Fish and Game Commission Adopts Emergency Regulations to Close Angling

Nobody will disagree that Stipers use the Salinas Valley Rivers such as Salinas and Pajaro, and that Stiper compete with and prey on Salmon/Steelhead.  But how productive are these streams for Salmonids considering the poor water quality and upstream dams?
 
The north coast stream such as Waddell, Scott, Pescadero etc. should absolutely be protected during these conditions as they are some of the last strongholds for these Salmonids.  A question I have though is, are Stipers even using these streams? I have not heard about it and have never seen any in person.

The better question is why after being here for over 100 years are the stripers a problem for the salmon now?  Did they all of a sudden get a taste for salmon.  Blaming the stripes for the salmon small numbers is wrong.  What they need to look at first is all the waste that gets dumped into the bay from the City of San Francisco and it's busted outdated infrastructure.

I do know F&G is afraid of getting White bass in the Delta. And if your in possession of a live white bass you can get a big fine. Here at Nacimenito the F&G wanted to kill the lake. Now I'm sure I will piss someone off here. But if you look at the white bass, and the stripers. They look close enough to be part of the same family of fish. We all know fish are Canibalistic so there ya go.

Striped bass predation is only one of several obstacles juvenile salmonids face in the Central Valley and beyond.  They're not the primary driver for salmonid declines, but they're certainly a major factor and have been for decades.  A buddy of mine who used to work for CDFW told me about the striped bass feeding frenzies that would occur when they were releasing juvenile salmon from rotary screw traps in the Sac.  Poor fish hardly stood a chance.

Getting rid of striped bass certainly isn't a popular decision among anglers, but if we're serious about maintaining viable wild populations of salmon and steelhead then it's only prudent to lay all the cards on the table.  Stripers aren't the main problem, but they're certainly a problem.

Striped bass predation is only one of several obstacles juvenile salmonids face in the Central Valley and beyond.  They're not the primary driver for salmonid declines, but they're certainly a major factor and have been for decades.  A buddy of mine who used to work for CDFW told me about the striped bass feeding frenzies that would occur when they were releasing juvenile salmon from rotary screw traps in the Sac.  Poor fish hardly stood a chance.

Getting rid of striped bass certainly isn't a popular decision among anglers, but if we're serious about maintaining viable wild populations of salmon and steelhead then it's only prudent to lay all the cards on the table.  Stripers aren't the main problem, but they're certainly a problem.

Yup.

But so are largemouth.  Why isn't there a jihad against them?  Or is that next?

Divide and conquer.  "They" are focusing the effort on one issue at a time, diverting attention away from where they don't want it.

-Allen

-Allen

Striped bass predation is only one of several obstacles juvenile salmonids face in the Central Valley and beyond.  They're not the primary driver for salmonid declines, but they're certainly a major factor and have been for decades.  A buddy of mine who used to work for CDFW told me about the striped bass feeding frenzies that would occur when they were releasing juvenile salmon from rotary screw traps in the Sac.  Poor fish hardly stood a chance.

Getting rid of striped bass certainly isn't a popular decision among anglers, but if we're serious about maintaining viable wild populations of salmon and steelhead then it's only prudent to lay all the cards on the table.  Stripers aren't the main problem, but they're certainly a problem.

Yup.

But so are largemouth.  Why isn't there a jihad against them?  Or is that next?

Divide and conquer.  "They" are focusing the effort on one issue at a time, diverting attention away from where they don't want it.

-Allen

-Allen

Being a water industry insider....

You are correct, but you are in the less than 1% of Californians that think or care enough to figure it out.  don't drown in your tears of frustration, those have been allocated and belong to Big AG (or more likely Semitropic WCD)...

Striped bass predation is only one of several obstacles juvenile salmonids face in the Central Valley and beyond.  They're not the primary driver for salmonid declines, but they're certainly a major factor and have been for decades.  A buddy of mine who used to work for CDFW told me about the striped bass feeding frenzies that would occur when they were releasing juvenile salmon from rotary screw traps in the Sac.  Poor fish hardly stood a chance.

Getting rid of striped bass certainly isn't a popular decision among anglers, but if we're serious about maintaining viable wild populations of salmon and steelhead then it's only prudent to lay all the cards on the table.  Stripers aren't the main problem, but they're certainly a problem.

Yup.

But so are largemouth.  Why isn't there a jihad against them?  Or is that next?

Divide and conquer.  "They" are focusing the effort on one issue at a time, diverting attention away from where they don't want it.

-Allen

-Allen

Being a water industry insider....

You are correct, but you are in the less than 1% of Californians that think or care enough to figure it out.  don't drown in your tears of frustration, those have been allocated and belong to Big AG (or more likely Semitropic WCD)...

It's the same up on the Columbia with hydroelectric dams.  For some reason the problem is either the sea lions, the squawfish, the caspian terns, harvest, hatchery, habitat, and ocean conditions.  But never is it the dams.

-Allen

It's the same up on the Columbia with hydroelectric dams.  For some reason the problem is either the sea lions, the squawfish, the caspian terns, harvest, hatchery, habitat, and ocean conditions.  But never is it the dams.

