BRTF and Proposal 2-XA

3 years ago
by Freedog in ,

Proposal 2-XA Video

Although this does not directly affect us here in the Sierra’s, I feel that as fishermen, we all feel the pain when something like this happens. Just imagine if your favorite fishery was taken away.

Life for the salt water fishermen who fishes off the coast of central California may change in the near future. The CA DFG, heavily influenced by several large environmental groups is considering a massive closure of off-shore fishing to boats, consumptive divers and people fishing from kayaks. Proposal 4, if passed, will have a tremendous impact on sport fishing in California.

Two groups of concerned fishermen have banded together to create an alternative proposal called Proposal 2-XA. At the forefront of 2-XA are the members of Coastside Fishing Club and the members of Keep America Fishing. These members propose that 2-XA offers the best balance between recreation and conservation. One member is quoted as saying:

As a group, we believe that conservation of our natural resources is key. As consumptive users, it is in our best interest to conserve resources. Of course, the scientists that sit in cubicles and Ivory towers truly want to study nature as if she has never been impacted by humans. Since we are on this planet, then that is impossible.

If proposal 4 is passed “as-is”, that could set a dangerous precedent in the state of CA. Who knows which watershed will be in the cross-hairs next.  With a strong precedent set, it will only become easier to take away your fishing privileges. Shutting down fishing in the name of conservation could become an epidemic. Is this a case of environmentalism gone wild?

East Carson – Brown and Muddy – 05/15/08

4 years ago
by Freedog in ,

Yesterday after work, I spent a few hours on the East Carson. What a difference 10 degrees makes. I cannot use words like tinted or off-color to describe the muddy, roiling mess that I saw. yes folks, we are well on our way to a blown-out run-off river. At least these warmer temps will start the process of spring run-off and hopefully it will end sooner, versus later.

So what does a trout bum do when a river is blown out? Grab the float tube and head to a lake? Not this one. I continued to drive higher up looking for clearer water. As I approached the turnoff for Wolf Creek, the river did look *less* muddy and I decided to rig up and dredge a wholly bugger through some likely runs. A hours worth of trying and I was able to pound up but one lowly 10″ stocker. An interesting note, I only saw one other angler during what is normally prime fishing time. I must be part of a group crazy enough to fish chocolate milk….mmmmm…yummy!

Recon with Bailey – 05/09/08

4 years ago
by Freedog in ,

I had to head up to Tahoe to take care of my Mother-in-laws cats while she is away. Bailey and I decided to take the scenic route and follow the length of the West Carson River up into Hope Valley before turning and heading to Tahoe.

We stopped at Pickett’s Junction (88 and 89) at the bridge, and walked down into the meadow section. Bailey and I did not fish as time was limited, but I wanted to recon this section as I had not fished it this season and the fishing has a tendency to be good as this is a major stocking point for Fish & Game.

First thing I noticed, outside of the usual plethora of cars and fishers, was that the water was darkly tinted. Pretty strange as this section has a tendency to run high during run-off, but much clearer than what I noticed.

Bailey and I would up talking to several people who were fishing and no one was catching any fish. There were two guys throwing spinners and powerbait. They reportedly fished the river for several hours without a single nibble. There was also a couple fly fishing and they reported that neither of them had seen a fish. The fly fishers were both throwing dries. It was a little chilly and the water temps were mid-forties, so I would not have chosen a dry, but to each his own.

Bailey and I walked up the river to the handicap access platforms looking for trout, but saw nothing. One thing I will say about kids…their eyesight is very sharp. Bailey has pointed out fish in water that my aging and polarized aided eyes have missed. So I will assume that the stocked trout are all holed up somewhere else, or they have simply been fished out in the first few days of planting. Hopefully the fish have all been pushed downstream into the canyon section that I tend to fish the most (grin). I am planning on hitting some fresh water this weekend with the lakes all finally starting to ice out. Maybe some hungry Macs are on the catch list??!!

An evening outing on the West Carson – 05/06/08

4 years ago
by Freedog in ,

After a long day at work, I was able to hit the West Carson for a quick session. I decided to fish the gauging station. I arrived around 5:20p to wind and more wind. A quick check of the water told me that flows were up just slightly from the previous outing and that the water was even more tinted. Runoff is getting into full swing.

Because of the wind, I immediately rigged with a dual nymph rig and I crimped on tons of weight. It was a tough hour with many casts going astray due to wind, but at the end of the hour I had two half-hearted strikes, two or three fun chases, and one hookup on a small 8″ stocker Rainbow.

This is a perfect end to a long day!

Some DFG Stocked fish love – 05/03/08

4 years ago
by Freedog in , ,

Living and working within 10 minutes of two nice rivers has it upside. A lunch break, actually an extended lunch break, can get one a solid hour on the river with the total time away from work exceeding no more than 90 minutes.

Since flows are starting to pump, I decided to hit the smaller of the two rivers as it is not as ravished as the bigger river during runoff. Upon arriving at the West Carson River I noticed another car in my usual parking spot, so I wheeled downstream into the canyon section. I quickly rigged up and was on the water without delay. Fishing lunch breaks are all about moving rapidly. The water is much higher than normal, but only slightly off-color. I toss in the thermometer and it read 46 degrees…perfect! No bugs in evidence, but I had already decided at the truck that I was going to probe fast and roily pocket water with a heavily weighted nymph setup.

I worked my way down to the automatic hole and by my third drift…BINGO…I’m into a cool 10″ stocked Rainbow. 20 more drifts produced 2 more strikes, but no hookups. The automatic hole will normally produce a few fish before the entire hole needs to be rested. Maybe it was the higher flows, the tinted water, or the still slightly cold temps, but there was only one fish to be had this lunch break.

Time to head back to the car and go back to work.

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