I'd like to thank Jim Matthews for sending me the link to this commentary he wrote in December. I've never seen it before even though I know him and have worked with him on video projects in the past, so I thought I would share it with you. It uses the Kern River as an example.

http://www.outdoornewsservice.com/odpkg/news/News_12-04-08.html

remember, they are shooting for late May for releasing the Draft EIR/EIS. . ..

More of a rant than a commentary

Finally, a well thought out and factually correct article from a sportswriter that addresses the real issue (DFG incompetence). I only wish he'd send it to the idiot Tom Stienstra (oh well, his paper is going under and the moron will soon be out of a job).

Interesting article. It doesn't address the reason the Kern was added to stocking ban in the lawsuit, the Hardhead minnow. But it does plainly state, without the author knowing it, how the DFG may be sued NEXT time if they continue to stock mutants in the Kern above Fairview dam and into creeks that flow into the Kern above above the dam. They will get hammered in that lawsuit if they don't get the KRR project started. The Forest Service right now are the reason for the delays but some day soon that excuse will be gone and the ball will be in the DFGs court. The Kern River Rainbow has hybridized all the way up to Funston Meadows. Don't take my word for it, I have copies of DFG reports dating back to the 70's which say the beauracrats knew the problem was occurring throughout the Kern Basin all the way to Volcano Creek. Why do think they put in the fish barriers to protect Goldens but for some reason continue to stock The field level biologists, who are not to blame, sadly have to fix the problems from the stocking programs which in my unhumble opinion is the Holocast to native fish when improperly done.

sorry I'm a little grump this morning

shane

I like this from his article, "The bureaucracy was about growing lots of domesticated, easy-to-raise fish and putting them out there for anglers to catch of baits that look and smell like fish pellets. They resemble trout about as much as miniature toy poodles resemble coyotes." Pretty funny, sad, but funny.

At least the Kern wont be seeing anymore of those finless wonders... And now the tribs (need directions?) wont be overrun with genetic dogs pretending to be trout... AWESOME! Of course we cant fix the sins of the past.. but progress is being made.

2010 - the return of the Kern River Rainbow.

Glad progress is finally being made.

But it's these fish that help make Kernville "what it is," so to speak.

I'm really curious how today's Hatchery-rainbow grown basically in fish farms for the put-and-take fisheries differ from the rainbows that exist in "Wild Trout" fisheries that did not have native trout originally. My understanding is that the "old School" method of stocking was to plant a few fish up at the headwaters of a stream, and after a few years of natural reproduction, Voila! You have a trout stream.

But I'm curious - did the fish come from nearby watersheds? did they come from these hatcheries? Because we all know, many places where non-native wild trout thrive, have BEAUTIFUL fish, that show no resemblance to the put-and-take planters.

Just how genetically mutant are the current breed of hatchery fish, and how much of their ugliness is just the conditions they were raised in, not their genetic misgivings?


Anyone know?

And shane... its not the fish that make kernville "what it is", its the raft and the beer and the dispersed camping*.



*For the record, I absolutely LOVE dispersed camping... BUT I hate people, and the lack of respect shown by people to the environment is exactly why this type of camping just DOES NOT WORK around here.

Thats not what makes the kern the kern in my book...

I mean if you take a look at some of the other heavily planted rivers.... yea, finless wonders....

So yea, I mean I had 20 fish days on the Kern with no stockers or maybe a few holdovers... I can’t complain about that when it’s only an hour from my house... plus, in the winter - no trash --- no people -- lots of fish.

But now the real test of the river... I am sure it will be fine***.. Those people who are in the know about the kern and how to hunt its wild fish will still do just fine. But you cant drive up to the salmon creek hole and catch stockers all day.... but again ... is anybody a fan of that type of fly-fishing?

I would like to see the KRR planting resume ... if nothing else it protects the young wild fish who are hiding in the hard to reach places***.

Ever seen the Upper Owens on a crowded weekend? Holly crud.... nothing like standing in a Field (and a field is being nice... I could use Co...past..r...e..***) with people on every bend.

Plus the camping on the upper O??? Now there is some quality camping***.

Im not trying to be mean, or disrespect anyone (especially David) but the Upper Owens would not be the same if they stopped planting it... and during the summer? really? its pretty?

During the Winter is the time to be on the Upper Owens... Tons of large fish, and few people... wait.... sounds familiar. Just so we are clear... what? 75%-90% of the fish in the upper O are planted as either adult fish in the river, adult fish in the lake, or fingerlings in the lake?

Sorry if this offends anyone, but I just felt the need to defend my home...