-Allen

True, but Hydro on the Columbia also has a lot of big ag on their side.  But ag is largely silent and really masterful in the PR scene. since Hydro has taken lead in the bad guy front. 

It's the same up on the Columbia with hydroelectric dams.  For some reason the problem is either the sea lions, the squawfish, the caspian terns, harvest, hatchery, habitat, and ocean conditions.  But never is it the dams.

-Allen

True, but Hydro on the Columbia also has a lot of big ag on their side.  But ag is largely silent and really masterful in the PR scene. since Hydro has taken lead in the bad guy front.

Sure, but the issue is never not enough water.  The issue is not enough water flow at the right time.  And the dams themselves.

-Allen

It's the same up on the Columbia with hydroelectric dams.  For some reason the problem is either the sea lions, the squawfish, the caspian terns, harvest, hatchery, habitat, and ocean conditions.  But never is it the dams.

-Allen

True, but Hydro on the Columbia also has a lot of big ag on their side.  But ag is largely silent and really masterful in the PR scene. since Hydro has taken lead in the bad guy front.

Sure, but the issue is never not enough water.  The issue is not enough water flow at the right time.  And the dams themselves.

-Allen

Do you think that the dams make money on power generation only?  Those dams supply water to hundreds of thousands of acres of agriculture (mostly alfalfa, wheat and oats) and a few very large water districts.  The power generated y those dams is a lot, but operation is very tightly controlled by when crops need water.  I had a couple very frustrating projects on the Columbia that were eye opening to say the least... 

When to operate the dams?  hmmmmmm gotta keep water above the intakes, no power generation needed....

It's the same up on the Columbia with hydroelectric dams.  For some reason the problem is either the sea lions, the squawfish, the caspian terns, harvest, hatchery, habitat, and ocean conditions.  But never is it the dams.

-Allen

True, but Hydro on the Columbia also has a lot of big ag on their side.  But ag is largely silent and really masterful in the PR scene. since Hydro has taken lead in the bad guy front.

Sure, but the issue is never not enough water.  The issue is not enough water flow at the right time.  And the dams themselves.

-Allen

Do you think that the dams make money on power generation only?  Those dams supply water to hundreds of thousands of acres of agriculture (mostly alfalfa, wheat and oats) and a few very large water districts.  The power generated y those dams is a lot, but operation is very tightly controlled by when crops need water.  I had a couple very frustrating projects on the Columbia that were eye opening to say the least... 

When to operate the dams?  hmmmmmm gotta keep water above the intakes, no power generation needed....

Interesting ...

That issue never sees the light of day in the NW.  But the facts are (as I read them) that only 6% of the Columbia River basin runoff is used for irrigation.  How does that compare to the Sac?

-Allen

It's the same up on the Columbia with hydroelectric dams.  For some reason the problem is either the sea lions, the squawfish, the caspian terns, harvest, hatchery, habitat, and ocean conditions.  But never is it the dams.

-Allen

True, but Hydro on the Columbia also has a lot of big ag on their side.  But ag is largely silent and really masterful in the PR scene. since Hydro has taken lead in the bad guy front.

Sure, but the issue is never not enough water.  The issue is not enough water flow at the right time.  And the dams themselves.

-Allen

Do you think that the dams make money on power generation only?  Those dams supply water to hundreds of thousands of acres of agriculture (mostly alfalfa, wheat and oats) and a few very large water districts.  The power generated y those dams is a lot, but operation is very tightly controlled by when crops need water.  I had a couple very frustrating projects on the Columbia that were eye opening to say the least... 

When to operate the dams?  hmmmmmm gotta keep water above the intakes, no power generation needed....

Interesting ...

That issue never sees the light of day in the NW.  But the facts are (as I read them) that only 6% of the Columbia River basin runoff is used for irrigation.  How does that compare to the Sac?

-Allen

In the Sacramento River basin it depends on how you look at the numbers, but the most simplistic way to look at is that there is more water used for irrigation or municipal uses from the Sacramento River basin than is available each year.   so, over 100% on an average annual basis.  This happens because groundwater is used very heavily and is often used as a "trade" with allocated surface waters.  If you include the San Joaquin basin its more like 120% of annual rainfall/precipitation is used.  The way that the system works is that every decade or so we get a shit-ton of water that refills many of the groundwater banks and large reservoirs.

On the Columbia/Klamath the adjudication and management is not at the levels we have here, but it is coming.  The low use numbers (If I remember correctly) are very misleading due to the sheer volume of water in the system.  Granted the river does have massive outflow, the management of the reservoirs and distribution system is incredibly tightly controlled.  Imagine if a 300,000 acre water district suddenly had to reconfigure the intake systems for bulk water delivery to accommodate an extra 100 vertical feet of intake pumping????  What would the cost be?  What would the USACOE permit process and environmental documentation cost, what would the new USBR contract cost in negotiation?   millions and millions and millions.  This is real money and these folks have a shit ton if it, they didn't get that way by giving it away.

For more discussion on this we'll get into it at the next get together

For more discussion on this we'll get into it at the next get together

Can we have a few beers first?   

-Allen

For more discussion on this we'll get into it at the next get together

Can we have a few beers first?   

-Allen

please!  It always gets me a little worked up...

I'll Drive!