies to help subsidize the program. Just a thought

Don O