Fishing Articles

Removing fish from a population through fishing is known to have many impacts, such as selecting for fish that reproduce at younger ages and smaller sizes – now, we can add “timid” to that list. In his seminal 1981 paper, W.E. Ricker described how commercial salmon fisheries have resulted in smaller sizes and earlier maturity for different salmon species, and there are now numerous...
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Part of responsibly managing a watershed is efficiently using a limited water supply to balance the needs of both humans and wildlife. This is especially true in the highly variable climate of California, and even more so in a rain-fed river system like the Calaveras River, where the water supply can be unpredictable. Today, as part of World Water Day, we are taking a...
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We’re not quite half way through March and we’ve already completed six trout plants for 2021. Conditions permitting, weekly plants will continue though mid-May. DFW plants are done for the spring so the rest of the schedule will be filled out with private plants and net pen releases. Matthew Chiono of Marysville (above, left) was all smiles with his beautiful 7...
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The Calaveras River in California’s Central Valley was once a river of extremes that flooded regularly. Over the last several decades, however, it has been transformed into a complex water conveyance system used to deliver water for agricultural, municipal, and residential uses. Modifications made to divert water from portions of the river can prevent migratory trout and salmon from passing...
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We are still in an “Over Fishing” rating by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC). The PFMC will meet in March to come up with the recommended choices for Fall Chinook salmon quotas for the 2021salmon season, then in mid or late April the PFMC will meet and make the “Fall Run Chinook salmon” recommended quotas for the Klamath River...
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Recent storms have brought us lots of rain but our snow pack is still below average and water content. This is not good news for both water storage and spring water flows. We could be into a designated “Dry Water Year”. I hope not as we could still get more snow from coming storms. The Trinity Alps snow pack is...
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