TAKE A BAG FISHING

Carl L. Wuebben


How would you feel if you were going your favorite stream, creek, lake or even salt water area only to find it totally trashed with cups, wrappers, cans, bottles, old ice chests, broken folding chairs, discarded fishing line, etc. You find the fish were choking on the trash and debris and the flows were disrupted by the small dams people made for their swimming hole for the day. It would make you feel quite angry wouldn’t it? If only we could effectively convey the importance of picking up after themselves or they can pay the Molly Maids® to clean up after them (which won’t happen any time soon.)

Until we can come up with a better solution, one suggestion may be for everybody to bring a trash bag with them fishing. It doesn’t have to be a huge 55 gallon bag, maybe a 15 gallon or just a couple of grocery bags, and pick up a few things while walking from place to place and carry it out with you to a trash can in the parking lot. Better yet, take with you in the trunk of your vehicle and dump off at the closest dumpster. If everybody pitched in just a little bit it won’t get to be this bad and yes I know what you are saying is “it’s not my trash why should I pick up after others?” Well my answer to that is WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET EARTH and if everybody just says “I’ll let someone else pick it up”, then nobody will pick it up and our fisheries will be choked out - the fish will die off and our drinking water will taste and look disgusting.
So please pitch in and help out. Perhaps when you pass a few people that may need a trash bag or two, give one to them and tell them if they could pack out what they brought in, then the place would look a lot better and maybe you would have put a thought in their head to pick up after themselves and others without thinking that it’s not their job to clean up things.

It is our job to clean up and preserve our beautiful fishing spots. So grab your fishing gear and trash bags and pitch in. Maybe even print this article out and give it to a few people to help get the word out. If you take a photo of yourself and your trash bag(s) send it to me! If you find the place is really bad, it may be an opportunity to set up a stream clean up.

Carl Wuebben – Deep Creek Fly Fishers. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

INVASIVE SPECIES

  • New Zealand Mud Snails (NZMS) – Whirling Disease – didymo – Quagga Mussel – Zebra Mussel all are an invasive species threat to lakes, trout streams and rivers spread through waders and wading boots, boats and float tubes. If the gear is in the water it can carry it out and to other waters not infected and some of them can live up to 2 weeks out of water so clean and dry your equipment after each outing. These cleaning instructions also work to stop the spread of other dangerous aquatic hitchhikers.
  • Sanitze your wading equipment before traveling to new waters. Visual inspection is inadequate.
  • According to experts, the best cleaner for your waders and boots is undiluted commercial solutions.
  • FORMULA 409 CLEANER DEGREASER DISINFECTANT
  • FORMULA 409 ALL PURPOSE CLEANER ANTIBACTERIAL KITCHEN LEMON FRESH.
  • KEY WORDS TO LOOK FOR ARE “DISINFECTANT” OR “ANTIBACTERIAL” Bleach is no longer recommended for NZMS, though a 5 to 10 percent bleach solution kills other invasive species such as whirling disease, didymo, and zebra mussels. Grapefruit seed extract, once considered effective for NZMS, has failed several tests.
  • Remove inner soles before cleaning and rinse them well to remove cleaning agents before use.
  • Completely immerse your gear in the solution in a dry bag or 5 gallon bucket for approximately 10 minutes, and then rinse in clean water. Don’t forget to clean your wading staff.
  • Other ways to disinfect your gear.
  • HOT WATER BATH (120 to 130 degrees F) for at least 5 minutes or put them in the dishwasher (check with your spouse first). – DRY HEAT Spray with commercial solutions formula 409 cleaner degreaser disinfectant or other soap/detergent (the soap breaks down the mucus that the snail uses to hold onto wet surfaces) and let waders and boots dry for several hours – all mud must be completely dry. The air must be low humidity and over 84 degrees F for 24 hours or 104 degrees F (or higher) for 2 hours.
  • FREEEZE EQUIPMENT for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. This is good for winter anglers or if you have a chest freezer (again check with your spouse). Thaw waders before bending them.
  • Clean boats, rafts, float tubes and trailers of mud, vegetation, and other debris with a pressure washer or commercial car wash before driving to the next watershed.

