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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

California trout plants update

The following was in the local paper this morning.
I may have overreacted in my posting yesterday. It appears that they will still continue planting in my favorites lake, just not one of the creeks (Angels Creek) that feed into it.
But I'm still pissed.
I'm thinking about cutting down an old growth redwood, pouring motor oil on a duck and shooting a spotted owl just to piss off a fucking hippie.


At Pinecrest Sports Shop, the 2009 trout fishing season already is beginning to look like the big one that got away.
A recent court order prohibited the release of hatchery-raised rainbow trout in waters where they could be predatory to native species. Overall, the central part of the state was impacted less than other regions. The South Fork of the Stanislaus River, which includes Pinecrest Lake, was the only water in Tuolumne County declared off-limits to trout planting.
"It's going to hurt," said Lynn Souza of the Pinecrest Sports Shop. "That's our livelihood up here. The fishing business in the summer makes up a huge part of our business."
No waters in Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced or Mariposa counties were affected by the order. In Calaveras County, trout will not be planted in Angels Creek, Schaades Reservoir or White Pines Lake.
The order is not permanent and is likely to change when the Department of Fish and Game completes an environmental impact report on its fish-stocking programs, many of which have gone on for more than 100 years. The study is due by January 2010.
The DFG was sued last year by two environmental groups seeking a reform in the way fish are raised and released. The court order, signed by Sacramento County superior court judge Patrick Marlette, addresses only the need to identify the impact of planted trout on 25 specific native species.
"The court stipulated that where one of the 25 species of concern existed and had not yet been studied and reported on, we had to finish the survey before we could stock those areas again," said Harry Morse, DFG information officer.
Morse added that the fish earmarked for the Stanislaus South Fork instead would be released into nearby easily accessible bodies of water.
"Planted fish make up a substantial portion of the fish that are caught in that part of the river that is open and accessible to the public," Morse said. "But the total impact will be hard to tell because we are moving the plants to other waters in that area."
An unstocked Pinecrest Lake certainly will impact weekend fishermen, but devout angler Nathan Weltmer of Twain Harte expects little change in his regular fishing routine.
"This is the first I'm hearing about this, but it won't affect me as much as the people who are coming up here specifically for the planted fish," Weltmer said.
"I fish back-country lakes, places you have to hike to that don't get planted anyway. But for the average person and for the fishing business up here it will be a big deal."

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