Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 42 Issue 11 | Page 11

Elk Grove Florin Rd
VOL . 42 • ISS . 11

MAP FEATURE
July 28 , 2023
11

Fishing in the City Facts

Overview : The CDFW ’ s Urban Fishing Program serves Californians living in the Sacramento , San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas .
The program was created in 1993 to improve angling opportunities for California ’ s growing urban population . Consistent with trends across the country , California ’ s urban anglers identified a lack of free time as the primary reason why they don ’ t fish more or stopped altogether .
Many city and regional park lakes , ponds , and streams were all but forgotten as potential fishing sites and many lacked adequate facilities , staff , or fish to sustain a fishing program . Some suffered from non-source-point pollution and habitat degradation . All were surrounded by communities ready to provide the support necessary to create fishing in the city .
Elverta Road
38
Business
Dry Creek
Watt Avenue
1 . Gibson Ranch
Bus # 19
5 th
6 th 7 th 8th 9th
38 56 15
2
S T U V W
Broadway
51
56 2
51 51
X
Q
Dry Creek
Road
10th 11th 12th 13th
15
9 . Southside Park ( park on Street ) Bus # 2 , 15 , 38 , 51,56
5
80
99
99
Lakes & Ponds are Available By Regional Transit
Elverta Rd
Rio Linda
Sacramento
9
8
El Camino Avenue
Business 23 87
Ethan Way
23
80
HoweWay
Cottage Way
Arden Way
1
Watt Ave
Fair
80
Oaks Blvd
2 3
50
Arden Way
20
20
Bell Street
2 . Howe Park Bus # 20 , 22 , 23 , 87
Sunrise Ave
Hazel Ave
Nimbus Hatchery
American River
Chase Dr
Folsom Blvd
Coloma Rd
Mather
50
Folsom Blvd
Zinfandel
3 . Hagan Park Bus # 1
Rancho Cordova
Sunrise Blvd
Sunrise Blvd
Douglas Rd . Eagles Nest Rd
Golf Course
4 . Mather Regional Park
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 .
For more information about the Sacramento area Fishing in the City Program , go to : https :// www . wildlife . ca . gov / Fishing-in-the-city / SAC .
For general information about the program throughout the state , go to : https :// www . wildlife . ca . gov / fishing-in-the-city‎
2
5
Jacinto
ZOO
Landpark Dr
6
5
13th Ave
Sutterville Rd
62
Freeport Blvd
160
61
83
Sutterville Rd
8 . William Land Park Bus # 2,5,6 , 61,62,87
61
Center Parkway
Cosumnes
Cosumnes River College
River
Blvd
To Sacramento
99
Sheldon Road
7 . North Laguna Creek
99
12th Ave
5 7
160 99
8
FISHING NOTES Rainbow Trout – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ), through a private hatchery and the American River Fish Hatchery , plants rainbow trout in urban ponds in the winter . The exact schedule and ponds planted changes every year . Fish PowerBait , Power Eggs , nightcrawlers , spinners , spoons and flies for maximum success .
Channel Catfish – The CDFW stocks urban ponds with channel catfish every summer . The exact schedule and ponds stocked changes every year . Use mackerel , anchovies , nightcrawlers , chicken liver and prepared baits . For the latest information and schedule , call ( 916 ) 358-2872 or go online at : https :// www . wildlife . ca . gov / Fishing-in-the-city / SAC .
Sacramento Area Urban Lakes & Ponds
4
12
Thom
Rd
5
Stockton
Lower Sac . Rd
Lodi
Eight Mile Rd
Hammer Lane
99
Harding Way
5 . Oak Grove Regional Co . Park ( Not Shown on Map )
Elk Grove Blvd
61 Elk Grove
99
6 . Elk Grove County Park Bus # 56
Chris Hong of Sacramento had a great time fishing for catfish in the Hagan Park Pond in Rancho Cordova , as you can see by this stringer .
Photo by Dan Bacher
Fishing in the City-Sacramento “ is to join communities in the critical work of creating a racially equitable outdoor movement to expand access for all to parks , open spaces , nature , and cultural amenities ; and to ensure that fishing opportunities are accessible , safe , and welcoming to all people who ’ ve historically been prevented from enjoying them and the health benefits they afford .” “ We stock channel catfish in the ponds in the warmer months and rainbow trout in the cooler months ,” said Richard Muñoz , who took over the program after Joe Ferreira retired five years ago . “ The catfish plants take place from May through
September , while the trout plants take place from November through March .” In the six years since he has been with the program , Muñoz said the program is constantly trying to better meet the needs of the community . Before coming to work for the CDFW , Muñoz worked with the state parks department in Hollister for 8-1 / 2 years . According to the CDFW website : “ The Fishing in the City program was created in 1993 to improve angling opportunities to California ’ s growing urban population . Consistent with trends across the country , California ’ s urban anglers identified a lack of free time as the primary reason why they don ’ t fish more or stopped altogether .” In spite of Department cutbacks over the years and increasing costs of planting fish , the program has endured . Whereas the program used to stock a number of ponds in the Sacramento area with fish every week , the plants have become less frequent , but more fish are put in during the plants . When I attended the first “ Fishing in the City ” event at Southside Park in Sacramento in the summer of 1993 , I was impressed by the then new program and its mission of encouraging young anglers to fish as part of enjoying and appreciating the outdoors and practicing conservation . Then then-program coordinator Joe Ferreira was there with park district officials , the late City Councilman Jimmy Yee and a bunch of kids and some adults after the first plant of channel catfish in the lakes . Since that inaugural event , I have attended over 60 of the program ’ s events , as well as fishing in a few of them . This program is one that actually increases angling opportunities , rather decreasing them or taking them away as California ’ s population continues to grow . When I was a kid growing up in Sacramento , I had to figure out how to fish in local waters pretty much on my own . I would often travel to the American River by bike to fish for shad , steelhead and striped bass .
This young angler landed this hard-fighting catfish at the Fishing in the City event at Hagan Park in June .
Photo by Dan Bacher
Nowadays , young and novice anglers have good opportunities to learn about fishing from angling experts in clinics , seminars and workshops provided by government agencies , fishing groups and bait and tackle stores , but no program equals Fishing in the City , in my opinion . In covering Fishing in the City events , I ’ ve seen some amazing catches . I ’ ve seen crappie , huge redear sunfish , brook trout and even brown trout caught in the local ponds . You can find out the clinics and lakes being planted by going online at : https :// www . wildlife . ca . gov / Fishing-in-the-city / SAC .