California Fishing News

REDDING, CA- The Oregon State University team of Zach MacDonald, of Willits, California and William Sparks, of Corvallis, Oregon won the National Guard FLW College Fishing West Conference event on Lake Shasta Saturday with five bass weighing 9 pounds, 4 ounces. The victory earned the team $5,000. The win also helped them advance to the West Conference Regional Championship.

The California Fish and Game Commission today took final action to reject proposed changes to striped bass regulations.

In a unanimous decision, Commissioners voted not to pursue a proposal that would have changed sport fishing regulations related to anadromous striped bass, including increasing bag limits and decreasing size limits.

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will release the 2012 Proposal Solicitation Notice (PSN) for the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program on Feb. 15, 2012. Applications will be accepted beginning at 8 a.m. Feb. 15, 2012 through 3 p.m. March 30, 2012.

Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wardens cited a Southern California man early Sunday morning for poaching dozens of lobsters inside a Marine Protected Area (MPA).

Wardens observed Marbel A. Para, 30, of Romoland (Riverside County) and a companion SCUBA diving in the Laguna Beach State Marine Reserve after midnight on Jan. 15. This location, which is in the Heisler Park area off the coast of Laguna Beach, has historically been closed to lobster fishing for years (even prior to the establishment of the MPA).

Northern California Council Education Committee has formed a sub committee Veterans First Fly Fishing (VFFF): Currently comprised by volunteers from Mission Peak Fly Anglers, Diablo Valley Fly Fishers, Tri Valley Fly Fishers, Peninsula Fly Fishers, Tracy Fly Fishers & others from non FFF clubs. VFFF and the Veterans Administration for Central California, Palo Alto Health Care System (PAHCS) have recently crafted and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOA). This MOA is a huge step forward for establishing a long lasting, beneficial relationship between the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) and the Veterans Administration (VA). The MOA covers the basics of what is expected of the VFFF and PAHCS. Hopefully this model will be followed and expand to other VA hospitals and clinics where our veterans are being treated.

FT LAUDERDALE, Fla., -- A gentleman sportsman long known for his work in conservation on many fronts, especially along the Pacific coast, Paxson H. Offield, received TBF’s Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award, Friday, Oct. 28, at The Billfish Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Dinner in Ft. Lauderdale.

While the 2011 California striped marlin season will go down as another tough one for the West Coast, the teams that participated in the California Billfish Series presented by Typhoon Polarized Optics made the most of it and still had plenty of fun. With three individual fishing tournaments, including the Zane Grey Invitational, Catalina Classic and Avalon Billfish Classic, the California Billfish Series attracts the top marlin crews in the western U.S. to compete for some big money.

CYPRESS, Calif. - Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.'s OHV Access Initiative continues to support riding areas across the country including a number of GRANTs (Guaranteeing Responsible Access to our Nation's Trails) that are helping protect waterways and other natural resources.

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) reminds anglers who fish along California's shoreline and piers to avoid casting where seabirds feed or congregate. All along the coast, large schools of bait fish such as sardines and anchovies have recently been swimming close to the shore, thus attracting both anglers and hungry seabirds.