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"Fishing in the City," the innovative Department of Fish and Game urban fishing program that started in southern California in 1993, will mark its fourteenth year in operation in the Sacramento Metropolitan area this season. The program has weathered three governors and increasing budget cuts while providing close-to-home fishing in urban ponds for rainbow trout during the winter and channel catfish during the summer.
The trout planting program usually starts in mid-December, but started late this season on January 7, according to Joe Ferreira, program coordinator. The Calaveras Fish Farm, though a contract with DFG, will have planted 16,800 pounds of trout in Sacramento and Stockton area urban ponds by mid-March.
"We will make a total of 12 plants of approximately 1400 pounds every Saturday," said Ferreira. "We will stock William Land Park and Howe Community Park in Sacramento, Hagan Park in Rancho Cordova and Elk Grove Park with between 280 and 350 pounds each week. The goal is to plant a lake in each of the four corners of the region every Saturday."
Unfortunately, trout will not be planted in a formerly popular fishing lake, the Southside Park Pond, due to problems with sewage water flowing into the lake during winter storms. Until the water quality problems are resolved, this lake won't be stocked with rainbow trout or catfish.
Trout plants in area ponds began in the winter of 1993 and have continued ever since, according to Ferreira. Most of the fish are in the ˝ to 1 pound range, though I've seen trout up to 3 pounds taken in the parks.
During the summer, from the free fishing day in June to the free fishing day in September, the DFG conducts a similar program with channel cats the target fish. This summer the DFG plan is to contract out with a private hatchery for 1350 to 1375 pounds of channel cats averaging 1 pound each between the four to five ponds each week. "We stock around 250 pounds at each lake," said Ferreira.
Besides the plants, the program offers regular fishing clinics, in cooperation with recreation districts and non-profit organizations, at specified lakes. The City of Sacramento and City Council District 4 sponsored the first public clinic of the season, in cooperation with the DFG, at William Land on January 21.
In these clinics, Ferreira and a dedicated core of volunteers provide education on conservation, aquatic ecology and fishing techniques. This is a good way for a novice anglers, particularly children, to begin fishing.
Also, Ferreira emphasized that they get a "very good" return to the creel on the fish that are planted in urban lakes; people catch the fish relatively quickly and there are few fish left to perish in the very warm water of the ponds during the blistering hot Sacramento summer.
"We've never had a die off of trout when the water gets warm," said Ferreira. Most of the fish are caught, providing tasty meals for city anglers.
Ferreira emphasized that the fish are safe to eat, since the DFG conducts water sampling to make sure that the water conditions are suitable for the fish to survive and anglers to eat them. Many of the ponds have fountains to aerate the water so the water is oxygenated. Each park's water source is different and some ponds use their water for irrigating the gardens and trees and lawns in the parks.
"One of our criteria in choosing ponds is picking ones that are isolated from creeks and sloughs," noted Ferreira. By doing this, fish aren't lost when a creek goes over its bank and floods through the lake (like happens at Arden Pond on the American River.) Also, when the ponds are isolated from local sloughs and creeks, the pond isn't contaminated from storm runoff,
I have had lots of fun fishing for rainbow trout in Elk Grove Park near the office over the years. A survey of the lake on Sunday, January 15 evidenced very good fishing. Paul Martinez and fishing partners Paul and Nikki brought home a stringer of 13 beautiful trout after only a couple of hours of fishing in the afternoon. They fooled all of their fish with salmon eggs. Chris Schay and Zachary Schay teamed up the same day to nail six trout.
On the previous day, seven-year-old Daniel Beard, Hunter Oswell and Bobby Oswell landed a nice stringer of rainbows while fishing Power Bait at Elk Grove Park.
I also stopped by Howe Park and William Land on Saturday. The most successful anglers at William Land were Luexa Xiong and Seven-year-old Angel Xiong who teamed up to nail full limits of rainbows. They only fished two hours with Kastmasters to nail their fish.
Joe Ferreira, Don Paganelli and their volunteers offer fun and informative seminars and on the water instruction for young and old novice anglers alike. Want to go to a free clinic?
The next clinic will be on Saturday, February 4, 6 a.m. at Oak Grove Regional Park in Stockton. San Joaquin County Parks and the Delta Flyfishers are co-sponsoring the event. The park is located north of Stockton off 1-5 and Eight Mile Road. For more information, call (209) 331-2050.
The DFG's next clinic will take place on Saturday, February 18, from 8:30 a.m. until noon at Elk Grove Park, next to Elk Grove High School on Elk Grove-Florin Road in Elk Grove. The Elk Grove Cub Scout Packs will co-sponsor the event.
The Fulton El Camino Recreation and Park District will sponsor the Howe Community Park Trout Derby on Saturday, March 4 from 8 am to 2:30 pm. This is a wildly popular event, so an advance registration fee is required. For more information, call (916) 927-3802.
For more information about the Fishing in the City program, call Joe Ferreira at (916) 358-2872.
Fishing In The City Facts
Overview: The DFG's Urban Fishing Program, which was started in 1993, serves Californians living in the Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas.
The program's Fishing in the City Clinics gives city dwellers an opportunity to learn how to fish, and to fish close to home. It also gives participants an opportunity to borrow rods, bait and tackle through the Tackle Loaner Program.
Ponds are stocked with trout in winter and catfish the rest of the year. Anglers 16 years of age and older need to have a fishing license except for on Free Fishing Days.
Another outreach program is the Kids in Creeks school-based fishing program in the San Francisco Bay area. In Marin, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, teachers complete a three day watershed education program followed by a fishing trip. In Santa Clara County, similar programs are available.
Sacramento Area Tackle Rental Sites: There are several Tackle Loaner Sites throughout areas served by the Fishing in the City Program.
Sacramento Area: Southside Park Broadway Bait, 916-448-6338, W. Land Park 1701 Broadway, (downtown) Sacramento
Gibson Ranch: Elkhorn Bait & Tackle, 916-991-5298, (north area) 6745 20th at Elkhorn Blvd., Rio Linda
Oak Grove: Larry's Bait & Tackle, 209-473-2339, (Stockton) 9242 Thornton Rd., Stockton
Group Rod Loan "Fishing in the City" office For more information about the Fishing in the City program, call Joe Ferreira at (916) 358-2872.
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The DFG is planting the larger lakes - Oak Grove Park in Stockton, Mather Regional Park in Rancho Cordova and Gibson Ranch Regional Park in Rio Linda - three times during this period, approximately once per month.
The program has been very successful - and I consider it to be the best program that the DFG has ever run. "It's really an easy thing for the Department to do," said Ferreira. "There is something naturally fun about kids catching fish. I run across anglers who started when they were 8 or 10 years old and are now young adults. That's pretty gratifying."
"Fishing in the City" is definitely not of the same exciting caliber as an exotic fishing trip for marlin or yellowfin tuna in Baja California or for big halibut and king salmon in Alaska. But when Central Valley rivers and foothill lakes are blown out by high, muddy water conditions, like they have been much of this winter to date, they offer a fun close to home option where you can take your children to learn about fishing, catch a few rainbows and relax. Sometimes "Fishing in the City" is about the only game in town!