Yesterday I went to Sacramento to give public comment on the Shadow Cliffs back ponds fishing closure. During the Commission's meeting, the director of the DFG, John McCamman, gave his director's report to the commission.

During his report he indicated that DFG had adopted the preferred alternative. Here's what this means for anglers.

1. Private hatcheries will be required to certify that the fish they provide are disease free and invasive species free. This means the cost of stocking private hatchery fish will increase. There are two possible outcomes for fishermen.

A. Lakes that stock private fish will stock less fish

B. Lakes that stock private fish will increase fishing permit fees

2. The department will begin studying locations where they stock trout to determine if threatened or endangered species will be negatively affected. It was not clear from the Director's comments where they would study, but I would expect that at a minimum that will include the 109 locations where stocking was stopped 2 years back.

For you swimbait chuckers this means places like:

Santa Margarita Lake
Coyote Lake
San Pablo Dam
Loch Lomond
Lafeyette
Los Banos

and many more

For you lure makers who make a living selling lures that look like trout, wake up guys. For you tackle manufacturers that sell swimbait rods and reels, wake up. This is it. This is the time when DFG biologists are going to study these lakes and give a permanent ruling about whether trout will ever be stocked again.

Nico and I have been discussing this, and thinking about ways to get involved. After the Shadow Cliffs pond issue, this is the next one I am getting involved in because guys, the groups that are behind this are the same groups that shut down fishing in the back ponds at Shadow Cliffs. Same exact. If you like to fish for bass or trout in this state you need to wake up and get ready to get involved.