Fishing ban on American River rejected
- Bee Metro Staff
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 8, 2008
The California Fish and Game Commission rejected a proposal Thursday to ban fishing for two months on the lower American River.
The 7,000-member Northern California branch of the Federation of Fly Fishers had sought the ban between Nimbus Dam and the Sacramento River, fearing unseasonably low river levels would endanger steelhead trout.
The fish are more susceptible to "snagging" as the water level drops, the group said in a letter to the commission. The illegal poaching method of dragging hooked lines through water to snag fish is difficult to enforce.
Water levels are expected to rise as a result of recent storms and the bulk of the steelhead season on the American River is over, said Neil Manji, branch chief of the inland fisheries division of the state Department of Fish and Game.
Manji, who recommended against the ban, said regulations against poaching adequately address the problem and fish counts don't appear to be dropping.
The commission agreed to review concerns for the 2008 season.
