THE OUTDOORS : Outdoor Notes / Pete Thomas : Bird Population Is Hurting Trout Fishing at Crowley Lake

Trout fishermen at Crowley Lake in the Eastern Sierra have had little to brag about this season, which has been and continues to be one of the worst on record.

The Inyo Register recently reported unprecedented numbers of pelicans and cormorants as the reason.

“I’ve seen (the Department of Fish and Game) planting a load of catchables (trout) and the pelicans eat them as fast as they hit the water,” Lee McCoy, operator of Falling Rock Marina, was quoted as saying. “Last year, limits of pan-sized catchables were common. This year, it was a rare occasion when someone had a full stringer.”

Others reported similar observations and one sporting goods dealer said he has seen many fish brought in “that had slash marks where the birds tried to take them.”

Said DFG biologist Bill Rowan: “I’ve never seen anything like it. Usually there’s an influx (of birds) when they migrate in the spring and fall, but they never stick around that long.”

Although no scientific reasons are being offered for the increased bird populations, some experts believe that consecutive dry seasons have dried up some areas normally used by the birds, forcing them to look elsewhere for habitat and food.

Nevada wildlife biologist Mike Sevon told the Register that the Carson Sink, 150 miles northeast of Mono County and normally home to thousands of pelicans and cormorants, has completely dried up.

“There was an unlimited supply of forage fish, mainly chubs and carp, along with other ideal conditions,” he said. “Now there is nothing.”

Sevon said that the Sierra isn’t the only area with a bird problem. “We’re having the same problem around (Nevada’s) Fallon, Lahontan Reservoir and Walker Lake.”

According to the International Game Fish Assn., 64 million Americans go fishing each year, generating more than $28 billion in retail sales and creating 600,000 jobs.

In comparison, the commercial fishing industry generates $2.6 billion and 85,000 jobs, the IGFA says.

World record catches in California waters recently approved by the IGFA:

--Peter R. Wright’s 13-pound 10-ounce California halibut, caught last April off Torrance Beach on 4-pound test line.

--Tom Patierno’s 38-pound 8-ounce halibut, caught last March off Santa Catalina Island on 16-pound line.

--Don Spencer’s 42-pound 8-ounce halibut, caught last February off Laguna Beach on 20-pound line.

--Sylvia Kelly’s 32-pound 6-ounce halibut caught last March in Santa Monica Bay on 12-pound line.

Other California catches approved were Stephen Whybrew’s 59-pound yellowtail, caught off La Jolla last January on 20-pound line, and John Barnard’s 162-pound 8-ounce sturgeon caught in San Francisco Bay last December on 16-pound line.

Briefly

The DFG has transplanted 40 tule elk from Solano County’s Grizzly Island Wildlife Area herd of 135 animals to a 28,000-acre private ranch in northern Mendocino County in an effort to establish California’s 19th herd. The DFG says California’s tule elk population is about 2,500 animals, compared with the 500 when the agency began its trapping and relocating projects 18 years ago.