Without question Clear Lake is one of the more popular fishing lakes in the West and Lake County offers not only excellent fishing opportunities but hunting ones as well. The problem is that from all indications the number of fishermen and hunters throughout the state has been in a sharp decline. On any given day the parking lots at the ramps around the lake are virtually empty and that includes weekends. Even the number of fishermen that compete in the bass tournaments continue to decline. For example the tournament held on Saturday only drew 22 boats.
Twenty years ago if a team bass tournament didn’t draw at least 60 or 70 boats it was considered a failure. In fact, most of the tournaments drew in excess of 100 boats. Now, a tournament is considered a success if it draws 30 boats. The same applies to hunting. It was only a few years ago that the opening weekend of the deer season would draw hundreds of hunters. Not anymore, the national forests are empty of hunters.
According to Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), in 1982 the state issued 549,000 hunting licenses, but in 2016 that number dropped to 283,000 nd the number of hunters has been dropping ever since. A decline of nearly 50 percent. That same thing applied to fishing licenses. In 1982, California sold 2,480,158 fishing licenses, however in 2016 that number dropped to 1,632,823. This is remarkable in that the state’s human population increased from 25 million in 1983 to 39.5 million in 2016.
Whereas it’s true that the types recreation have changed, the other major factor is the cost. if you want to hunt deer or upland game there is an additional fee of $38 and an upland game stamp costs $9.46.
California is also one of the few states that don’t give senior citizens a break on fishing and hunting licenses. For example, nearby Oregon charges a senior citizen that is over 70 years $25 a year for a fishing license. If that resident has been a resident of Oregon for at least 50 years the annual fee drops to $6. A combination fishing and hunting license for a senior is $41.50. Even Alaska has lower license fees than California.
The other major problem is that many California hunters and fishermen don’t feel they are getting their money’s worth. The DFW has cut back on the number of programs it administers. At one time, the trout stocking program was excellent but not anymore. For example, nearby Upper Blue Lake, the East Branch of the Russian River, Lake Pillsbury and Indian Valley Reservoir have received very few trout plants the past three years.
The DFW also used to do extensive deer counts. These counts allowed the department to set hunting seasons and know the condition of the state’s deer herd. That is also no longer done.
Fishing and hunting has also become a very expensive pastime. A new bass boat can cost as much as $100,000. Fishing rods can cost $500 and even a lure can be as much as $150. Bass tournaments are also expensive. The typical entry fee for a tournament is $500 per team and when you add in the cost of travel, motel and food it can easily hit more than $1,000 a day. Typically, a tournament fisherman is lucky to win back his entry fee much less show a profit.
Spouses of the tournament fishermen have also put their foot down. Many wives are tired of staying home taking care of the kids while the father is off fishing. Years ago the wives would often accompany their husbands to tournaments but that is rare now.
Where this will all end is a mystery. Possibly there will be a return to recreational fishing where 12-foot aluminum boats will once again be popular. After all, the bass don’t know or care if you’re in a $100,000 bass boat or a $500 row boat.
