Recreation

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Written by: Editor

Published: 01 September 2013

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Hidden Valley Sharks swim team ended the swim season with a final swim meet on Saturday, Aug. 24.

The Sharks hosted the Calistoga Palisades Aquatics at the Hidden Valley Lake Community Pool.

Throughout the swim season the Sharks practiced at the community pool Monday through Friday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Hidden Valley Sharks is a USA-sanctioned swim team whose members range from 6 to 17 years of age.

For more information please contact Head Coach Charlie Hart at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Written by: Editor

Published: 31 August 2013

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) encourages anglers to go fishing with a friend or neighbor who doesn’t have a license this Saturday, the second of two days in 2013 when fishing licenses are not required.

CDFW offers two Free Fishing Days each year – usually around the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend – when it’s legal to fish without a sport fishing license. This year, the Free Fishing Days were set for the Saturdays following Independence Day and Labor Day (July 6 and Sept. 7).

All other fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect.

Every angler must have an appropriate report card if they are fishing for abalone, steelhead or sturgeon anywhere in the state, or for salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity river systems.

Free Fishing Days provide a low-cost way to give fishing a try. Some CDFW Regions offer a Fishing in the City program that teaches new anglers how to fish in major metropolitan areas.

Fishing in the City and Free Fishing Day clinics are designed to educate novice anglers about fishing ethics, fish habits, effective methods for catching fish and fishing tackle. Anglers can even learn how to clean and prepare fish for eating.

Anglers should check the rules and regulations at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations/ for the waters they plan to fish. Wardens will be on duty to enforce them.

For more information on Free Fishing Days, please visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/fishing/freefishdays.html .

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Written by: Carrie Wilson

Published: 31 August 2013

Question: I have a question regarding a fish pond at the house we recently purchased in Tahoe.

We aren’t up there all the time so I was thinking about tossing in a time-release fish feeder but do not want to attract bears. It would basically be the flake stuff in a compressed block form.

The four goldfish occupying the pond seem to do fine for long periods without food and even survived for several months before we bought the house. They must have been eating bugs, algae or whatever.

I’d hate for them to have struggled to survive all that time, and then I come along and think I’m doing a good thing by feeding them, and end up attracting bears.
 
The house is definitely in bear territory and only a block away from forest area. The fish are located in a pond in the front yard. My question is whether or not a bear is able to smell a time-release Tetramin fish feeder. Is this something to worry about? Any information you can provide would be much appreciated! Thanks. (Liz C., Lake Tahoe)
 
Answer: Regarding bears’ ability to smell and potentially be attracted to your automatic feeder, according to California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Black Bear Program Coordinator Marc Kenyon, the answer is yes.

Bears can smell fish food and are attracted to it. What’s worse is if they are attracted to the pond by the smell of the feed, then they may decide to snack on your fish in addition to the fish food.
 
Kenyon recommends feeding your fish with time-release pellets (feeding blocks). He has done this with his aquarium fish while away on vacation or out in the field, and he claims it worked well for him.

These pellets are little disks that you toss into the pond, and over time water dissolves the material that holds it together.

This process works slowly, and depending on the size of the pellet, it could last for about a month or two.

The benefit to this approach is that because they are submerged, they do not put off any odor into the air, and thus bears won’t be attracted to your pond.

Boat limits with multiple trips

Question: An interesting question came up at the fish cleaning station concerning an actual trip. This was sport fishing, not commercial or commercial passenger.

The scenario is there is one boat that holds three people, including the captain.

The captain goes out ocean fishing with fisherpersons A and B, and returns with full limits of salmon (6). The captain drops off both people and picks up fisherperson C. Can the boat still fish with two rods under the boat limits rule, or are they limited to one rod as the captain has already caught his fish earlier in the day? The consensus at the table was he would be at risk of a violation. (David G.)
 
Answer: No. They can both fish until the last fisherman’s bag limit is filled (CCR Title 14, section 27.60(c)).

While the skipper can still only take one bag limit per day, under a boat limit, the skipper is not done until the fishing trip is completed when he returns for the day. Boat limits apply to all species except sturgeon.

How to follow the number of tags currently sold?

Question: Is there a way to follow how many bear and deer tags have currently been sold? Can you tell me how many have been sold far this year? Is there a public record or data somewhere? (Norm G.)
 
Answer: Yes, the deer tag seasons and tag quotas adopted by the Fish and Game Commission are posted online at: www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/deer/tags/index.html .

In addition, a daily list of the current available deer tags is posted at: www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/ .

There is no bear tag quota, but the season is monitored by the number of bears reported taken. Bear season runs through Dec. 29, or until 1,700 bears are reported taken. If 1,700 bears are harvested before Dec. 29, CDFW will immediately close the season early.

For daily updates on the number of reported bear harvested, please visit our website at: www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/bear/harvest.html .
 
Garden invaders

Question: I have cottontail rabbits, gophers and rats that are destroying my garden and property. Do I need a license to shoot them on my private property? (Rodger D.)

Answer: Landowners and their tenants are not required to have a license to take cottontail rabbits, gophers or rats that are damaging their crops, gardens or ornamental plants (Fish and Game Code, section 4186 and CCR Title 14, section 472(a)).

However, you should check with your local police department or sheriff to determine whether you may discharge a firearm where you live.

Carrie Wilson is a marine environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this column. Please contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .