Anglers from across the state took to the Feather River on July 31 to try their luck on opening day of the recreational salmon season. The season, which will remain open through August 29, is the first Central Valley season for fall-run Chinook salmon following two years of closures.
Department of Fish and Game (DFG) staff from the Central Valley Angler Survey Program closely monitored angler effort and harvest over the weekend. A total of 115 fishing parties kept 19 salmon.
“Anglers boated some very nice, bright Chinook salmon, which gave us the opportunity to collect valuable information,” said Mike Brown, survey lead. “We took measurements and scale samples on all the salmon and were fortunate to recover five coded wire tags from all of the adipose fin clipped salmon.”
Anglers are required by law to participate in the survey (Fish and Game Code, section 8226) and must not fillet their catch before bringing it to shore so that biologists have the opportunity to collect data on the catch and determine the presence or absence of coded wire tags on the fish. Biologists will collect all heads from salmon missing an adipose fin in order to recover the tags, which provide information on the race and origin of the fish and the contribution of hatchery production to the fishery.
The Pacific Fisheries Management Council predicted an overall return of 245,000 Sacramento fall-run Chinook salmon this year. As a protective measure, ocean and river recreation are seasons are limited. The total catch goal for all inland seasons in the Sacramento system is 8,200 fish. The Feather River season is designed to provide salmon fishing opportunity over the length of the season and to spread out the catch.
The closures of ocean and river salmon seasons in 2009 resulted in the loss of an estimated $279 million in revenue, as well as thousands of jobs. Local economies and small businesses were the hardest hit by the closures.
“This year’s salmon season makes a big difference. It is a matter of survival for us,” said Bob Bouche, owner of Johnson’s Bait and Tackle in Yuba City.
The DFG survey crew checked anglers in the upper portion of the open zone on the river on Saturday and surveyed the section above Yuba City to the mouth of the river at Verona on Sunday. In the upper section they contacted 68 salmon fishing parties that retained seven salmon. In the lower section they contacted 47 parties fishing for salmon that retained 12 salmon.
Contact:
Mike Brown, DFG Environmental Scientist, (916) 227-4989
Harry Morse, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8962