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE MESSAGE!

Native Lahontan Cutthroats Aided by Fly Fishing Clubs and IFFF

BRIDGEPORT, Calif. - California Lahontan cutthroat trout, squeezed out of their native Sierra habitat by illegally planted brook trout, will be reestablished and nurtured by a consortium of local fly-fishing clubs and the Southwest Council-International Federation of Fly Fishers (SWC-IFFF) in cooperation with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW).

Target area is Silver Creek in the West Walker River watershed near Bridgeport. 

A base camp will be established at the headwaters of Silver Creek and a team of 4-5 people will assist the CDFW with electro-fishing. The goal of this multi-year event is to eradicate the non-native brook trout so the stream can sustain a currently imperiled population of Lahontan cutthroat trout. Upon competition, Silver Creek will be opened to angling.

Read more: Native Lahontan Cutthroats Aided by Fly Fishing Clubs and IFFF

The Eyes of Conservation

Submitted by Debbie Sharpton,
SWCFFF Conservation Director

There are many good laws on the books of our society – the Clean Water Act of 1972 is one of them.  It’s hard to believe it is over 40 years old, and although the big polluters were the first targets, the hardest one for everyone to get their hands around is what is called “non-point source pollution”.  This is the type that comes from many different points instead of one discharge pipe.

In California the Sate Water Board and its multiple regional water quality control boards are responsible, and under court order, to create and implement the regulations to meet the Clean Water Act objectives.  Several regulations have been in place dealing with acceptable levels of pollutants in waters of the state, one being trash.  The acceptable level of trash in the water is zero.  That’s a pretty lofty goal, but how could anyone say that trash is acceptable at any other level?  There was much resistance from the jurisdictional agencies but the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board passed the regulation some time ago.  This means that agencies must do their part in cleaning up trash from the waters, if they don’t they stand to be in violation of the regulation and their permits.

Excerpts from a blog by George Kramer

An unusual benefactor – Santa Ana suckers and their restored habitat in the Santa Ana River – provided the impetus for a CDFW transfer of fish to Lake Elsinore on Thursday, Dec. 27th. Largemouth bass were among 386 fish transported, along with a nice helping of green sunfish and bullhead. Lake Elsinore (a bump in the San Jacinto River) is actually a tributary of the Santa Ana River connecting near Corona. That put the natural lake in an ideal place to get discards from the states restoration of the Santa Ana. The relocated fish would have been otherwise dispatched, along with the carp, fathead minnows and goldfish captured in the tributary. Most of the fish were green sunfish; however, 14 largemouth, and two really nice bluegill were released at the new launching facility on the north side of the lake. They may work with the restoration crew again to relocate more fish including largemouth bass since it went so well.

Read More: Kramer Gone Fishing

 

 CA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife NEWS

January 4, 2013

 

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is reintroducing native rainbow trout to the Kern River. Four water wells were recently drilled to serve as a back-up water source during adverse river conditions in preparation for the reintroduction. “This is an important phase of the project and represents a significant milestone in preserving the heritage species in the Kern River,” said CDFW senior fisheries Environmental Scientist Brian Beal. “Upgrading our facility to reintroduce native trout will offer great fishing opportunities, while providing economic benefits and encouraging tourism.”

The reintroduction program will focus on Kern River rainbow trout, a strain of rainbow trout endemic to the Kern River. Because of heavy angling pressure and non-native introductions over the last century, the native fish can only be found in remote isolated areas of the Kern River. As the program evolves, CDFW also plans to replace the existing non-native trout plants in the main stem Kern River and surrounding area with native trout. These non-native species include brown and other strains of rainbow trout that were planted over the years but not native to the river