I agree dispersed, roadside camping is the root of all evil.

*** These statements are nothing more than my silly opinion... if you dont agree.. thats ok - I think thats why this forum exists right?

Hatchery fish come from a variety of strains, and are usually genetically "altered" (selective breeding) to become a faster growing fish, as the less time the fish spends in the pen growing and eating food before it's big enough to be caught, the less money has to be spent on raising it. I would presume that the pure Kern River Rainbow strain would be a slower growing fish and I'm not sure what the concensus is as far as how big they will be allowed to grow before being stocked. I would hope that the fish were raised to fingerling size and stocked, so they could learn to feed in the river system and not have "ooh! Pellet!" programmed fully into their brains. Otherwise it won't be any different than the other stocked fish going into the river (which I'm sure some people won't mind). For me, I'd rather have truly WILD fish in the river, even if they grow in an egg at the hatchery. As long as the fish get in the river as juveniles I think instincts will still be strong. I'm excited for the opportunity for full fins and fish that don't act like they should be wearing a helmet while swimming around and eating everything that is bright and shiny that crosses their paths. Yes, WILD and scenic river is what I hope for.

I think the E.W. is a prime example of how planting can lead to wild fish....Crowley is also a place were babies are planted and allowed to grow to adults.

Almost all of the fish in the E.W. were planted in there when they were babies... but Craig is right, they quickly return to their instincts...

In fact last year I think they planted 25,000 fingerling cutt's. A few adults (10+) have been seen in the hands of the best of the best anglers. The E.W. probably has moree food available to the fish... but the low flow and summer time heat can almost kill off the river every year - and makes spawning next to impossible for the browns (I would assume - Last year the flows were low and hot till well into November - Dont fish it between late august and november... water temps in the 70's)

I think most of hte browns and bows were also planted as babies... but they grow fast (ever seen a river lined with dead bait fish?) - and are wild as we can hope for.

The fish are a HUGE part of what made Kernville. I'd wager nearly all the beer drinking dispersed campers bring a fishing rod or two. And subsequently buy bait, tackle, and licenses from the market. If the fish were a non-issue, there wouldn't be all this hubbub about canning the stocking program. Check the meat hunters forums


How about.... all of Guy Jeans' clients? And all the fly fishers that fished the 20 mile section before the lawsuit? I don't recall seeing too many wild fish in their reports. This included A LOT of our forum members. Not being insulting here, just pointing that out.

+1

Shane,

I don't think it is just one guide's clients or anything of that sort, though a majority of fishermen that come up to be guided on the Kern, from what I experienced while David guided there, were people that leaned more towards the beginner side of the spectrum. Heck, that's how I first met David... he guided me when I was a beginner. I think that people just got spoiled. It was EASY to go pick off 40 stockers in a half day without much work, and people got accustomed to it. I was one of those people. I STILL miss the days when I could go up to Delonegha (a 25 minute drive from my house) and get some nymphing practice in. That was fun, though the fish weren't fine examples of the trout species. Still, it was a tug on my line and better than nothing. So yeah... I think A LOT of people (a lot of us included) were fans of that kind of fishing. But it's not confined to a certain guide's client base.

As far as what Bill said about the Upper Owens, while some is true, I have to disagree with some of the main points. Bill, there ARE a lot of stocked fish in that river at certain times of the year, but there are ALWAYS big (and I mean BIG) wild fish in the river as well, as well as more brown trout in any given single mile than in the whole stretch of the Kern, and the browns are all wild. The river is a blue ribbon water, and if you fish it correctly you can catch a good amount of larger wild trout (I'm not talking about a buttload of 7-10" dinks, I'm talking about 12"+, with quite a few in the 15" range, some up to 17" or 18", and a rare 20"+). The difference between the two waters is that on the Owens, even with all the stocked fish you'll find MANY quality wild fish on any given day. On the Kern, when it was stocked, the stockers make up a vast majority of your catch. Now it's easier to find the wild fish on the Kern, but 98 percent of them are <12" fish, and quite frankly any stream can produce fish like that. It will take a while for the wild fish to grow, and they will as long as they aren't obliterated by fishermen this summer. I say this having many fine catching days on both rivers, not just out of speculation.

As far as a stocking program for the Kern, I think the river is better suited for a program like on the E.W. and/or the lower Kings, where the fish are either raised in a non-concrete run for a short while and then planted young, or incubated in a streamside incubator and once big enough to swim good enough to look for food, pushed through a pipe into the river. A fish that NEVER saw a concrete run or pellet in it's life. The incubators are not high priced items... they are a basic build and very effective. I like this option the best for the Kern.