Adam Johnson holds the big ling of the day. Read further details in the Saltwater Fishing reports and or General Discussion board. Congrats Adam!

4/5/2010

Salmon season has finally opened after a two year closure to what amounts to typical results.  A few scattered fish up in the northern fishing areas, and pretty good fishing in the Monterey  Bay area.  Weather for opening weekend was little rough as most chose to wait for reports on the beach, not a bad idea considering the conditions out there.

3/23/2010  by Darrell Ticehurst / Coastide Chairman

Congressmen Miller and Thompson representing two large districts near the Sacramento River delta are meeting with a number of anglers on April 1^st at Fort Mason in San Francisco to discuss the delta and the  water issues associated with a healthy run of salmon. Scheduled to speak are a number of affected parties including spokesmen for the party boats, commercial fishermen and tackle manufacturers and other economic segments that depend upon salmon for part of their livelihood. I’m going to talk about just how important it is to get the tens of thousands of private boaters and their friends back on the water, and just how important that is to our economy.

The summit comes about because of the strange set of lies and the pattern of obfuscation the water interests have been spouting about the delta. They have claimed “ocean conditions” are the real culprit in the disastrous decline of salmon in recent years. Nothing could be further from the truth and congress needs to be told the real story about why salmon are so hard hit by the increased delta pumping, and how it affects real jobs and real people. The papers and 60 minutes and Fox have talked about the poor Westlands farmers, but they have completely overlooked the huge economic impact of salmon and the 22,000 jobs that are dependent upon a salmon fishery.

So the simple facts are these: When ocean conditions have been bad we have still had good returns of salmon, when ocean conditions have been good we have had some bad returns of salmon—there is just no correlation between the ocean conditions and the salmon that return to the river. However, there is a very large correlation between increased pumping during the outmigration of salmon smolts and the return three years later for that year class of salmon—it is clearly a “river conditions” and a delta issue. Oh, and by the way, those Westlands water rights are called “junior rights” for a reason—they are only supposed to get water if there is any to spare, but they are now playing the PR card as if they are being screwed out of their rightful portion. Only in California water politics could this sort of nonsense ever get any headway.

Governor Schwarzenegger has not been the friend of anglers on this issue (or the MLPA issues) and his administration is clearly supporting the misrepresentations of the water issues. So we are going to have this summit and get the word out to everyone that the 100,000’s of anglers are the real economic engine, that they are dependent upon a healthy delta to support our salmon runs, and that the administration’s excuse of “ocean conditions” to dodge responsibility for the real problem of delta pumping  is not going to fly. We need to get from political excuses to a sound scientific basis for managing the delta for the health of our salmon, and the recent National Academy of Sciences report requested by Senator Feinstein says that to be so in clear scientifically backed facts.

So come on out to the Summit on April 1 at 10AM at Fort Mason and cheer for your favorite cause. Hopefully we can get some attention on the real facts of the delta and we are looking for support.

3/1/2010

Salmon season this year? Maybe! We are going to have to fight for it! There are plenty of fish for a recreational season, so don’t believe what you read in the newspapers. We have a right to a season and the science says that a season is in accord with the conservation objectives. But there are many who don’t want us to fish and we have to let them know that the facts and the science support having a sport season. That means getting out and attending the PFMC meeting and letting them know that we are here and that we will fight to get it.

When the science said that there were not enough fish because the Central Valley Fall Chinook had declined recreational anglers did the right thing and supported sitting on the beach. But the good news is that last year’s jack count was significantly better than the prior two years – and that bodes well for the adult return this year – as jacks are the primary forecasting factor in the model for the subsequent year. In fact the PFMC is projecting that there will be ample fish to support a salmon season this year. It may not be a great year, but one in which we should have an opportunity to pursue these fish.

Here are the facts: the model used to predict salmon returns correctly predicted the downturn in 2007 with 58,000 fish, and correctly predicted that 2008 would fall short at 121,000 fish. Now this same model predicts 245,000 adult salmon returning this year, well above the conservation objective of 122,000 needed to insure a healthy run. That model says we can fish, but there is a movement to shut us down anyway.

You must let the decision makers at the PFMC know that you want the opportunity to fish this year in accordance with the data and the approved procedures before the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Preliminary options will be created at the March PFMC meeting in Sacramento. If you want a season then we need you to testify in favor of a recreational season this year.

The critical day will be Monday, March 8 at the Doubletree Hotel Sacramento, 2001 Point West Way, Sacramento, CA. Salmon will be the only item on the agenda that day, and the most critical item is G.4: Identification of Management Objectives and Preliminary Definition of 2010 Salmon Management Options (the last item of the day). Public testimony will be taken with each agenda item, but this critical item is likely to be mid afternoon. Fill out a speaker’s card and speak your mind.

Talking points include:

• The jack counts have increased for the last three years in a row and have now returned to a level that predicts more than twice the level of adult abundance needed for a California ocean salmon season.
o 2007 – 1904 combined hatchery and natural jacks, predicts 58,000 adults
o 2008 – 4023 combined hatchery and natural jacks, predicts 121,000 adults
o 2009 – 9216 combined hatchery and natural jacks, predicts 245,000 adults – well above the 122,000 conservation objective.

• The Council has documented and approved processes in place that must be followed – and with these processes using last year’s jack counts there will be adequate fish to support a season for ocean fishermen.

• Recreational fishermen have been idle the last two years, without any compensation for not fishing; and the business that we support, have suffered along with us.

• Salmon fishermen were not the cause of the prior declines – this is not a case of overfishing. Even the National Marine Fisheries Service places both the immediate and underlying causes on factors other than fishermen. We have paid the price for others – it is time to correct the long term issues associated with lack of habitat, bad water management, and outdated hatchery operations. These must be addressed if we are going to restore stability to our salmon fishery.

• Tell your story – why you love to fish, what you have missed, how much money you did not spend (ie contribute to the economy) because you did not have a salmon season the last two years.

SO IF YOU WANT A SALMON SEASON THIS YEAR, SHOW UP AT THE PFMC MEETING ON MARCH 8 IN SACRAMENTO AND TELL THEM SO.

We continue to battle, but it is worth the fight,

Darrell Ticehurst
Chairman

1/18/2010

At the ISE show in San Mateo, that was probably the question I got asked most often, and the only answer that I think we have right now is maybe......I know the returns were not good, but the jack count was much higher than expected.  If you want to know more about that, our own Dan Wolford has written a very nice synopsis on our general page at http://forums.coastsidefishingclub.com/showthread.php?t=9833
So if the moon and the stars all line up, hopefully we will get a season.  We will try and stay positive.

But of a bigger concern is the health of our hatchery and smolt distribution system.  This system is in desperate need of a complete overhaul.  It simply isn't working.  It's simple really........

Fix the Delta + Fix the Broken Hatchery System = Fix the Fishery

A true note of being easier said than done.....

7/28/09

We need every Coastsider to show up and speak at the Fish and Game Commission meeting on the 5th of August. There are no excuses for not being part of the winning team – we need everyone who cares about recreational fishing to show up and make it known that 2XA is the obvious choice. It more than achieves the conservation objectives; it does so with the least economic impact. It’s as simple as that! What should be a hands-down win for 2XA is a political underdog that only you can rescue. Be there – Woodland, Yolo Fliers Club, 10AM on the 5th of August.

We also need your letters sent to the commission and our friends at ASA have made it convenient to do so, CLICK HERE to send your letter in support of 2XA.

Thank you and your support on this will decide our future.....
The Coastside Team