LAKE COUNTY >> The Lake County Board of Supervisors plans to discuss a support letter to the California Fish and Game Commission on Tuesday calling for the reduction of Clear Lake crappie daily bag limits.
According to county documents, the letter calls for the daily catch maximums to be set at 10 per person instead of the current one at 25 so the fishery can be protected in a season that has recently boomed, attracting many anglers to the lake.
The county sent similar letters to the commission in 2005 and 2010. In both cases, action wasn’t taken.
“We once again want to raise our concern addressing the overharvesting of crappie on Clear Lake,” the letter said. “The current daily bag limit …is highly excessive in light of the number of individuals fishing and impacting the resource.”
There have also been instances of illegal overfishing. Earlier in the year, two people were convicted of poaching the fish in 2015, possessing more than 400 then what they were legally allowed.
“It’s a very large bag limit; just a few people can take a lot of fish out of the lake,” District 3 Supervisor Jim Steeled added.
Along with protecting the population of the two species in the lake, the letter further argues that a lower catch will make an impact on illegal sales of the fish to Bay Area restaurants by those who come back home with their takes.
“It is our intent, through the revision of the daily bag limit, to ensure a sustainable Crappie fishery in Clear Lake for years to come,” the letter said.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Lake County Courthouse.
