By Mike Gervais
Register Staff

7-12-2008

Eastern Sierra anglers can expect to see at least 323,000 more fish stocked in local waters this year thanks to Senator Dave Cogdill’s efforts with Assembly Bill 7, also known as the Inland Fisheries Restoration Act, passed in 2005.
Cogdill announced Thursday that sport fishermen should expect a bountiful season this summer due to the success of the fish stocking programs in Mono County and improvements created through AB 7, which dedicates a portion of fishing license fees to fund inland fishery and hatchery programs.
“This is great news not only for our fishermen, but also for the small businesses that rely upon anglers in the rural communities of the Eastern Sierra,” said Cogdill.
“Thanks to Senator Cogdill’s efforts, anglers visiting the Eastside  should have an even better angling experience than they’ve had in the past,” said DFG Director Donald Koch. “We expect to see those efforts maintain the Eastside’s reputation as a premier trout angling destination.”

The Inland Fish Hatcheries Restoration Act was designed to dedicate up to 33 and one-third percent of the revenue from sport fishing license sales to the Hatcheries and Inland Fisheries Fund.

An angler tries his luck on Eastern Sierra waters recently. Thanks to Senate Bill AB 7, local waters can expect to see more than 300,000 more fish stocked this year, giving sport fishermen a better chance at landing a good catch in the Eastern Sierra. Photo by Darcy Ellis

According to the Department of Fish and Game, thanks to AB 7 funds, the Fish Springs Hatchery, south of Big Pine, has increased production to meet the needs of anglers for the 2008 season.
A press release from Cogdill’s office notes that the stepped up production at the Fish Springs Hatchery will help compensate for reduced production at the Hot Creek Hatchery.
“Although Hot Creek production has been reduced, stocking projections for Eastern Sierra waters will still result in an increased opportunity compared to last year for anglers visiting the area,” the press release states.
“We’ve ramped things up at Fish Springs and we’ve got fish being raised at other hatcheries out of the area and being brought in here also,” said Eastern Sierra Hatcheries Supervisor Denny Redfern.
With the stepped-up operations at Fish Springs, and with help in rearing trout from other hatcheries, the local office of the DFG has been able to step up its stocking efforts as well.
“Due to budgetary issues in the past, we were doing larger volumes of fish on a less frequent basis” when stocking, Redfern said. But this year the DFG has been able to maintain a weekly stocking schedule for local waters.
“By going out on a weekly basis, the fish are out there all the time,” giving anglers a better chance of landing a good catch, Redfern said.
According to Cogdill’s office, the Eastern Sierra saw 1,098,350 fish, or 507,286 pounds of fish stocked in 2006.
In 2007 the DFG reported stocking more fish, totaling 1,129,097, but the trout stocked were smaller, equaling only 502,315 pounds.
This year the DFG predicts a jump in production with an estimated 1,432,000 fish, or 546,700 pounds, being stocked in local waters.
“I was pretty impressed with the number of streams and lakes they’re planting this year,” said Inyo-Mono Fish and Game Advisory Commission Member Jim Spitzer. “It’s good for business, and everyone up here is concerned about the gas prices, we’re worried about the traffic and people coming up here to fish.”
The AB 7 funds that are flowing into the Hatcheries and Inland Fisheries Fund were outlined in the bill to accomplish three goals within the DFG.
The first goal is for the DFG to maintain a schedule of fish production for the hatcheries based on a poundage per license formula. According to Redfern, the DFG is working to construct that formula.
Second, $2 million was to be dedicated to the Wild and Heritage Trout restoration program, which, according to the DFG, aims to “increase public awareness about the beauty, diversity, historical significance. and special values of California’s native trout and their habitats and diversify opportunities to fish for, observe, and enjoy native trout in their historic habitats.”
“That is just one component of the bill, and we have some biologists working on that,” Redfern said.
The third goal outlined in the bill was for 25 percent of hatchery production to be converted to native species. And again, Redfern said the DFG is still working to accomplish that goal.
The Department of Fish and Game will receives approximately $50 million in sport fishing license revenue each year. The sport fishing industry on a whole produces more than $2.3 billion in retail sales, $1.2 billion in wages and salaries, 43,000 jobs and $224 million in state taxes. A pretty large chunk of change, especially in the Eastern Sierra, where many businesses rely on tourist dollars during the fishing season to sustain themselves.