“Dusty Britches” here along with “Cuss “Cussler”, “Silent Sam”, and “Slim”. Good luck just keeps coming our way. I got a call from ranger Jay Blaylock to tell me that Mt. Lassen was having a hard time trying to get rid of a load of trout. Without going into it too much, we had an extra 1,000 pounds delivered on Tuesday…..that’s in addition to the double stocking that they gave us on the 19th. They are just starting to come out of the water…..beautiful fish weighing in up to 3 pounds. The lunkers are still in the action too although slowing down. A 12 pound 8 ounce “bow” came out today at Lone Pine, but the angler’s action is directed toward BASS. Lot’s of bassers from near and far are descending down on the old pond to make their catch, take a photo or two, then release it back for another angler. I watched Chris and Jarrett from “East County Bait and Tackle” have a good morning of fishing, then comparing the gear each was using. We are getting more and more regulars which is a good thing We had a little rain recently to knock down the dust, but we need a lot more to fill up the pond. Crappie bite is heating up. Things are looking good for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Temperatures are cooling off and they are talking about the possibility of some wet stuff later on this week…..let’s hope so.

I do some ocean fishing, as a lot of us do in addition to flat water fishing and there is something around the corner that maybe some of you don’t know about. The regulators are trying to reduce the take of Bluefin tuna from 10 down to 2 along the California coast. The regulators reasoning is the depleation of Bluefin in the pacific waters due to international commercial fishing. I am opposed to this for a number of reasons, but let state just a few. The sportfishing industry is sadly being confused with the commercial fishing industry and the proposed sanctions could do nothing other than negatively impact the sportfishing industry, mostly a family owned and run industry to a large degree. Some facts…..Globally….. : Mexico has a limit of 5 and doesn’t plan to change; If you think that Japan, China, or Korea plan to abide by any reduction in take, I would love to sell you some picturesque land in Ocotillo Wells….even if the commercial fishing in the United States does abide, it would just mean more for the above mentioned countries. Then there’s the comparison (difference) of take that one commercial boat would bring in after one trip compared to a season of Sportfishing Bluefin take. The Sportfishing take isn’t even a drop in the proverbial bucket of commercial fishing, so the effect that the sanctions on sportfishing would have on the overall take would be a mute point . And, to top it all off…..who, in their right mind would spend the dollars to try to catch two fish? Even when the action is hot…..your two and done for the remainder of the trip. End result, a decimated sportfishing industry, and not just for San Diego.

If you are interested, go to …….

www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/recreation/recreation_fishing_wcr.html. I believe the open comment period ends on May 6th.

“Tight Lines and bent rods”……”Dusty Britches”.