Shadow Cliffs Back Ponds - Update

[swimbait]

For you guys that have been following this topic, here's the latest. If you're not familiar with the issue - the deal is that the back ponds at Shadow Cliffs were closed in March of 2010 to all fishing as part of a larger closure of Alameda Creek (to protect steelhead). These two ponds have great largemouth bass fishing and were popular with float tubers and kickboaters. More than a few well known bass fishermen got their start fishing here. It's a great spot for your teenage kids to learn to fish for bass. Here's a map that shows the ponds

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=shadow+cl ... 4&t=h&z=16

I've been working for the last year to get the ponds to reopened to fishing. All the groups involved (DFG, East Bay Regional Parks, Alameda Creek Alliance, etc) agree that the ponds should be open. The only question left is timing. We almost got it in the 2011 reg changes but one of the DFG Commission meetings was canceled so it got delayed until March 2012.

On Thursday I headed out to Sacrament for the DFG Commission meeting in hopes of convincing them otherwise. Pete Alexander, fisheries manager for the East Bay Regional Parks which manages Shadow Cliffs very graciously came out to give comment in support of opening the ponds soon. There was some back and forth and it sounds like the Commission may consider opening the ponds this year.

If you have an interest you can watch the discussion online at:
http://www.cal-span.org/cgi-bin/archive ... 2011-02-03

Click on the video reel icon next to 'Public Forum', then scroll to minute 40 for the Shadow Cliffs issue. I also gave comment at minute 36 on the trout stocking issue, with the continued goal of getting the trout back at some of our lakes.

If you care about this issue, it never hurts to write the DFG Commission in support of opening the ponds sooner rather than later. They can be reached using any of the methods on this page:

http://www.fgc.ca.gov/contact/contact.asp

-Rob

[DaLa]

Thanks for your continued efforts on behalf of those of us that would love to have these opened back up! I grew up fishing back there and have a float tube specifically for these ponds. The fishing will be CRAZY! once they are opened back up.

[MikeSouza]

Hope they open them back up. I started fishing those ponds my sophomore year in HS in 98'. I fished them weekly until I moved away in 04'. I've fished that creek from the ponds all the way into downtown Plesanton.

[swimbait]

Hi Mike

It would help if you took 10 mins out of your day and sent an email to fgc@fgc.ca.gov (the CA DFG Commission) and tell them your story, how you grew up fishing the ponds, what it means to you, and that you want the ponds opened to fishing NOW, not 13 months from now.

We can all sit around and hope stuff will happen, but without action - nothing will happen. Every little bit helps build the overall picture for the Commission that the ponds need to be opened now. If we wait another year, it will be TWO YEARS of the ponds closed FOR NO REASON and to SAVE NOTHING. Help me fight the stupidity of that situation. We're going to win this one.

[DaLa]

I sent a letter to DFG.

Dave

[swimbait]

Thanks - really appreciate it.

It's not so much that we expect the Commission to read each letter. Undoubtedly they have an admin read the incoming mail, sort it and distribute or trash as appropriate.

The idea is that if they keep getting messages on the same topic, that's going to bring it higher on the radar screen.

[MikeSouza]

I'll send an email tomorrow when I am around my computer and not just my IPhone. After reading your original post, I didn't even think of sending an email until you just said something. I'll probably never fish the pond again in my lifetime, but I know many in that area will if it re-opend.

Come to think of it. After spending hundreds of hours walking the shoreline of the creek, I never once saw a steelhead in there. The only migrated species I saw in that waterway was waterfowl.

[Topwater Terry]

You hear anything about trout being stocked back into places like Lower Castaic? Hear anything about the triploids being ready any time soon? I talked to Dr Maxwell at DFG in Los Alamitos the other day, he just sighed when I asked him, said they are still going around and round with the...whoever they are...

[swimbait]

Yeah dude, that's the thing. There's no steelhead there. Hasn't been since shortly after they built the dam at Del Valle in 1968. So closing the ponds to all fishing isn't saving anything. Just like ending trout stocks at places like Santa Margarita Lake or Coyote Lake or Lake Casitas isn't saving anything either.

I'm certain that the DFG Commission did not know what they were closing when they closed all of Alameda Creek including the back ponds. DFG Region 3 biologists could have raised the flag but didn't. Don't know why, could have been an oversight or lack of caring or something else. Doesn't really matter now. What does matter is getting the ponds back open.

Thanks for taking time from your day to write a letter. Even if you'll never make it back to the ponds, think about the good things they brought to your life and the positive impact they'll have for the kids who go there in the future. Beats the hell out of starting at some mindless video game all day.

I'm not trying to get these ponds re-opened for me. I'll fish the lake on the day it reopens and then I probably won't go again until the day I take my son there for his first float tubing trip. This isn't about the fish I want to catch. It's about preserving the outdoor lifestyle so that my sons and his friends can enjoy it, and his and theirs.

[swimbait]

Terry

I was told that Lake Chabot either just got, or will be getting triploids from DFG soon. This is significant because Chabot has downstream flow that leads to the ocean with steelhead potential and its less than 1000 acres. It's an equivalent situation to the lower lake at Castaic. So that's some progress. EBPARKS, which manages Chabot, has been ahead of the curve in getting their lakes assessed and cleared for stocking. Other lakes managed by water districts are going a lot slower. Might mention this to your local DFG guys - I'd assume they know about this but its not a given.

The other day I was sent a request for proposal that DFG sent out to private hatcheries asking for bids to breed triploids. This is presumably what was behind Chabot getting stocked (not 100% certain but seems logical since Chabot is mentioned at the end). However I am told by people in aquaculture that developing triploids to be stocked at a small size is not economical due to the high amount of work that has to be done to each fish to be sure it is a triploid. This may be why Dr. Maxwell is rolling his eyes. When I see something conclusive saying that triploids are being stocked I'll be convinced that its happening.

Here's another link to check out that was linked on my site the other day

http://fishwithjd.com/2011/01/24/steelh ... #more-7669

This is a story about a lake in Nor-cal where they used native steelhead spawn, raised in a hatchery, to stock a lake upstream of the Russian River. This ensures that anything that gets over the dam won't have a bad effect on the genetics of the native steelhead below. It would be great if they went this route state-wide but there are practical issues with the steelhead runs on many rivers/creeks where there might only be a handful of fish per year.

For example, Alameda Creek hasn't had a steelhead in 2 years. When they get them, it is very low numbers. They can't just take them and strip their milt/eggs to stock Del Valle. Same is true on the Santa Clara River system where the lower lake at Castaic drains to. I mean, you could go up the Sespe to Piedras Blancas and get native fish there perhaps, but its seems like a long shot. Do the DFG biologists even know about the fish in Piedras Blancas? Who knows right?

Bottom line is that DFG appears to be managing trout stocking piecemeal and its hard to figure out exactly what is going on. They don't exactly post this info on their website. All we get is the list of what gets stocked and what doesn't.

Unfortunately the piecemeal approach is going to just lead to exposure to further lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity which will claim that the variety of approaches indicates incompetence in the DFG. It sucks but its true. DFG has a hard road ahead of them. The CBD will sue them for the next 20 years if its on their agenda to do it.

[bassz21]

bump